Why some people just don’t understand Anti-Semitism (The DeSean Jackson Story)
DeSean Jackson is an American football player for the Philadelphia Eagles within the NFL. He has been in the news recently for posting several Anti-Semitic posts on his Instagram stories account. What has made this story so interesting from my perspective, is his response (and the response of another high-profile individual) has shown a complete lack of understanding and awareness towards what Anti-Semitism is and how easy it is to get taken in by fake news.
DeSean Jackson’s posts and subsequent support from former NBA star Stephen Jackson (no relation) came under the guise of wanting to educate people (particularly people within the Black community).
After posting the initial post of an excerpt from a book, it appears likely that DeSean received numerous comments stating how the text he was sharing was offensive and Anti-Semitic. Unperturbed, he doubles down on the point he is trying to make by posting another image of the text zoomed in on the part, he somehow felt justified what he was trying to educate his followers with, while adding he had no hatred in his heart towards “no one”.
Predictably an apology was issued a day later by DeSean following a presumed conversation with his agent and friends (who must have told him this wasn’t the smartest thing to post considering his team’s owner and general manager were both Jewish) and a promise to educate himself on the issue.
Jewish NFL player, Julian Edelman invited him to visit the national Holocaust museum in Washington and a 94-year-old holocaust survivor offered to tour Auschwitz with him, to show him the horrors of a concentration camp first-hand and talk about the Jewish struggle.
Normally, this would be the end of the story and probably would have been if DeSean had any common sense, however, this clearly was not the case as DeSean followed up his public apology by liking a post on Instagram suggesting he shouldn’t have to apologize for his comments.
I never believed DeSean’s initial apology and not because I believe he is a Nazi sympathiser or looking to cause harm to the Jewish community. Unlike many media personalities who spoke on the subject at great length and attempted to explain why or how this happened or just shouted nonsense (Stephen A. Smith). This issue is very simple, DeSean Jackson is an idiot.
Now, some may say that this comment is harsh or overly simplistic and I take no pleasure in calling another Black man an idiot but let’s be real, if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck… you get my point.
Saying idiotic things is nothing to be ashamed about, we probably have all been guilty at some point of making stupid or offensive comments. The best course of action to take when something you say has been highlighted as stupid or offensive, would be to say sorry, express remorse, and (ideally) learn from your mistakes.
What stood out to me when I first saw DeSean’s post, was how an adult could not see the pitfalls of sharing information from Adolf Hitler under the guise of educating your people. For me, this only works if your people are White Supremacy Nazi’s (surprise).
The post starts “Hitler said because the white Jews knows that the Negroes are the real Children of Israel and to keep Americas secret the Jews will blackmail America”.
Now low and behold, Adolf Hitler said no such thing, and this is a made-up quote. Some might argue that there was no way for DeSean to know this and it was simply naivety on his part. Other’s may argue that as it was written in a book, DeSean had no reason to believe it wasn’t authentic. If you fall into this category, I’ve got some harsh news for you as well, you are an idiot.
I shouldn’t have to say this in 2020 but something written in a book does not make it true. If I hand you a book that explains how the world is flat, you would not take it as gospel (unless your Kyrie Irving). As human’s we have critical reasoning skills for a purpose, while some may argue that DeSean is demonstrating being a ‘Free Thinker” by challenging the status quo, all he is doing is repeating the same Anti-Semitic tropes that have been repeated through history. Anti-Semitism like racism is one of the oldest forms of hatred, rooted in ignorance and fear.
Hitler for those who don’t know preached about the superiority of the ‘Master Race’ and held a belief that the Aryan race should dominate and rule the world. While we all know that Hitler wasn’t a fan of the Jews, it should come as no surprise to anyone that he also wasn’t a big fan of Black people either. I would have hoped that DeSean would have thought about this before deciding to share this nugget of “information” with his 1.4 million followers.
What is so baffling to me about this incident, was that former NBA star, Stephen Jackson then wades into the defence of DeSean by coming out and saying he was trying to educate himself and others and speaking the truth.
As a Black man what I have found so frustrating about this entire saga has been the inability of DeSean to articulate the point he was trying to make as well as Stephen Jackson choosing to insert himself into the picture to defend the indefensible and thus taking away the great work he has been doing campaigning for justice for George Floyd in Minnesota.
Predictably, Stephen Jackson came out a day later and apologised for using “wrong words” while also telling us how he has “Jewish friends”. He clearly fails to see the irony in using the classic excuse of every person who offends an entire group of people of “I have (Black, Gay, Disabled, Jewish etc,) friends”, showing how ridiculous this whole saga has become.
Reading comments on social media you will predictably find many people defending DeSean’s comments as either his right to free speech or supporting him for sharing the truth and questioning how what he posted was even Anti-Semitic. Many of the comments I have read echoed the familiar sentiment, with comments such as “everyone knows they are the riches people, they run the world and they aren’t the real Jews of the bible”.
What also strikes me is these comments were shared from people not hiding behind Twitter names such as “@luke69862522671” or accounts mysteriously created 1 day ago but from many people who felt fine to share their real details in public forums.
Anti-Semitism is rife simply because so many people are unaware of what it is and often conflate stereotypes, even positive ones, as facts or compliments. In 2018 even Lebron James had to issue an apology for sharing a lyric about “Jewish money” on social media — saying he thought it was a compliment. A seemingly positive comment linking Jewish people with money is one of the oldest and most pervasive slurs against the Jewish community.
This week reminded me of a conversation I had at an old job. I was talking with some colleagues about football (soccer) and how well Tottenham had done in reaching the Champions League final on a limited budget. A colleague who had recently joined responded by saying it wasn’t a surprise since Daniel Levy (the chairmen) was good with money as a Jew.
What shocked me about this comment was just how flippant it was made and how seemingly unaware the guy was that what he had said was offensive. Now, I would love to say how I stopped him and told him why what he just said was wrong and offensive but I’m going to keep this 100% real with you. I said nothing and after a momentary pause when the group looked awkwardly at each other, we resumed the conversation.
This interaction has stayed with me as the comments were made from a young Black man who had joined the company. In a corporate environment when there are so few of us, it is always a joyous occasion to meet someone who looks like you, and I was happy to finally have another brotha in the room. My failure to speak to him about his comment bothers me as just like DeSean Jackson, I do not feel he said it to cause offence or was even aware of why it was offensive. He was showing what so many people fail to understand, a complete lack of understanding towards what Anti-Semitism is.
Now I know there will people who read this and will continue to argue that what DeSean Jackson posted was the truth and wasn’t offensive etc. I don’t expect to change their minds or care to engage its debates surrounding why the Black man is the real child of Israel or how Jewish people secretly control the world. These people will not change their views as this narrative allows them to mask whatever shortcomings or insecurities that exist in their own life.
What I will say, is that whenever seeking to educate yourself and others, read different sources, go for a walk and mull over what you have read and found out if there are viewpoints that differ from it. Also, be prepared to be able to defend your position to others. Most importantly, and I can’t stress this enough, DO NOT build your argument off the back of a made-up Hitler quote!
