# why do jews get a pass when it comes to racism? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 6, 2011, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370 "2011-04-06T06:35:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/101 "2011-04-06T16:01:51Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > In my first post in this thread, I utterly dismissed the idea that this could be called racism, because the word doesn’t reach this conduct. > > I was a bit more gentle with the notion of it being bigotry, because while I admit that the word can fit the conduct, I don’t agree it’s the most useful way to describe what’s happening. > > In my opinion, when we speak of bigotry, we speak of – and imply – a pervasive animus. But that’s not what’s going on in most cases of fighting against interfaith marriages. I can easily cite statistics that show that most Jewish interfaith marriages result in less involvement in Jewish traditions for the children. When a couple says that they’ll raise children with both Christmas and Chanukkah celebrations, the underlying message is, in my opinion, “Religion is an _a la carte_ cafeteria line; pick and choose what pleases you and go with it.” This is contrary to Jewish observant tradition (and, indeed, to Christian tradition). > > A father forbidding his daughter to marry outside his faith is not necessarily motivated by a general animus against other faiths, but by the more positive quality of seeking to maintain his faith and its traditions. This is not fairly described as bigotry; it’s not a useful word to capture what’s happening. Change “faith” to “race” in that last paragraph and see how it scans. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/102 "2011-04-06T16:05:48Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Huh? I have no idea what you’re talking about here. I didn’t say anything about environmentalists or strip miners. Yeah, that idiosyncratic, absolutist, dogmatic, erroneous definition that you’re using to support casting your mistaken claims as gospel truth isn’t particularly rational or applicable beyond this corner you’re painting yourself into. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > No, it’s bigotry to say we will NOT accept you as long as you don’t conform to our own personal superstitions," As you are simply going to keep repeating the same absolutist, dogmatic, erroneous comments with no support other than your say-so, casting your opinions as facts, I don’t see this going anywhere. You keep arguing “anybody who wants to become part of our group is welcome to if they’re sincere” is a bigoted position, I’ll just leave it at that, on that issue. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/103 "2011-04-06T16:09:54Z")
You keep trying to change the goal posts. We’re not talking about people who want to be part of a group, we’re talking about people who want to _marry_ somebody in a group. That’s not the same thing. When I married my Catholic wife, I wasn’t asking to be a Catholic. Saying that anyone who has no interest in your religion is unfit to marry your daughter is bigotry, plain and simple. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/104 "2011-04-06T16:10:09Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m not blaming Jews for that collectively. I’m just pointing out, for the sake of accuracy, that it’s not always as simple as ‘once you convert, you’re good.’ It pretty much is though. There’s debate over which the correct type of conversion is, but there is no sect that believes that once someone has undergone the ‘proper’ conversion, that they’re not a real Jew. > [@](#): > > Her mother had converted to Judaism when she married my friend’s father, but even 20 years later the father’s parents didn’t really accept the mother as Jewish. Eh… idiots abound. The traditional position is: [ > [@](#): > > Converts are dearer to God than the Jews who stood at Mt. Sinai. Why? Because had those Jews not beheld the thunder and lightning, the mountains quaking and the sounds of the horn, they would not have accepted the Torah. But the convert, who saw none of these things, came and voluntarily embraced the Torah and the Jewish people. Could anyone be more beloved to God? (Midrash Tanhuma B Lech Lecha 6) ]([http://www.unisyn.org/our\_community/conversion\_judaism.htm](http://www.unisyn.org/our_community/conversion_judaism.htm)) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/105 "2011-04-06T16:10:50Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Change “faith” to “race” in that last paragraph and see how it scans. You weren’t talking to me, but okay! [QUOTE=nobody whatsodamnever] A father forbidding his daughter to marry outside his race is not necessarily motivated by a general animus against other races, but by the more positive quality of seeking to maintain his race and its traditions. This is not fairly described as bigotry; it’s not a useful word to capture what’s happening. [/QUOTE] Now, I DO have a problem with the father’s actions here, because he is seeking to control his daughter’s life in an inappropriate and odious fashion. But I’d still agree with Bricker that _bigotry_ is the wrong word to use here. The father and daughter may come from a long persecuted minority, such as the American Indians here, or the Jews in much of Europe\*, that is in danger of becoming so few in number, or so assimilated to the larger culture, that it will no longer exist. I can understand the impulse to want to prevent that, and I refuse to call it categorically dishonorable.. I would not criticize the daughter in this case for wishing to only marry about Creek, or another Jew, et cetera. Hell, I’ll even grant that persons from majority groups may still reasonably choose to marry within the group. The father’s forbidding is wrong because of its intrusive nature. \*I’m not saying Jews have never been persecuted in the United States. I’m must saying it’s never reached the level of trying to exterminate them. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/106 "2011-04-06T16:15:11Z")
