# I spent a week living with a racist birther **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 28, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147 "2013-03-28T01:24:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147/41 "2013-03-29T17:39:53Z")
> [@Tollhouse](#): > > Ok, so this just basically reinforced my observation…the op somehow feels he can define what makes a person Jewish ‘enough’ > In his post he belittles the familys seder observance, his marriage to a non Jew, and comment on his children who are being raised in an interfaith family > > The father of someone I am close to refuses to go to this one synagogue anymore, after another member made a snarky comment about the fact his mother isnt Jewish, and afterall he is dating a reform Jew, as if this somehow adds an added layer of nominal Jewishness > > Of course this happens in other religions too, if you havent had confession in x amount, then you must not be a ‘serious Catholic’ etc > > I hate that kind of religious policing by others who seem to feel they are in a position to define what is Jewish, or Catholic, or Baptist or etc enough You are utterly missing the point. It’s not about who is _Jewish enough_ to do anything. It’s about noticing when sets of actions are incongruent with each other and noting it. There is no litmus test to being Jewish and certainly none **PRR** is suggesting. What he is saying that his host seemed, to **PRR** , to be using his Judaism as another excuse to slam the President, while seeming to ignore it in other aspects. **PRR** maybe wrong about it, but at least criticize him for what’s he’s actually asserting. I’m sure **PRR** would have no issue with a nominally observant Jew doing an attempt at a Seder if the person wasn’t also arguing his deeply held Judaism gives him even more credibility and right to slam the President. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147/42 "2013-03-29T19:02:19Z")
> [@Tollhouse](#): > > I dont understand your comment..? Have no idea what ‘prr’ is either > > ..The only comment I made was regarding the op who felt his friend was not Jewish enough, critiquing his Seder observance, and marriage to a non jew > > I hate that kind of thing, someone acting as the religion police feeling they are the spokesperson for the religion to decide whats Jewish enough > [@Chimera](#): > > And you feel the need to hijack this entire thread for something you should take to the pit? PIT ! PIT ! PIT ! Two men enter, one man leaves! Seriously, this is a dumb ass highjack. PRR is the **pseudotriton ruber ruber** , you are apparently a cookie, and the thread is about someone who has to hang with a friend who’s drifted away into dittohead land. PRR did well in a tough situation and told a story. ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147/43 "2013-03-29T19:19:26Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > You are utterly missing the point. > > It’s not about who is _Jewish enough_ to do anything. It’s about noticing when sets of actions are incongruent with each other and noting it. There is no litmus test to being Jewish and certainly none **PRR** is suggesting. What he is saying that his host seemed, to **PRR** , to be using his Judaism as another excuse to slam the President, while seeming to ignore it in other aspects. **PRR** maybe wrong about it, but at least criticize him for what’s he’s actually asserting. > > I’m sure **PRR** would have no issue with a nominally observant Jew doing an attempt at a Seder if the person wasn’t also arguing his deeply held Judaism gives him even more credibility and right to slam the President. The point is that the op felt his friend should not hold certain beliefs about another person (in this case obama, but fill in the blank with anyone else) based on how the op perceived his friend to practice his religion. He formed certain judgments about his friend that he was not Jewish enough to be able to have those opinions on obama. He felt that for example, his marriage to a Catholic, implies he is not a strong enough Jew, or Jewish enough to speak on those issues with obama If he had said the prayer perfectly, or married a jew rather than a gentile, the op would feel he is qualified to speak on obama ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147/44 "2013-03-29T20:27:26Z")
> [@Tollhouse](#): > > If he had said the prayer perfectly, or married a jew rather than a gentile, the op would feel he is qualified to speak on obama If my friend had said the prayer well, gone through the whole Haggadah, brought his kids up Jewish, then I would concede that he had earned the right to speak from the position of being an observant Jew. I would still disagree violently with his stupid mischaracterizations of the President, of course, but I wouldn’t criticize him for wrapping the shawl of Judaism around himself as he said those ignorant remarks. I had a lot to criticize him for–this was just the cherry on the cake. Any time I think I’m a better Jew than someone else, that’s tantamount to saying he’s a pretty poor specimen of a Jew. He’s the kind of birther who gives birthers a bad name, and the kind of Jew whose actions encourage anti-semitism. He doesn’t know a thing, as far as I can tell, about Torah, about Jewish law, about the history of Judaism, about the Hebrew language, about Jewish philosophy, and I’m supposed to respect his views because he calls himself a Jew? Please. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147/45 "2013-03-29T21:19:05Z")
