If they aren't calling you Kike to your face, you know they're thinking it
The year is 1965. I'm a child of twelve and living in Skokie, Illinois. At that time, it's hard to find a more Jewish community in the United States. On my block, there were two families that weren't Jewish. One was a friend of mine who lived across the street. The other included a adult man who lived on the corner. There were a lot of families that included men who fought in World War 2.
One day most of the neighborhood kids were playing ball in the street. That was a regular thing...nothing new there. Someone hit the ball onto the man on the corner's lawn. That happened regularly, too. My friend and I went to get the ball. The only thing new to us was his response:
"Hey Kikes! Keep your fucking kike ball off my lawn and keep your fucking kike asses off my lawn, too. Now get the fuck out of here."
That was my first experience with antisemitism. As we were running back to the game, we were laughing because he had picked the one non-Jewish kid on the block to call that name.
The game went on as if nothing had happened. We were young kids, what did we know about this. That changed soon afterwards. I went inside and told my parents what happened. I remember telling the story as if it was not a big deal...as if it was an every day occurrence. That changed as I saw the look on the face of my parents and a cousin who was visiting that day. It was a look of anger and sadness. The two men had both fought in World War 2 and you know they had to be thinking about that as I told them what happened.
My dad and my cousin left the house together. They never said what happened but I know they went to have a conversation with our neighbor on the corner. I imagine it wasn't very pleasant for him and really for any of them.
The ballgames continued and the ball still ended up on his lawn. We'd retrieve it and he would just look at us. He never said another word to us but in his mind you know he was thinking "Kike".
It's now more than fifty years since that event and more than seventy years since the end of World War 2. And yet, here we are again. In reality, it's now worse than it was in 1965. They think they have an ally in our current President. That's why we see an increase in swastikas on synagogues and events like what happened in Charlottesville on Saturday. When he doesn't call them out by name, members of the KKK, Neo-nazi's and all white supremacists groups feel emboldened. Doing it two days later is two days too late.
Hey Mr. President, I know these people are a small part of your base but while you're pandering to them for their vote, they're thinking about your beloved daughter, her husband and your grandchildren. What they're thinking is Kikes.
It's 2017. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Related Post: It's Not Easy Being Jewish In 2015
Type your email address in the box and click the "create subscription" button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.