So what if a minority becomes smaller in number? That’s the same stupid fear you always hear expressed by white racists. “If we intermarry, the white race will disappear.” So what if it does. Who gives a shit? Why does any “racial” group need to be perpetuated? Why is it bad if it gets assimilated into a larger genetic population? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/107 "2011-04-06T16:17:41Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Eh… idiots abound. That’s all I was saying. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/108 "2011-04-06T16:31:09Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > So what if a minority becomes smaller in number? That’s the same stupid fear you always hear expressed by white racists. “If we intermarry, the white race will disappear.” So what if it does. Who gives a shit? Obviously the persons making the complaint care. The history of Native Americans in this country, for instance, is a cycle of genocide, perpetuated not merely by violence but also by elimination of their culture. It seems reasonable to me for a Creek or Tlingit or whatever to decide that his or her culture’s traditions and history are valuable enough that she or he will only marry persons of the same tribe, and so give the tribe a better chance of existing into the future. And if Tlingits have such a right, why shouldn’t Irish or Italians or English? It seems to me that the right to control your romantic and reproductive life is nearly absolute; the only reasonable limitation is that you may not force another person to date, couple with, or marry you. I prefer – in fact, I insist – on using the word _racism_ only to describe immoral and unethical actions motivated by race, and thus exercising an indisputable right can never be racist. The racism only comes into play if you try to coerce others into following your preferences, whether by force, intimidation, emotional manipulation, or color of law. > [@](#): > > Why does any “racial” group need to be perpetuated? Why is it bad if it gets assimilated into a larger genetic population? You obviously do not feel that such a thing is valuable. Others disagree. I contend that by painting their opinions as racist, you are attempting to coerce (or at least manipulate) others into holding your opinions, and that, in my view, is wrong. And no, I am not calling you a racist. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/109 "2011-04-06T16:32:16Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > How can it be racism if a person can convert to get into the group? Race isn’t something you can change, and it’s not exactly elitist if they’ll pretty much let anyone in the group if the person wants in. This. It’s a religious thing, not a racial thing. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/110 "2011-04-06T16:48:10Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Change “faith” to “race” in that last paragraph and see how it scans. I believe a principled distinction may be drawn between race and religion. Race is an immutable characteristic and religion is not. This does not authorize wholesale invidious discrimination on the basis of religion, mind you, but it does form the basis for an acceptable reason to discriminate on marriage partners. And that’s really the bottom line. I think our society is not prepared to recognize as reasonable any _per se_ racial factors, but is prepared to recognize religious factors when they involve marriage choices. Obviously you, personally, regard religion as mere superstitution, and thus devalue decisions based on religion as being unworthy of respect, but this attitude is not shared by the majority of society. I will grant that society would be slightly less forgiving of a parent’s attempt to impose a religious choice on their offspring’s marriage. I think most people would regard this as the adult child’s choice… but of course it is the adult child’s choice. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/111 "2011-04-06T16:49:02Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Obviously the persons making the complaint care. The history of Native Americans in this country, for instance, is a cycle of genocide, perpetuated not merely by violence but also by elimination of their culture. It seems reasonable to me for a Creek or Tlingit or whatever to decide that his or her culture’s traditions and history are valuable enough that she or he will only marry persons of the same tribe, and so give the tribe a better chance of existing into the future.[ > > And if Tlingits have such a right, why shouldn’t Irish or Italians or English? Nobody’s saying any of them shouldn’t have a right. They’re all bigots, though. > [@](#): > > It seems to me that the right to control your romantic and reproductive life is nearly absolute Tell that to parents who refuse to let thir kids marrry outside of prescribed goups. > [@](#): > > the only reasonable limitation is that you may not force another person to date, couple with, or marry you. I prefer – in fact, I insist – on using the word _racism_ only to describe immoral and unethical actions motivated by race You’re trying to change the definition. Racism is an attititude or a belief, not an action. > [@](#): > > and thus exercising an indisputable right can never be racist. So burning a cross, using racial profanity, believing in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion or writing _The Turner Diaries_ isn’t racist? By your definition, David Duke isn’t racist. > [@](#): > > You obviously do not feel that such a thing is valuable. Nor should anyone else. > [@](#): > > Others disagree. So what? My question is why. > [@](#): > > I contend that by painting their opinions as racist, you are attempting to coerce (or at least manipulate) others into holding your opinions. Nope, just calling it for what it is. I don’t demand, or even request that they change it. