I know if someone who wasn't Jewish told me that they knew how it felt to be Jewish, I'd be a little annoyed. And I'd feel differently based on my perception of whether that person was more/less oppressed based on group identity. Mainline Christian - very annoyed. African American, only a tiny bit. I don't know if that's fair, I'm just being honest.
However, if they said they were more aware of ISSUES regarding Jewish rights worldwide, they might very well be right. And if they said they were more involved in fighting for Jewish civil rights worldwide, they would certainly be correct. And I wouldn't be offended.
I think that's a fine distinction for some but a valid one.
I do agree about listening carefully (and I freely admit I'm not the best listener even in RL). Let's add reading carefully and asking questions before jumping to conclusions.
Unfortunately, I think on-line communication is inherently problematic because you have no voice, or facial or body cues to determine if the person is serious, sarcastic, or anything else. So there's a tendency to grab onto a sentence and take it out of context, or twist it around a little or make a lot more of it than it merits.
Your thoughts are always welcome and worthy of consideration. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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I know if someone who wasn't Jewish told me that they knew how it felt to be Jewish, I'd be a little annoyed. And I'd feel differently based on my perception of whether that person was more/less oppressed based on group identity. Mainline Christian - very annoyed. African American, only a tiny bit. I don't know if that's fair, I'm just being honest.
However, if they said they were more aware of ISSUES regarding Jewish rights worldwide, they might very well be right. And if they said they were more involved in fighting for Jewish civil rights worldwide, they would certainly be correct. And I wouldn't be offended.
I think that's a fine distinction for some but a valid one.
I do agree about listening carefully (and I freely admit I'm not the best listener even in RL). Let's add reading carefully and asking questions before jumping to conclusions.
Unfortunately, I think on-line communication is inherently problematic because you have no voice, or facial or body cues to determine if the person is serious, sarcastic, or anything else. So there's a tendency to grab onto a sentence and take it out of context, or twist it around a little or make a lot more of it than it merits.
Your thoughts are always welcome and worthy of consideration. Thanks for reading and commenting.