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The Problem With White Pride

One of the arguments used by far-right extremists is that the burden of blame has been shifted onto them and they have been stripped of the right to feel good and proud of their own race.

I say crap. I am British, white and Jewish and I am proud of all three.

I am proud to be British because Britain has led the way in the world as an example of freedom and democracy. Britain is a caring and compassionate nation and in many ways is an example to the rest of the world, including mainland Europe and North America.

White people have achieved many great things. Some of my greatest historical and present-day heroes (we/a)re white, and I feel good about identifying with them and their achievements (especially one of my greatest heroes, Albert Einstein, hehe...)

There is also a great pride associated with Jewishness, and rightly so. We have a very rich culture to be proud of. And Einstein isn't the only Jewish person to have achieved great things, not by a long way.

But none of this is a superior pride or a shameless pride. It's a kind of "warts and all" pride. Some parts of Britain's history are atrocious. I wish my country were more democratic, caring and freer. Some of my heroes are black, too, and there are aspects of my Jewishness that I am certainly not proud of (such as what’s going on in the middle east right now). I’m not afraid to admit it. I think you need a certain amount of shame to make pride real. Otherwise it becomes fake.

That’s the problem with “white pride”, it’s totally fake and shameless. It’s based on a belief in one’s own superiority and that one can do no wrong. That’s called trying to become a god. That’s why these people can not only defend but promote the atrocities of Hitler. That’s why Ian Gomeche likes them so much. He has the same mentality as these people, even if he doesn’t have the same political beliefs.

Unlike my pride, which comes from a love of our culture and compatriots, white pride is based on a lie. The whole symbolism of it stinks: white=purity. I believe partly that this is what Hitler couldn’t handle: he was talking about racial purity and at the same time trying to exterminate possibly the purest race on earth.

White people aren’t white anyway. There's a well-known piece of black-pride cant which goes:

Yu call yuself white?
Man, when yu born, you pink.
When yu die, yu grey.
When yu angry yu red.
When yu scared, yu yellow.
When you sick, yu green.
When yu tan, yu brown.

My skin is black.
And yu have the nerve to call me coloured?

It’s more about politics than skin colour. Many Jewish people who would class themselves as white have darker skin than some Asian people who call themselves black. Personally, I could pass as Aryan, but Combat 18 wouldn’t let me join if I wanted to.

People sometimes ask me, though, about the Jewish concept of chosenness. Isn't that a superiority thing? Well, I can't speak for every Jew in the world, but certainly for me (and all the Jewish people I know) it's not.

The basic belief is that we were chosen by G-d to receive His word. It’s not implying that we’re superior in any way at all. And it’s not a suggestion that we are favoured by G-d. In fact the opposite is true, the teaching is that G-d will judge Jewish people more harshly because we’re the ones he’s given the responsibility to.

It’s a concept which exists in Christianity too. Christians still believes that G-d revealed the ten commandments to Moses and gave us His word through Hebrew prophets.

Christianity is a fine religion in many ways (apart from being based on the Torah...) with values of tolerance and forgiveness that I love. Jesus' teachings were great (but let's not forget what his religion was, hey? It does nark me when I see art depicting Jesus of Nazareth as this fair-haired, blue-eyed guy. He was a Galilean for goodness sake!) However, I do wish Christians who suggest that chosenness is somehow a creed of arrogance would take a look at their own beliefs.

The Christian belief is that the only way to G-d is through Christ. That means, in effect, “We have a relationship with G-d and we’re going to heaven. You don’t and aren’t.”

Our belief is that it’s the way you live your life that matters, not which brand of religion (if any) you follow. (In fact some Reform Jews don’t believe in an afterlife anyway. And Messianic Jews believe that Jesus actually was the Messiah.) That’s why you don’t get Jews knocking on your door or standing in the street trying to convert you. That’s why you don’t get signs outside synagogues inviting you to “join us in praise”. You’d be welcome, of course, but we are not so arrogant as to think we know only way, so it’s up to you.

I do believe in chosenness, though. I don’t think that makes the Jewish race superior, but I think it makes the Jewish faith G-d-given. Despite centuries of homelessness and persecution, our race has kept the faith and it is as much a part of our culture as it ever has been. I believe it was a gift, and a gift made for sharing, and I thank G-d for it. 

I’m not dissing Christians here, please understand that. Many Christians are wonderful people, full of love, faith and goodness. But Kevin Watmough is a Christian too. Need I say more?

Cyber Rat