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/112 "2011-04-06T17:11:48Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > [QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer, who loves his new suit so much it would make him question his heterosexuality if he hadn’t ogled the salesgirl so much] > > Obviously the persons making the complaint care. The history of Native Americans in this country, for instance, is a cycle of genocide, perpetuated not merely by violence but also by elimination of their culture. It seems reasonable to me for a Creek or Tlingit or whatever to decide that his or her culture’s traditions and history are valuable enough that she or he will only marry persons of the same tribe, and so give the tribe a better chance of existing into the future. > > And if Tlingits have such a right, why shouldn’t Irish or Italians or English? > Nobody’s saying any of them shouldn’t have a right. They’re all bigots, though. Tell that to parents who refuse to let thir kids marrry outside of prescribed goups. [/quote] As I wrote, I feel the offense there is being improperly controlling, not racism. And in my experience, American parents don’t _let_ their adult children marry; they stand and watch. And, um, pay for the wedding. > [@Dio](#): > > [QUOTE=the guy who wears suits all the time, even on casual Friday, out of what can frankly be described only as terrible vanity] > > the only reasonable limitation is that you may not force another person to date, couple with, or marry you. I prefer – in fact, I insist – on using the word racism only to describe immoral and unethical actions motivated by race You’re trying to change the definition. Racism is an attititude or a belief, not an action. [/quote] I’m not sure why you felt that was worth pointing out, as I specified that that was exactly what I was doing. I wouldn’t say that I am changing the definition, though. I am specifying exactly what I mean when I call an action racist. I am a large and burly black fellow. People often meet me and assume that I played football in high school, when in fact I don’t even know the rules of football, and more than once I’ve been asked to join company games based only on my size and race. The assumption these people make is based on _racial prejudgments_, but I would not – no, I refuse – to call the presumption _racist_, but it is not harmful to me, nor is it motivated by animus. Contraiwise, it’s sometimes happened that people, seeing me on a rare non-tie-wearing day and in raggedy clothes, have feared that I might be a mugger, and making that judgment tried to flee my presence. _That_ is closer to being racist, but it’s still not all the way there, because any person has the right to choose to run down the street like a nincompoop, though of course I will mock them for doing so. But if the person fearing me reports to the police that I attempted violence, and if the police then harass or arrest me based only on the color of my skin, that is racism. Reasonable persons may disagree on the definitions of words. A friend of mine contends, quite honestly, that racism includes acting from a position of power, and thus members of an oppressed minirity cannot be racist. I disagree, but I understand her position. [QUOTE=Dio] [QUOTE=the guy who just caught himself admiring the cut of his own jib and is suitably embarassed] thus exercising an indisputable right can never be racist. [/QUOTE] So burning a cross, using racial profanity, believing in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion or writing _The Turner Diaries_ isn’t racist? By your definition, David Duke isn’t racist. [/QUOTE] It seems to me that you’re being disingenous. Burning a cross on other’s property, believing the Protocols of Zion, & writing the Turner Diaries are not indisputable rights in the way that deciding whom one will not date, couple with, or marry are. [QUOTE=Dio] [QUOTE=the guy who likes suits] You obviously do not feel that such a thing is valuable. [/QUOTE] Nor should anyone else. [/QUOTE] You do not have the right to determine what others feel or believe. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/113 "2011-04-06T17:18:39Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > How are political opinions comprable to religion? This is a stupid analogy. A person being outside of your religious group does not inhibit basic intellectual compatibility the way a difference in politics does. As others have pointed out, just the opposite is true. A Hasidic Jew marrying a devout Catholic would almost certainly have vastly more issues to deal with than a liberal marrying a conservative. Now if you wish to say that parents who stopped speaking to their daughter if she married a Republican are bigots, then go ahead, which for the sake of intellectual consistency you’d have to believe, but that will simply make you look foolish. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/114 "2011-04-06T17:20:38Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > **Bricker** specified a “liberal” and a “conservative,” which leaves out room for moderates. His hypothetical essentially stipulated that the political differences were sharp. The notion that conservatives and liberals are more different than (say) a Muslim and a Christian is patently absurd on its face. > [@](#): > > This isn’t a claim I ever made, so why should I have to find a cite for it? > No, read the OP. We’re talking about a girl who said her _parents_ would not allow her to marry a goyim. > > If an atheist parent forbids his child from marrying a theist, then yes, that is bigoted. Once again, I ask directly - are you of the opinion that the statement “I will not marry a non-Jew” is not bigoted? Because unless you are, the distinction you draw - which has no substance in reality, since the OP was clearly not simply concerned with the one example - is meaningless, a red herring. BTW, this is the opening sentence to the OP: > [@](#): > > Many jews will only marry other jews. Or, if you are willing to convert, a jew might marry the party that converts (assuming it is ok with the jewish family, jewish person in the relationship, or whoever is putting pressure on the jew to not marry a non-jew). Closing sentence: > [@](#): > > If I love you in every way but won’t marry you because you aren’t of the same religion, color, or whatever, doesn’t that make me an elitist and a racist by definition? So you are shit outta luck, moving the goalposts. He’s clearly talking about personal decisions, whether or not made under family pressure. