Hello, Phil.
My name is Lacey Schwartz. I am a Jew from Woodstock, New York. I am curious as to what you think, as you are a white New Yorker, who was Jewish for eight week, and I'm a Jewish New Yorker, who has been lost in identity as I find out I am biologically half black, but raised by two white parents. As a white man, you experienced a nuanced change within your life. Your mother's doctor was hesitant to assign you to a Jewish-named doctor, your child was called derogatory slurs, and you were denied entry into a "restricted" inn. All of that was in eight weeks. I am a Jew for as long as I have been alive, yet people aren't concerned with that at all. They prefer to care about whether I'm black or white because of my skin hue and my curly hair instead of my religious upbringings. If I put my last name down and the secretary looked up to see a white person, that secretary would assume this white person is Jewish, and place all the stereotypes about Jews ingrained in the secretary's head on this white person. If that same name was put down and the secretary saw me, she would assume I am black, and therefore associate black stereotypes ingrained in her with me. Should we look into religious affiliations based on race? If being brown or tan brings the a priori assumption that that one person is a Muslim, then why does being white have to be the norm for a Christian or Jew?
Respectfully yours,
Lacey
My name is Lacey Schwartz. I am a Jew from Woodstock, New York. I am curious as to what you think, as you are a white New Yorker, who was Jewish for eight week, and I'm a Jewish New Yorker, who has been lost in identity as I find out I am biologically half black, but raised by two white parents. As a white man, you experienced a nuanced change within your life. Your mother's doctor was hesitant to assign you to a Jewish-named doctor, your child was called derogatory slurs, and you were denied entry into a "restricted" inn. All of that was in eight weeks. I am a Jew for as long as I have been alive, yet people aren't concerned with that at all. They prefer to care about whether I'm black or white because of my skin hue and my curly hair instead of my religious upbringings. If I put my last name down and the secretary looked up to see a white person, that secretary would assume this white person is Jewish, and place all the stereotypes about Jews ingrained in the secretary's head on this white person. If that same name was put down and the secretary saw me, she would assume I am black, and therefore associate black stereotypes ingrained in her with me. Should we look into religious affiliations based on race? If being brown or tan brings the a priori assumption that that one person is a Muslim, then why does being white have to be the norm for a Christian or Jew?
Respectfully yours,
Lacey