It's not a tell, it's a fact. There is a great deal of disdain for "rednecks," "deplorables," "red staters" etc. etc. afoot in the United States. Jared Taylor writes eloquently about it. Unless we can recognize the facts we cannot come to a resolution.
The Chishinau situation involved tens of people. The Holodomor, led by Lazar Kaganovich, killed several million. It is a credit to Ukrainian good nature that they can elect a Jewish president less than a century later.
Interesting to recall that had the rednecks of the mountains not arrived to assist Gen Washington, the Revolutionary war may have not been a win for the colonists. Those mountain men turned up in Valley Forge, just in time. More importantly they arrived with their treasured long guns, rifles, in the days of muskets. As expert marksmen of the woods and capable Indian fighters, they directed their skills at British (and Hessian) officers. Those rednecks operated somewhat independently from main troops as quite undisciplined yet exceedingly effective soldiers. They used small unit tactics against British set pieces much like Ukrainians today against Russians who think it's still WWII.
Today the rednecks have become symbols for the urban/country divide which has always existed. City dwellers require innumerable services, thus higher taxes than more self-reliant country folk who, of necessity, must make do with local resources. There is quite a stark difference in work ethic as well also related to survival in a cruel world - like Ukraine has been forced into. That likely creates even stronger people.
I would note that genetic heritage might make a difference. Western Europeans are responsible for the innovations that created most of the new marvels of society. Those marvels spur further creativity in many others, a gift perhaps of a few extra Neanderthal genes. And the bankers have then figured out how to allocate needed capital to allow wealth creation. Without saying it an internal society of clever bankers partner well with the innovators. Both need strong degrees of trust in transactions. Of course, we hate that bankers often must say no, otherwise fine fellows all.
I might go on to discuss closed societies as represented by the edges, socialists, fascists and national socialists in their efforts toward a Utopian tribe to create a new state. History has not been kind to any collectivists because humans are individuals of independence.
FYI: Re, "rednecks," "deplorables," "red staters" etc.:
You imply that Jews are all leftie nutjobs. Well, perhaps many are, including some of my relatives. But also, many are not. For example, the largest party in Israel, Likud, is polling at 60 seats... out of 120. Considering that there are Arab parties, that means over 1/2 the Jews in Israel are conservative.
I personally vote conservative... and believe strongly in the 2nd amendment, and am equipped accordingly.
Re: Lazar Kaganovich, his history is not taught here, although we do know a bit about the Holodomor. He appears to have been a Jewish aparachic of Stalin. Nothing happened in the Soviet Union without Stalin's approval. Many who supported him lost their lives or were imprisoned in various purges. Stalin himself turned on the Jews late in life, see the "Doctors Plot." There were plans for another great purge, cut short by end-of-life for comrade Stalin.
Stalin's MO seems to have been to pit various groups against one another, purge them, and leave only himself as the savior from the "wreckers and saboteurs." This worked until someone or something killed him. He was not loved by most, and will not be missed by most.
Re Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he seems to be a self made man, entertaining, bright and effective. He was quite a surprise to comrade Putin, IMHO. I do not envy his position, I am sure he is under a great deal of pressure... and the imbalance of forces is still not in Ukraine's favor. So, it takes guts and courage to be in his position.
So, if he is effective, and for the moment, it appears that he is, it is a credit to Ukrainian judgement that they have elected someone competent to lead them, regardless of whatever group he belongs to. Good nature has little or nothing to do with it.
"leftie nutjobs" - you express what others merely think. But not all. That's the point.
We are lucky here in Ukraine that there has been no Frankfurt school, no "march through the institutions" teaching about the evils of the white man. We can accept Zelensky for who he is. As effective as any president we have had. And, as I wrote a few months back, certainly more effective because Western Jews rally behind him. We need the support.
1. I am not familiar with the “Frankfurt School” other than it originated in Germany and I have the impression it is leftist.
2. I am familiar with the “march through the institutions” and see its very bad effects here. It appears to me to have been a long supported program of the KGB/NKVD as described in detail here:
This is a lecture by Yuri Bezmenov, former KGB agent, who describes the program. You are attributing to Jews, what was a program paid for and supported by the spy agencies of the Soviet Union.
There were no doubt some leftie Jews involved, but my guess, NOT the majority. There are only 14.8 million Jews in the world, of which over half are in Israel. Many are lefties, as a kind of implementation of charity or a knee jerk reaction to the Holocaust, which came from the far right NAZI’s… However many more are just straight business people, interested in feeding their familys, the success of their children, and strengthening their community. Many of these are conservatives, like myself.