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/115 "2011-04-06T17:23:44Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > As I wrote, I feel the offense there is being improperly controlling, not racism. And in my experience, American parents don’t _let_ their adult children marry; they stand and watch. And, um, pay for the wedding. What they can actually do about it is irrelevant. I had a racist grandmother who got angry at me once for dating a black girl (it lasted like 20 seconds), and told me never to bring her around her house. There was nothing she could do to stop it, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t a bigot. > [@](#): > > It seems to me that you’re being disingenous. Burning a cross on other’s property, believing the Protocols of Zion, & writing the Turner Diaries are not indisputable rights in the way that deciding whom one will not date, couple with, or marry are. Yes they are. All of those things are indisputable First Amendment rights (and I just said “burning a cross,” I didn’t say “on other people’s property”). Have you never heard of the First Amendment? You know what is NOT an indisputible right? Who you will marry. That’s totally up to the government. > [@](#): > > You do not have the right to determine what others feel or believe. All I’m doing is observing it and calling it out for what it is. It’s pretty lame to say that I don’t have a right to call it the way I see it. Yes I do. Check the First Amendment again. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/116 "2011-04-06T17:24:17Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Yes. We’re talking about parents imposing stnadrds on who their kids marry. How does this contradict me? Are you suggesting that girl was lying? Even if she was, so what? The premise for discussion still stands - is it “bigoted” to forbid your kids to marry outside of your own religious group? Of course it is. I’m amazed that anyone is trying to defend it. **No one would defend it if it was a Muslim father forbidding his daughter to marry a non-Muslim**. Considering the fact that intermarriage rates amongst Muslims in western countries are vastly lower than intermarriage rates amongst Jews that is a fairly ridiculous statement. As it is, most Muslim families I know would object to their daughters marrying outside the faith and I don’t think anyone classifies them as bigots. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/117 "2011-04-06T17:25:30Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > As others have pointed out, just the opposite is true. > A Hasidic Jew marrying a devout Catholic would almost certainly have vastly more issues to deal with than a liberal marrying a conservative. > > Now if you wish to say that parents who stopped speaking to their daughter if she married a Republican are bigots, then go ahead, which for the sake of intellectual consistency you’d have to believe, but that will simply make you look foolish. Those parents WOULD be bigots, and I didn’t say that religion _couldn’t_ be divisive, just that it doesn’t _have_ to be, wherein sharp political differences, by definition do have to be. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/118 "2011-04-06T17:28:27Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > The notion that conservatives and liberals are more different than (say) a Muslim and a Christian is patently absurd on its face I used to work for a Christian woman married to a Muslim man. No problems there. They were both political liberals. I also didn’t say that religion _can’t_ be divisive, only that it doesn’t _have_ to be, while sharp political difference DO have to be. > [@](#): > > Once again, I ask directly - are you of the opinion that the statement “I will not marry a non-Jew” is not bigoted? No. I am of the opinion that it’s bigoted. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/119 "2011-04-06T17:29:56Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Those parents WOULD be bigots, and I didn’t say that religion _couldn’t_ be divisive, just that it doesn’t _have_ to be, wherein sharp political differences, by definition do have to be. Ah, so now you’re trying to compare “sharp political differences” to mere “religious differences”. Nice shifting the goal posts. Common sense tells us that “sharp religious differences” between two people who are married are vastly more divisive than “sharp political differences.” ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370/120 "2011-04-06T17:32:03Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I used to work for a Christian woman married to a Muslim man. No problems there. They were both political liberals. > > I also didn’t say that religion _can’t_ be divisive, only that it doesn’t _have_ to be, while sharp political difference DO have to be. No they don’t. My best friend was a political liberal married to a conservative. > [@](#): > > No. I am of the opinion that it’s bigoted. Then the distinction you are attempting to draw makes no difference. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-jews-get-a-pass-when-it-comes-to-racism/577370.md?page=7)