MAGA’s big bogeyman
MAGA’s bogeyman billionaire
Donald Trump is fond of equating Zionism with being Jewish. I mention it here because this is principally a piece on anti-Semitism and the misplaced notion that Zionism equates to Jewishness is distinctly anti-Semitic. Jews are as apt to dislike the chillingly fascistic and racist proclivities of some Zionists as much as anyone else.
Similarly, Congressman George Santos’ claim that he wasn’t being Jewish but Jew-ish is also anti-Semitic. What he means to say is that Jews have a type of which he occasionally is one — when he’s in the mood. Apart from being racist it’s a pompous and stupid thing to say. In other words, consistent.
If you doubt any of my assessments try this thought experiment: everywhere I’ve written the word “Jew” substitute the word “black” and imagine getting away with it. I’ll give you a hint: “Oh, you’re black, therefore you must be a member of the Black Panthers.” Or, “I’m not black, but I am sometimes black-like.” See what I mean?
When it comes to bigotry there’s a different standard when applied to Jews and I suspect even the reason for it has a kind of hidden bigotry. Since Jews are often perceived as being “elite” and even “white” (cf. Whoopi Goldberg), they are not perceived as being sufficiently disadvantaged so as to suffer from racial abuse the same way other abused and disadvantaged groups are.
Which brings me to George Soros. There’s a new trope in town and it’s the absurd idea that Mr Soros is funding Donald Trump’s prosecution and that he’s personally paying off Alvin Bragg, Trump’s prosecutor and nemesis. Soros has become the MAGA target of evil, the personification of both “wokeness” and the “radical left.”
This is of course rubbish. MAGAland is once again employing the methods of Josef Goebbels. They repeat this rubbish over and over again until it’s widely believed. And it’s working.
But the most insidious part of this MAGA plot is that Mr Soros is Jewish, and the underlying anti-Semitism isn’t a bug, it’s a feature. MAGAland is refashioning Charlottesville’s slogan “Jews will not replace us” into something they can say out loud and get away with.
George Soros was born in Budapest in 1930 to a non-observant Jewish family. He survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary and came to the United Kingdom in 1947. Today he is an American citizen.
Unlike many wealthy people today, Soros is a supporter of progressive and liberal political causes and, because he’s a self-made billionaire, he’s a natural target of MAGA. Soros has become MAGA’s bogeyman billionaire.
Trump and the drooling cretins who worship him have recently bombarded Mr Bragg’s office with claims of election interference. They have invoked baseless conspiracy theories, including anti-Semitic and racist attacks, that accuse Mr Bragg of leading a Soros-funded politically motivated case against Trump.
Soros doesn’t even know Bragg, and he’s never contributed a penny directly toward any of his campaigns. Soros has contributed to the political action committee affiliated with Color of Change, a nonprofit advocacy group that promotes criminal justice reform and other racial justice causes. Color of Change’s PAC in turn helped get Bragg elected. But there’s no direct connection with George Soros, nor has one ever been established.
This tenuous connection between Bragg and Soros has been seized upon by MAGA and exploited. The fact that Soros is Jewish is the anti-Semitic subtext. MAGA relishes that fact, and if Soros had been just another contributor to left-wing causes he’d probably be overlooked by MAGA. But that he’s a Jew (albeit non-practicing) is all the “proof” they need. It’s part of the dog whistle for the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory alleging a global Jewish plot to manipulate political and financial systems.
The sad part is that Soros and his family are now the targets of death threats. As is true with so many who are persecuted by MAGA zealots, they have become victims. They have done nothing wrong, of course, but that doesn’t change a thing.
The ongoing persecution of innocent Americans by MAGA idiots remains an abiding evil on the American political landscape. It is yet another alarming feature of escalating MAGA hate speech. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.