Image via WikipediaNeither necessary nor sufficient in a court of law, but a reasonable working hypothesis.
Western civilization has come a long way from trial by fire to the pinnacle beyond reasonable doubt. But just as any gold standard has its ideal application in matters of highest import and consequence, a reasonably effective and efficient acid test has its domain of applicability. And because of its diminished applicability, when it comes to an acid test, one size does not fit all. Nor does one flavor suit every taste.
People are naturally deceptive. If you don't accept that premise, then there is nothing here for you. Go look elsewhere for Mother Teresa ... Still here? Well then, you will frequently need to develop screening processes to select congenial candidates for friendship or other relationships. But first, know thyself.
At least have the good sense to know your own prejudices. We all have them, whether we are willing to acknowledge them in public or not. Usually, we are willing to acknowledge those that we secretly admire. For example, I have no problem admitting a bias for leading an ace from a holding that also includes the king in that suit. My only exception to this personal bias in defending at bridge is when my ace-king holding is a doubleton. And so, when choosing a partner for a game of bridge, I will usually disclose such a bias.
Having come to terms with and prioritized one's own biases, one proceeds to find compatible companionship in the wide world of individual collections of biases, most of which are far more offensive than the innocent varieties that tend to be disclosed without dissembling. There's the rub, the dissembling, and concomitantly the need for a set of acid tests.
Now for the purpose of this personal post — what is a useful working acid-test for Jew-hatred? For anyone who prefers friendship with people who aren't Jew-haters, not merely with those who only profess not to be Jew-haters, one needs a personal acid test that cuts through the layers of dissembling by those who are unwilling to flaunt their bigotry.
In the long sordid history of Jew-hatred there was, until relatively recent times, no need for such an acid test. People had the decency to embrace their bigotry and, indeed, not only flaunt it but crusade for it. But in the wake of the Holocaust, even though many are now crusading against its veracity, there are those who despicably deny harboring such prejudice. The trick is to trust but verify such denials. Enter the trustworthy acid test.
An acid test is a defense that needs to evolve with ever more unscrupulous offenses. No longer will a closet Jew-hater make do with the old standby, "Some of my best friends are Jewish". Anyone who buys that load of shit is a mark for beach-front property in Arizona.
My own acid test, which admittedly is not infallible and will not suit everyone who needs one, is a declaration of an incongruent animosity towards Israel. In my humble opinion, Israel is not a nation without faults. But it is far and away superior in every reasonable domain of valuation than all of the cesspools of humanity that surround it and threaten its existence. So, just as anti-Semitism was merely code for Jew-hatred, anti-Zionism is just code for anti-Semitism. It works for me.
And for me, that's all that matters.
Post 1,561 The Making of an Acid Test
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