I know it's been diaried twice already. I know that 95% of this diary is just pasting a transcript from a TV show.
I don't care.
As a Jew, my jaw physically dropped while listening to Rick Sanchez verbally assault my entire religion. (removed "entire" as an admission that this was a bit over the top. happy now?)
The most offensive part kicks in at about 4 minutes in:
The conversation began with Sanchez decrying "elite, Northeast establishment liberals" who "deep down, when they look at a guy like me, they see a guy automatically who belongs in the second tier, and not the top tier.
And then I realized that he's simply re-enacting a scene from the pilot episode of The West Wing:
MARY: School prayer, pornography, condoms. What’s it gonna be?
TOBY: We’re not prepared to make any sort of deal right now.
JOSH: Sure we are. Mary...
MARY: [to Josh] My read of the landscape is that you’re cleaning out your desk before the end of business today, so I’d just as soon negotiate with Toby if it’s all the same to you.
CALDWELL: Mary.
MARY: [to Caldwell] Please allow me to work. [to Josh] It was only a matter of time with you, Josh.
JOSH: Yes.
MARY: That New York sense of humor was just a...
CALDWELL: Mary, there no need...
MARY: Reverend, please! They think they’re so much smarter. They think it’s smart talk. But nobody else does.
JOSH: I’m actually from Connecticut, but that’s neither here nor there. The point is, Mary...
TOBY: She meant Jewish.
[A stunned silence. Everyone stares at Toby.]
TOBY: When she said "New York sense of humor", she was talking about you and me.
JOSH: You know what, Toby, let’s just not even go there.
CALDWELL: There’s been an apology. Let’s move on.
VAN DYKE: I’d like to discuss why we hear so much talk about the First Amendment coming out of this building, but no talk at all about the First Commandment.
MARY: I don’t like what I’ve just been accused of.
TOBY: [raising his voice] I’m afraid that’s just tough, Mrs. Marsh.
VAN DYKE: The First Commandment says "Honor thy Father".
TOBY: No it doesn’t.
JOSH: Toby--
TOBY: It doesn’t.
JOSH: Listen--
TOBY: No, if I’m gonna make you sit through this preposterous exercise, we’re gonna get the names of the damn commandments right.
MARY: Okay. Here we go.
TOBY: "Honor thy Father" is the Third Commandment.
VAN DYKE: Then what’s the First Commandment?
A booming voice comes from off screen. The camera moves to show PRESIDENT JED BARTLET with a cane standing in the doorway with several Secret Service agents.
PRESIDENT JED BARTLET: "I am the Lord your God. Thou shalt worship no other God before me." Boy, those were the days, huh?
Nope, no similarities at all.
Update: There's at least one comment below which actually tries to defend this dickhead by claiming that he's correct about Jews not being an "oppressed" minority.
Well, if you define "oppressed" as "not being hired for a job/contract" or "not being allowed to buy a home in a certain neighborhood" then that's mostly correct; the days of "restricted" apartment complexes/housing developments and so forth are mostly a thing of the past (thanks in large part to the Equal Housing Lender regulations by HUD, I might add).
If, on the other hand, you're talking about being victims of hate crimes--having swastikas painted on your garage door, having your storefront vandalized, getting beaten up, etc for being Jewish, then guess what?
The 2009 calendar year was marked by several violent anti-Semitic incidents and dangerous threats to Jewish institutions, as well as numerous incidents of harassment affecting Jewish communities large and small. Major incidents included the shooting attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. by an avowed Holocaust denier, a thwarted plot by four Muslim converts to bomb synagogues in Riverdale, New York, and repeated in-your-face picketing of institutions and community centers by members of an avowedly anti-Semitic, Kansas-based church.
Assaults: A total of 29 assaults were reported in 2009. The incidents included under assaults included a "kick a Jew day" at a Florida middle school, a brick thrown at an identifiably Jewish man, an individual physically assaulted by a racist skinhead, and numerous bomb threats against Jewish institutions.
Vandalism: There were 422 cases of vandalism reported in 2009, including rocks thrown at synagogue windows, anti-Semitic graffiti and attacks on Jewish cemeteries.
Harassment: With 760 harassments reported in 2009, including anti-Jewish taunts and threats, this category accounted for more than 62 percent of all incidents reported.
Nahhh...everything is sweetness and light for us Jewwy Jewersons. It's fucking Jew-riffic here in Jewville.
Asshole.
Update x2: Well, now. It seems that I've struck a nerve here--several people are quibbling about the semantics involved.
OK, fine. If you want to get into an in-depth discussion about the finer points of distinction between the definitions of "oppression", "prejudice", "discrimination", and "anti-semitism", I can see where you may have a half a point. It'd be a pretty boring discussion, but there may be some merit.
Now, it's true that Jews have, overall, prospered in America. We've done well in politics, the arts, entertainment, medicine, the law, financial services, etc etc.
Guess what? That was all true just before the Spanish Inquisition as well. It was true just before the Holocaust as well.
Historically, we've ALWAYS prospered for a generation or two for centuries--just before getting the living shit kicked out of us for no other reason than, well, we're Jewish and we prospered.
Now, does the fact that we're currently doing pretty well mean that we're not "oppressed"? Perhaps, although there are large parts of America, even today, where I'd have to think twice before revealing my religion too openly.
On the other hand, does it make us a bit overly sensitive to sneering stereotypes like Sanchez spewed today? Hell yes, and with damned good reason.