Sasha Feoktistov,
Eugene, OR
Jews as a minority group are put in a particularly awkward place. Because we enjoy most if not all of the privileges of being in the white majority, it makes dealing with subtle cases of bias and discrimination particularly delicate. I’m not about to make a stink about always being told “Sasha, you be the banker” when playing Monopoly, nor will I point out to an Asian colleague how offensive the statement, “Jews in America are doing fine, you’re all rich” is (my instinct is to joke, “yea we hire Asian accountants to do our taxes.”). Frankly, these are minor issues, but the discomfort with challenging these subtle slights carries over to more egregious comments about people being “Jewed” or getting “ki*ed out on.” How do you know where to draw the line? How do you stand up for yourself without playing into another stereotype of Jews throwing accusations of antisemitism at everything?
