‘Equality’ is now a weapon against Jews.
We don't demand equal numbers of Laotian ballet dancers or left-handed plumbers, but many folks single out Jews for being too represented in certain fields. It makes no sense.
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This is a guest essay by Emily Yaffe, a writer and Jewish educator.
You can also listen to the podcast version of this essay on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, YouTube, and Spotify.
I know I’m supposed to fear (and I do) the antisemitic white supremacists who march to the chant “Jews will not replace us!”
But, they also make me laugh. The correct response to them is, “Yeah, obviously. Also, we don’t want to replace you.”
Jews are a tiny fraction of Western countries — only 2 percent, or roughly 7.9 million people. Worldwide, that number is even more pathetic; 0.2 percent of the world’s population is Jewish. Out of over 8 billion people, Jews constitute roughly 16 million. We’re dwarfed by Buddhists (324 million), Hindus (1.2 billion), and Mormons (17.2 million.) The number of Jews in the world is about equal to the number of people in Guinea — and nobody in the history of the world has ever worried about being replaced by a Guinean.
So, what’s with the worry about Jews replacing anyone else? For that matter, wherefore the concern about some secret Jewish cabal that controls the world?
One answer is simple: antisemitism, which is akin to a mental disorder. Antisemitism is based on lies and impervious to reason. For thousands of years, people have hated, dehumanized, and attacked Jews because of this pervasive hatred.
Jews do not want to replace anyone. We do not proselytize, and we make it difficult even for those who seek conversion. We may be more numerous than, say, Zoroastrians, but we’re hardly a population threat.
I have a miniscule amount of understanding for Westerners concerned about Jews replacing them. Though the numbers do not bear out this fear at all, the fact is Jews are in the news quite frequently, and, unfortunately, not always for good reasons — think Epstein, Weinstein, Weiner. (Of course, those people are about as Jewish as a bagel with ham and cheese, i.e. a Jewish-sounding name, but not living according to Jewish principles and ethics. Yet, for a Jew-hater, the name is enough.)
There are also many Jewish actors, singers, writers, and comedians, all of whom are in the public eye. Jewish characters are portrayed (not always flatteringly) in TV shows and movies. Though it is still possible, even in big cities, to find people who have never met an actual Jew, so many people have been exposed to Judaism in some form.
That’s why I say I have some amount of understanding for the Western antisemites who think we control everything. They do see a lot of us. You might call us “overrepresented.”
There are varied reasons for Jewish “overrepresentation” in certain professions or fields. In short, it comes down to an ethos of education and a history riddled with persecution. However, there is a new philosophical reason for the hatred towards “outsized” Jewish presence in certain fields.
You may have noticed that I put the terms “overrepresented” and “outsized” in quotes. That’s because I think those terms are inherently flawed. Those terms assume that every type of person (i.e. by gender, religion, race, or culture) should be equally represented in each profession, school hallway, movie cast, and more. This idea is based either on some childish sense of “fairness” or a passionate, but confused, belief in equality.
Jews are not the only ones who face backlash for being “overrepresented” in certain arenas. Whenever we hear “there should be more X,” in this field, then the understanding is that “Y” is “overrepresented.” It could be white males in C-suite positions or Asians on college campuses. Interesting that we never hear that Black men are overrepresented in the National Football League.
It would be incredibly wrong (and logistically impossible) to force some system of parity wherein each race, gender, culture, and religion were proportionally represented. Imagine we needed 500 Laotian ballet dancers, but could only find 20 who were interested in pursuing that field. Do we force 480 other Laotians to do ballet, telling them it’s in their best interest because they are “underrepresented” and they’ll give hope to all the little Laotian boys and girls who never thought they could become ballerinas?
Or, do we allow people — based on their own talents, interests, background, and dreams — to decide what to do with their lives, even if that means numbers are unequal?
If the picture I painted sounds ridiculous, it should, but that must be the logical conclusion for those who expect there to be some level of proportional representation in the world. Is it the entire world, or only Western countries which have diverse populations that expect this? Do Japanese or Azerbaijanis or Eritreans assume proportional, diverse representation across various professions, schools, and other aspects of life?
In addition to the cruelty of enforcing such a world, the idea of proportional or equitable representation takes into account only one aspect of a person. Maybe Jews are “overrepresented” in Hollywood, but maybe left-handers are proportionally represented. Maybe the “correct” number of plumbers are introverts and a proportional number of doctors hate cilantro.
Who decides which aspect of a person is the part that warrants representation? Certainly, basing policy on people’s talents and wants makes more sense than something as trivial as the color of their skin.
While antisemitism has deeper causes, this philosophy of “equal representation” fans the flames, providing a seemingly legitimate cover-up for Jew-hatred.
I have no quarrel with the main thesis. But “Jews will not replace us” speaks to something entirely different and darker: that Jews are covertly plotting to replace White Americans, not with themselves, but with 3rd world immigrants beholden to Democrats. And that the Democrats are tools of the Jews to undermine the social structure of the nation and squeeze Whites.
While not mentioning the word, this fine essay alludes to one of the most pernicious, misused concepts which “Progressive” doctrine has forced upon us: “Equity.” (The “E” in “DEI.”) And Jews, along with other ethnic groups which are “over represented” in certain occupations, fields, businesses, etc., are among the most-victimized by this often-stealth attack on meritocracy. I’m gratified that there has finally been some effective backlash against this toxic, highly discriminatory practice.