I am a retired CPA and programmer. My first job out of college was as a Federal Bank Examiner. However, for most of my career I was self employed. Most of my clients were not Jewish, although some of the ones that became the most successful were. However, business being what it is, can be a high risk enterprise… and these guys who built multi million dollar business eventually crashed.
So I have seen a lot.
I now live in a red agricultural county in a purple state. My neighbors are not Jewish. However, they are good people… dependable and honest, as I believe I am.
I built my career on defending people from the IRS… and where we kept or reviewed the books, we were 100% successful in that defense. We were careful, as I believe it was my obligation to be dependable in this regard. Later in my career I wrote SQL database programs that gave entrepreneurs and extra arm or leg in terms of effective computer programs that could get work done, at reasonable cost.
Late in life I am spending some time at the local synagogue and finding out what these folks are like. And what I find is most are straight businessmen or retires from hi tech, and they are just interested in making a life for their families and kids and grand kids. I am comfortable with them… but I am also comfortable with the retirees in this red county where I live, many of whom are retired farmers, or dairy men, or cattle folks, who want the same things.
So, I urge you to be careful what you attribute to “the Jews”. There are just not that many of us. And trust me: we do not just go the the synagogue and plot what we can do to the “goyim.” In fact, you guys never come up. What does happen is we read for the entire year the first 5 books of the Bible, the “Torah”. We read it out loud, starting at the beginning of the year, and ending at the end of the year (Jewish Canendar). We celebrate the holidays, which are largely historically commemorative. Many participate in communal charity. Sometimes there is a woman's organization or a men’s organization. The kids are educated. Thats about it.
Most of us are hard working, some of us are bright, many of us are successful. I do not apologize for any of that.
Now, re Ukraine: If you want help from Jews, and I think you overrate what we can actually do, as I do not believe we have the influence or other attributes you attribute to us, the first thing I suggest, is that you stop hating us, for no particular reason… or even an invented one.
One is not inclined to help someone that wishes them ill.
I consider this blog post to be moderate. I express a lot of appreciation for some Jews, not all. Some Jews hate us Goyim, some Goyim hate Jews. Those are facts.
I have lived among Jews all my life. I didn't even start to recognize that fact until high school. The starkness of the difference did not become apparent until college, where I experienced prejudice as a non-Jew. I couldn't articulate the experience until later in life, when the patterns became clearer. As I thought I expressed clearly, hatred - antisemitism - makes no sense. That you find hatred in what I wrote diminishes you in my regard.
Our objective should be to reduce animus. You can't do that unless you see both sides of the equation.
I do not experience what you consider to be “reality.”
I know of no Jews that hate non Jews, except perhaps in the Israeli/Arab conflict, which is outside the purview of this conversation.
In my early life I did experience some anti antisemitism, but minor stuff, easily dealt with.
Therefore I do not accept what you view as “facts.”
Any differences I have seen among individuals can be viewed as complementary, and I prefer to view them that way. Combined strengths fill in the weaker parts of others. See my example from the WW2 era.
I generally do not associate with people who view the world with an “us vs them” mentality. I do not find it helpful. It results in things like Kishinev and the Hodomor (although the Hodomor was a policy of Stalin a Georgian, and not the policy of the aparachic who carried it out, whatever his ethnic background.
Stalin did many evil things, as did Hitler, together I think they killed roughly 40-60 million. They did not do it personally, they used aparachics, who carried out their policies, government policies, as a member of a semi military hierarchical system. If you did not obey Stalin, you became a victim. Even if you did obey him, you often became a victim. See the “great terror.”
There were, and are today many aparachics who blindly carry out the orders of their hierarchies. I am not responsible for them or their actions, and I do not approve of such things.
What we are responsible for is our own individual actions… and these are in part shaped by our world view, our religious upbringing, and what we think is right.
If the majority or even a substantial minority of Ukrainians feel as you do, then I think my grandparents were right to get out, as soon as they were able.
I am also concerned for Zelensky, as he is not living in a hospitable environment.
I will be unsubscribing from this list, as it is the kind of thing I am not comfortable associating with.
Oct 29, 2022·edited Oct 29, 2022Liked by Graham Seibert
People who are tribal, like a lot of Jews, tend to act towards those who are not members of the tribe in ways that invite prejudice. They maintain their separate identity at a cost. Those who choose to go outside the tribe do so at a cost as well. I recall an event 25 years ago, when a Jewish friend who went outside the fold politically was told, in my presence, "You are a bad Jew. I'm going to put your name on a list and you will regret it...", by one of the leaders of the local Jewish community. Although he was a contributing editor for several national conservative/libertarian publications, he never prospered nor did he get much if any of the limelight.
