Are Jewish people part of an ethnicity, a race, a religion, or all of the above?
The Jewish people are a national group whose national identity is of religious origin. Jewish identity and nationhood is defined by Judaism, the way of life of the Jewish people of which religion is a part.Jews are not a religion / religious groupAlthough Jewish identity, its language, values, holidays, culture, etc. derive from Judaism, one does not need to be religious to be Jewish. Judaism defines as Jewish anyone who is born to a Jewish mother or who converts to Judaism in accordance with Jewish law. For those who are born Jewish, a lack of belief does not disqualify them as Jews, and there are plenty of Jews who are secular, agnostic, atheist, etc.Jews are not a raceThis social construct is one which is typically based on immutable physical characteristics, yet it is possible to convert to become Jewish. Additionally, Jewish identity for those who are born Jewish requires matrilineal descent, whereas race is something that is typically hereditary in a way that does not distinguish between parents.Although anyone familiar with Jews and Judaism would recognize that Jews are not a race, this hasn't prevented outsiders from labeling us as such. After the Enlightenment, it became less acceptable to hate Jews for religious reasons, and so social darwinistic racial pseudo-science became the excuse. Hitler and the Nazis were examples of this, defining Jewish identity in racial terms and hating Jews on a racial rather than religious basis (though religion, historically, created the atmosphere of hatred). White supremacists and neo-Nazis continue to define us in racial terms and to hate Jews as a “race”.Despite this, the fact that one can convert to Judaism and that Jews span multiple racial categories (there are Jews who are Caucasian, Black, Hispanic, Asian, etc.) proves this categorization to be false.Jews are not an ethnicityA specific subgroup from a particular area may all share an ethnicity, but there are actually multiple Jewish ethnicities: Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi, etc. In the US where a majority of Jews are Ashkenazi, it is easy to get confused and assume that Jews are an ethnic group because the set of Jews one encounters all share a common ethnicity. However, because the Jewish nation includes multiple ethnic identities within it, it is a mismatch to call Jews an ethnic group.
People tend to separate others based on religion, race, or sex. Why can we not separate right from wrong?
When you break it down, there are a lot of people that classify others based on race, which can be considered racist. Others break it down by man, woman, and transvestite, which is sexist. Others by religion, or sexual orientation, or by region. It seems to me, that no matter what color, sex, religion, etc. we live in, we are meant to be separated by those who do right and those who do wrong. Obviously, when I say that, I mean the more extreme wrongs that would land people into prison. I have seen white, male atheists do well, and asian, female buddhists do wrong. Those are just examples, but every race, sex, and so forth has people within their masses that perform evil deeds, while others are upstanding individuals. I am in no way associated with any religion of others, but the world cannot keep discriminating based on the few bad apples. At this rate, we, as human kind, are doomed to fail. How can we correct this wrong?
Is there a word for religious discrimination; similar to "racism" for race discrimination?
In Europe the word for religious discrimination IS the word ‘racism.’ America is NOT the only place in the world where the word is used.It was coined in France in the 1930’s in reference to the way the Jews were being treated. In addition to the six million of them exterminated, are the 20 million Orthodox Christians also wiped out as racial inferiors by Aryan Supremacists. In Europe, the word is freely used to describe any scenario in which vulnerable groups are mistreated and/or exploited. Religion or ethnicity is a common delineator, but the most common is poverty.The temptation for racism is inherent in hierarchical cultures and has been since the dawn of such cultures. In most places in the world there is still generally only one ‘race’ in the game, necessitating other delineators for racist schemes.Defining racism around literal race actually empowers significant advances in how to address it. An armed resistance is hobbled, forcing the entire population into a nonviolent resistance, which is actually the most effective and definitely, the safest, response. It is unconscionable not to share that with the rest of the world suffering with it. Furthermore, one of the cornerstones of American racism is the dismissal of commonalities on this score. The first slave class in America, from Great Britain, was promoted into the new slave-driving class, and all their natural sympathies towards the new slave class from Africa were perverted into racism. Why would we want to perpetuate that tradition by finding new ways to dismiss one another’s sufferings on this score?
If someone was to dislike someone's culture or religion, not someone's skin color, is this considered racist?
Racism isn’t about hate, that’s bigotry.Racism is about viewing someone of another race as inferior. Yes there’s frequently an element of hate there, but the hate isn’t the defining characteristic, the superiority is.Also, thinking someone is inferior because he’s an unmitigated ass doesn’t become racism just because the ass is a different race than you…the race isn’t why you think he’s inferior, you think that because he keeps proving it to you.Bigotry, however, is not predicated on race, but rather some group characteristic, including culture, religion, country of origin, political leanings, etc. If there’s hate involved, it’s bigotry.Someone can be bigoted and not racist or someone can be both, which is more common.
Have you ever hated your own race?
I don't "hate" my own race (I don't even like the term race, considering there's just one human race). But I will say that I'm pretty reluctant to dating within my ethnicity.Specifically, I have a hard time finding hispanic/latina women attractive when it comes to their personalities and how they carry themselves. This is an overgeneralization, of course, but something I've noticed a lot as I've dated. It's just "different" in an intangible way. Though I don't doubt that many hispanic women are attractive, they're just not for me. An example is the persistent snobbery and vanity I observe in a lot of hispanic girls I've seen in multiple communities, including close to my family (and my own family members). This isn't specific to just my own culture, of course, but for whatever reason, it's everywhere when it comes to hispanic women, at least the ones I've observed.Follow up: Now that I've had some time to think about it, I think I can understand why the faults of my own ethnicity (and maybe for some other people) are so magnified. When you spend a lot of time within your own culture, you're more exposed to the good and bad about them. Normally, people like to date within the same ethnicity for this reason because it's familiar. But if you're brought up like how I was (close family of hispanics surrounded by white americans), then you may find yourself comparing cultures on a consistent basis.This is troublesome because in my case, hispanics can be a bit homogeneous, while white americans tend to be more individualistic. Sure, my white friends have funny quirks about them, including some not-so-great ones, but that's led me to appreciate individualism more than the lack of assimilation I tend to see within my own race. I suspect this is true for other people, as well.
Do you think if everybody married someone from a different race...?
Nope. They can still hate on somebody of another race/ethnicity/religion/culture/etc.
Why are Indians so racist when it comes to darker skinned people?
I am dark skinned myself and given my experience of past 25 years - Indians are probably racists - period. You would obviously find people who are liberal and do not care what color you are - but yes the general sentiment that flows around the country is that dark is bad and must be avoided. Lot of people tend to blaim the Britishers for this discrimination. The fact these sentiments have always been a part of the society even prior to the British rule, makes you believe that the age old Caste System the ultimate culprit. Having said that the caste system merely divided people on the basis of the family they belonged to - Lord Krishna - idolized by millions of Indians himself was a dark skinned.There really is no logical reason behind Indians fantasising about the fair skin. Its more of a mindset problem - Indians thanks to lack of education and awareness still maintain an orthodox outlook towards their beliefs regarding caste and religion. More than being an individual problem, I think its a way of living that the society has adopted to, which I don't see changing anytime soon .... untill, say we have a black super hero.
If hating a race makes you racist, what's it called when you hate a country?
I would consider that "xenophobic". Although the word originally derived from the Greek meaning a fear of different people, it is now used to talk about someone with a hatred toward people from different countries, races etc. Someone from another country who hates Americans solely on the basis of nationality is a xenophobe.