Does Tribalism Matter?

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The idea of judging someone by their skin color, consciously or subconsciously, is so wrong that it would be comic if it were not so tragic.

This is obvious to anyone immersed in Torah (or Dr. Seuss).

Therefore, the struggle against racism suggests the following philosophical (theological?) question for your table:

Why would God make a world of races (i.e., groups of people who look so different from one another)?

I actually wrote about this topic about eight years ago in this space (which got me flagged by google as an offensive site and ineligible for their Google Ads program).

Here's what I wrote (with a few revisions):

You may have heard of Michele Norris, former host of NPR's "All things Considered" (currently writing for the Washington Post). As you can see from this image, she is a black woman.... ? Well, that's how I heard her describe herself once. But she looks whiter than I do.

Norris was for a time a major talking-head on the subject of race. Commenting on the Trayvon Martin shooting, she said:

"I've learned that all over the world, they may not call it racism, maybe it's bias, maybe it's tribalism."

My first question for your table: Do you agree with Norris? Is tribalism the same as racism?

It's a broad question, and maybe it will help to ask a more personal question.

Personal question 1 - What does the phrase "being Jewish" mean to you?

Some might say that being Jewish means that you are always a potential target for someone.

Not a random target; a premeditated, cold-blooded target.

For instance, when Norris said that, one of the current events that she was presumably aware of was the March, 2012 assassination in Toulouse (here is a photo of 3 of the victims with their now-widowed wife/mother).

Others may say that being Jewish means reaching out to anyone in need.

Norris has an online project cleverly called "The Race Card" - the idea is to invite the public to submit 6-word statements about race. Here's the link.

Personal question 2: What 6 words would you submit?

Here are mine:

Racism is false, but tribalism true.

OK, back to our original question: Is tribalism the same as racism?

Shabbat Shalom.

 

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