I subscribe to your blog because I have sympathy for the situation of Ukraine, and anyone that finds himself attacked or bullied by Russia.
However, your latest post is troubling… and I am trying to put my finger on just why I find it so troubling… and I think it is this:
You are dividing the world into “Jews” and “Not Jews”… or Jews and everyone else. The tell is this: “Sometimes their animosity to us Goyim comes to the surface…”
Here in America, in the pre woke past, when we had a wide open frontier that needed populating, there were to my understanding, pretty much open borders. We screened for disease, like TB, but that was pretty much it.
Later, as the need for immigrants mitigated, we instituted a country based quota system, and besides screening for disease, we also screened immigrants in view to preventing them from becoming public charges. They needed a sponsor, who would pay their way, if they could not.
The underlying narrative was “e purblus unium”, out of many one. This is still on the coinage of today. The emphasis was on different minorities with different abilities and potentials uniting to create one country with a constitution and bill of rights based on the freedom to do the best you can. Many diverse skill sets and talents and backgrounds working as a unity to benefit all.
This for the most part, was a great success story through the WW2 era.
My father, a Jew, served in the US Army during WW2 as a Technical Sergeant, handling logistics. There were members of all religions in the Army, there were chaplains of all faiths.
Because everyone worked together, with a shared goal, the country was united and successfully defeated the totalitarians.
I contrast this to some of the history of your area of the world, not Ukraine, but a neighboring country with which my grandparents had some experience. They emigrated from Kishinev in what is now Moldova, a pretty nearby place. They left after the Kishinev Pogrom which resulted in many properties destroyed or damaged, 47 Jews dead and 92 severely wounded.
I think one reason for this kind of event is the kind of thinking you espouse in your article… and I believe it contrasts greatly with what made this country great… and I suggest you consider re thinking it.
Of course, you are not in this country, and your thinking might just be the kind of thinking that pervades your area of the world… and perhaps why my grandparents left.
It's not a tell, it's a fact. There is a great deal of disdain for "rednecks," "deplorables," "red staters" etc. etc. afoot in the United States. Jared Taylor writes eloquently about it. Unless we can recognize the facts we cannot come to a resolution.
The Chishinau situation involved tens of people. The Holodomor, led by Lazar Kaganovich, killed several million. It is a credit to Ukrainian good nature that they can elect a Jewish president less than a century later.
Interesting to recall that had the rednecks of the mountains not arrived to assist Gen Washington, the Revolutionary war may have not been a win for the colonists. Those mountain men turned up in Valley Forge, just in time. More importantly they arrived with their treasured long guns, rifles, in the days of muskets. As expert marksmen of the woods and capable Indian fighters, they directed their skills at British (and Hessian) officers. Those rednecks operated somewhat independently from main troops as quite undisciplined yet exceedingly effective soldiers. They used small unit tactics against British set pieces much like Ukrainians today against Russians who think it's still WWII.
Today the rednecks have become symbols for the urban/country divide which has always existed. City dwellers require innumerable services, thus higher taxes than more self-reliant country folk who, of necessity, must make do with local resources. There is quite a stark difference in work ethic as well also related to survival in a cruel world - like Ukraine has been forced into. That likely creates even stronger people.
I would note that genetic heritage might make a difference. Western Europeans are responsible for the innovations that created most of the new marvels of society. Those marvels spur further creativity in many others, a gift perhaps of a few extra Neanderthal genes. And the bankers have then figured out how to allocate needed capital to allow wealth creation. Without saying it an internal society of clever bankers partner well with the innovators. Both need strong degrees of trust in transactions. Of course, we hate that bankers often must say no, otherwise fine fellows all.
I might go on to discuss closed societies as represented by the edges, socialists, fascists and national socialists in their efforts toward a Utopian tribe to create a new state. History has not been kind to any collectivists because humans are individuals of independence.
Getting mighty deep these days!
FYI: Re, "rednecks," "deplorables," "red staters" etc.:
You imply that Jews are all leftie nutjobs. Well, perhaps many are, including some of my relatives. But also, many are not. For example, the largest party in Israel, Likud, is polling at 60 seats... out of 120. Considering that there are Arab parties, that means over 1/2 the Jews in Israel are conservative.
