Deborah Lipp

I’ve been reading about this story everywhere. In short, a Jewish family in Delaware was driven out of town by the aggressive Christianity of the school district.

A large Delaware school district promoted Christianity so aggressively that a Jewish family felt it necessary to move to Wilmington, two hours away, because they feared retaliation for filing a lawsuit. The religion (if any) of a second family in the lawsuit is not known, because they’re suing as Jane and John Doe; they also fear retaliation. Both families are asking relief from “state-sponsored religion.”

The Bush White House and its fundie-sponsored Republican majority thrives on strife. It needs an end to pluralism; it needs people to hate and fear one another. It’s called a “wedge issue.” That’s what’s behind the phony campaign to “do something” about immigration. They don’t want to change the law (which is why attempts to do so have been blocked by Repugs), they just want people riled up and full of hate.

And it’s just so classic to hate Jews.

Look, we were making progress. When Gore chose Lieberman as his running mate, there was not an anti-Semitic outcry. Eight years of a Clinton administration and a peace dividend had, it turns out, created a kinder and gentler America. People don’t naturally fear and hate, which is exhausting and feels unpleasant in the pit of the stomach, but they’re remarkably easy to whip into fear and hatred.

With no real ideas, no real successes, and a disaffected majority, conservatives are desperate, and have been desperately whipping up a frenzy in order to keep their base focused, interested, and on-message. All the nonsense about Christians being persecuted, about the “war” on Christmas and Easter and I dunno Ascension Day or something, all the blather and foam about intelligent design and gay marriage, it’s all designed to keep a Christian base worked up and angry and aggressive.

This is the result. The Dobsons and Robertsons and Falwells and Phelpses have been feeding raw meat to the dogs, and now they’re—what? Surprised that they have a taste for blood?

You know why Jews were targeted? Because they fought back. We fight back. We’ve been in this country long enough, we’ve won enough of these, we’re organized, and by the Gods, despite our shrinking minority, we’re visible. Visibility makes you a target. Pagans—less visible. Muslims—less inclined to make themselves a target nowadays. Jews—out there and associated (rightly, in most cases) with liberalism. It’s like the default religious bigotry; if you’re not sure who you want to hate, see if there’s a yarmulke handy.

This won’t end here. This’ll get worse. And we’ll keep fighting.