> [@Tollhouse](#): > > The point is that the op felt his friend should not hold certain beliefs about another person (in this case obama, but fill in the blank with anyone else) based on how the op perceived his friend to practice his religion. He formed certain judgments about his friend that he was not Jewish enough to be able to have those opinions on obama. He felt that for example, his marriage to a Catholic, implies he is not a strong enough Jew, or Jewish enough to speak on those issues with obama > > If he had said the prayer perfectly, or married a jew rather than a gentile, the op would feel he is qualified to speak on obama Nope. You are just repeating your mistaken characterization. It’s about credibility, not religion. Anyway, **PRR** doesn’t need me white-knighting him, so I’ve had my say and I’ll leave it at that. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147/46 "2013-03-29T21:26:25Z")
I knew a guy who was a white supremacist, had a few tats even. His girlfriend was from Somalia, came to the USA as a refugee as a child. Mind boggling’ ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147/47 "2013-03-29T23:44:11Z")
Don’t you figure these white supremacy guys are just such losers that the only group that will have them, and the only way they can get anybody’s attention is by becoming a white supremacist? Then you gasp and stare, and they got your attention. Ha-ha! Jeremy Renner did a movie called _Neo Ned_ about a messed-up punk who gets involved with some white supremacists and then falls in love with a black woman. (Highly recommend the movie.) ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147/48 "2013-03-30T00:03:01Z")
Sounds like a great time! I hear ya, though. Like most here, I’m an atheist. I find it funny to pretend to be a Christian. You can really impress people with the knowledge you have about the bible. It’s just so much easier to get along with people than be right. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147/49 "2013-03-30T06:15:51Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Why would I joke about that? I mean, I argue politics with my friends, I argue politics with my parents, I argue politics with my wife. It’s just politics. You’re \*supposed \*to argue about it. I don’t argue politics with anyone. Due to the nature of my job I’ll _discuss_ it with my boss and co-workers but by and large I make a point of keeping my political opinions to myself when they differ from those of the people I’m speaking with IRL. It is, IMHO, breathtakingly unlikely that someone is going to say “Gosh, you’re absolutely right! Here I was staunchly defending the Silly Party and their policies, but I have seen the light thanks to you and shall vow here and now to henceforth support the Sensible Party.” ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147/50 "2013-03-30T08:23:11Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Nope. You are just repeating your mistaken characterization. It’s about credibility, not religion. Anyway, **PRR** doesn’t need me white-knighting him, so I’ve had my say and I’ll leave it at that. I’ll just cut in here to agree with IvoryTowerDenizen. I agree with his characterisation. We’re all free to our opinions. Count me on the liberal side. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147/51 "2013-03-30T10:41:15Z")
bottom line - why did he want a guest who he knew voted for a president he hates? either he wanted to convert/save you or he wanted to pick a fight. either would be not the least enjoyable for me, sounds like for you, too. would you visit him again? ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147/52 "2013-03-30T13:10:20Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > bottom line - why did he want a guest who he knew voted for a president he hates? > > either he wanted to convert/save you or he wanted to pick a fight. either would be not the least enjoyable for me, sounds like for you, too. > > would you visit him again? Probably not. As I said, he didn’t mind introducing all sorts of political firebombs and taking extreme positions on them in front of me despite (very probably) understanding that I wouldn’t be agreeing with any of them. It’s a type of cluelessness, I think, the assumption that any reasonable, right-thinking person will naturally agree with his specious and offensive hate-filled nonsense simply because everyone agrees except the secret Muslim brotherhood that controls this country. There was really no point in arguing–his arguments self-destructed all by themselves. He would assert how super-patriotic he was, and then in the next breath start ranting about how the elected US government should be deposed by any means necessary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-spent-a-week-living-with-a-racist-birther/654147.md?page=2)