I personally vote conservative... and believe strongly in the 2nd amendment, and am equipped accordingly.
Re: Lazar Kaganovich, his history is not taught here, although we do know a bit about the Holodomor. He appears to have been a Jewish aparachic of Stalin. Nothing happened in the Soviet Union without Stalin's approval. Many who supported him lost their lives or were imprisoned in various purges. Stalin himself turned on the Jews late in life, see the "Doctors Plot." There were plans for another great purge, cut short by end-of-life for comrade Stalin.
Stalin's MO seems to have been to pit various groups against one another, purge them, and leave only himself as the savior from the "wreckers and saboteurs." This worked until someone or something killed him. He was not loved by most, and will not be missed by most.
Re Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he seems to be a self made man, entertaining, bright and effective. He was quite a surprise to comrade Putin, IMHO. I do not envy his position, I am sure he is under a great deal of pressure... and the imbalance of forces is still not in Ukraine's favor. So, it takes guts and courage to be in his position.
So, if he is effective, and for the moment, it appears that he is, it is a credit to Ukrainian judgement that they have elected someone competent to lead them, regardless of whatever group he belongs to. Good nature has little or nothing to do with it.
"leftie nutjobs" - you express what others merely think. But not all. That's the point.
We are lucky here in Ukraine that there has been no Frankfurt school, no "march through the institutions" teaching about the evils of the white man. We can accept Zelensky for who he is. As effective as any president we have had. And, as I wrote a few months back, certainly more effective because Western Jews rally behind him. We need the support.
Re your comment:
1. I am not familiar with the “Frankfurt School” other than it originated in Germany and I have the impression it is leftist.
2. I am familiar with the “march through the institutions” and see its very bad effects here. It appears to me to have been a long supported program of the KGB/NKVD as described in detail here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9TviIuXPSE
This is a lecture by Yuri Bezmenov, former KGB agent, who describes the program. You are attributing to Jews, what was a program paid for and supported by the spy agencies of the Soviet Union.
There were no doubt some leftie Jews involved, but my guess, NOT the majority. There are only 14.8 million Jews in the world, of which over half are in Israel. Many are lefties, as a kind of implementation of charity or a knee jerk reaction to the Holocaust, which came from the far right NAZI’s… However many more are just straight business people, interested in feeding their familys, the success of their children, and strengthening their community. Many of these are conservatives, like myself.
I am a retired CPA and programmer. My first job out of college was as a Federal Bank Examiner. However, for most of my career I was self employed. Most of my clients were not Jewish, although some of the ones that became the most successful were. However, business being what it is, can be a high risk enterprise… and these guys who built multi million dollar business eventually crashed.
So I have seen a lot.
I now live in a red agricultural county in a purple state. My neighbors are not Jewish. However, they are good people… dependable and honest, as I believe I am.
I built my career on defending people from the IRS… and where we kept or reviewed the books, we were 100% successful in that defense. We were careful, as I believe it was my obligation to be dependable in this regard. Later in my career I wrote SQL database programs that gave entrepreneurs and extra arm or leg in terms of effective computer programs that could get work done, at reasonable cost.
Late in life I am spending some time at the local synagogue and finding out what these folks are like. And what I find is most are straight businessmen or retires from hi tech, and they are just interested in making a life for their families and kids and grand kids. I am comfortable with them… but I am also comfortable with the retirees in this red county where I live, many of whom are retired farmers, or dairy men, or cattle folks, who want the same things.
So, I urge you to be careful what you attribute to “the Jews”. There are just not that many of us. And trust me: we do not just go the the synagogue and plot what we can do to the “goyim.” In fact, you guys never come up. What does happen is we read for the entire year the first 5 books of the Bible, the “Torah”. We read it out loud, starting at the beginning of the year, and ending at the end of the year (Jewish Canendar). We celebrate the holidays, which are largely historically commemorative. Many participate in communal charity. Sometimes there is a woman's organization or a men’s organization. The kids are educated. Thats about it.
Most of us are hard working, some of us are bright, many of us are successful. I do not apologize for any of that.
Now, re Ukraine: If you want help from Jews, and I think you overrate what we can actually do, as I do not believe we have the influence or other attributes you attribute to us, the first thing I suggest, is that you stop hating us, for no particular reason… or even an invented one.
One is not inclined to help someone that wishes them ill.
Just a suggestion.
I consider this blog post to be moderate. I express a lot of appreciation for some Jews, not all. Some Jews hate us Goyim, some Goyim hate Jews. Those are facts.
I have lived among Jews all my life. I didn't even start to recognize that fact until high school. The starkness of the difference did not become apparent until college, where I experienced prejudice as a non-Jew. I couldn't articulate the experience until later in life, when the patterns became clearer. As I thought I expressed clearly, hatred - antisemitism - makes no sense. That you find hatred in what I wrote diminishes you in my regard.
Our objective should be to reduce animus. You can't do that unless you see both sides of the equation.
I do not experience what you consider to be “reality.”
I know of no Jews that hate non Jews, except perhaps in the Israeli/Arab conflict, which is outside the purview of this conversation.
In my early life I did experience some anti antisemitism, but minor stuff, easily dealt with.
Therefore I do not accept what you view as “facts.”
Any differences I have seen among individuals can be viewed as complementary, and I prefer to view them that way. Combined strengths fill in the weaker parts of others. See my example from the WW2 era.
I generally do not associate with people who view the world with an “us vs them” mentality. I do not find it helpful. It results in things like Kishinev and the Hodomor (although the Hodomor was a policy of Stalin a Georgian, and not the policy of the aparachic who carried it out, whatever his ethnic background.
Stalin did many evil things, as did Hitler, together I think they killed roughly 40-60 million. They did not do it personally, they used aparachics, who carried out their policies, government policies, as a member of a semi military hierarchical system. If you did not obey Stalin, you became a victim. Even if you did obey him, you often became a victim. See the “great terror.”
There were, and are today many aparachics who blindly carry out the orders of their hierarchies. I am not responsible for them or their actions, and I do not approve of such things.
What we are responsible for is our own individual actions… and these are in part shaped by our world view, our religious upbringing, and what we think is right.
If the majority or even a substantial minority of Ukrainians feel as you do, then I think my grandparents were right to get out, as soon as they were able.
I am also concerned for Zelensky, as he is not living in a hospitable environment.
I will be unsubscribing from this list, as it is the kind of thing I am not comfortable associating with.
Good luck with the Russians.
People who are tribal, like a lot of Jews, tend to act towards those who are not members of the tribe in ways that invite prejudice. They maintain their separate identity at a cost. Those who choose to go outside the tribe do so at a cost as well. I recall an event 25 years ago, when a Jewish friend who went outside the fold politically was told, in my presence, "You are a bad Jew. I'm going to put your name on a list and you will regret it...", by one of the leaders of the local Jewish community. Although he was a contributing editor for several national conservative/libertarian publications, he never prospered nor did he get much if any of the limelight.
Graham:
I subscribe to your blog because I have sympathy for the situation of Ukraine, and anyone that finds himself attacked or bullied by Russia.
However, your latest post is troubling… and I am trying to put my finger on just why I find it so troubling… and I think it is this:
You are dividing the world into “Jews” and “Not Jews”… or Jews and everyone else. The tell is this: “Sometimes their animosity to us Goyim comes to the surface…”
Here in America, in the pre woke past, when we had a wide open frontier that needed populating, there were to my understanding, pretty much open borders. We screened for disease, like TB, but that was pretty much it.
Later, as the need for immigrants mitigated, we instituted a country based quota system, and besides screening for disease, we also screened immigrants in view to preventing them from becoming public charges. They needed a sponsor, who would pay their way, if they could not.
The underlying narrative was “e purblus unium”, out of many one. This is still on the coinage of today. The emphasis was on different minorities with different abilities and potentials uniting to create one country with a constitution and bill of rights based on the freedom to do the best you can. Many diverse skill sets and talents and backgrounds working as a unity to benefit all.
This for the most part, was a great success story through the WW2 era.
My father, a Jew, served in the US Army during WW2 as a Technical Sergeant, handling logistics. There were members of all religions in the Army, there were chaplains of all faiths.
Because everyone worked together, with a shared goal, the country was united and successfully defeated the totalitarians.
I contrast this to some of the history of your area of the world, not Ukraine, but a neighboring country with which my grandparents had some experience. They emigrated from Kishinev in what is now Moldova, a pretty nearby place. They left after the Kishinev Pogrom which resulted in many properties destroyed or damaged, 47 Jews dead and 92 severely wounded.
I think one reason for this kind of event is the kind of thinking you espouse in your article… and I believe it contrasts greatly with what made this country great… and I suggest you consider re thinking it.
Of course, you are not in this country, and your thinking might just be the kind of thinking that pervades your area of the world… and perhaps why my grandparents left.
Great article! Will share this widely.