Sarah Silverman On The Uses Of Blatant Antisemitism

Foul-mouthed comedienne Sarah Silverman was on Piers Morgan the other night, and made an interesting claim - that Jews like the occasional anti-Semitic rant because it proves their paranoia is justified:

“I mean, if there’s one thing we should realize is that it’s in general the world hates Jews, you know....” [click the link above for the video, watch Piers Morgan profess shock at this comment]

Silverman insisted it was true and alluded to Mel Gibson’s 2006 anti-Semitic rant during at a DUI arrest in Malibu, Calif. She explained instances like that give Jews an opportunity to show anti-Semitism is real and not just an abstract invention.

"I mean, I think when stuff like Mel Gibson, when he said you know, like Jewish stuff or anything like that — there is outrage,” Silverman said. “But I think secretly there’s nobody that likes blatant anti-Semitism more than Jews because it’s something you can point to. It’s not just a gas in the air anymore, you know.

I think what Sarah is trying to say is that it is occasionally satisfying when the mask falls off and the world gets to see the truth about the width and depth of antisemitism. It acts as a justification for their concerns, and gives them a weapon to use against those who claim that folks aren't really anti-semitic anymore, they're simply anti-Zionist. Right.

I suppose it is similar to the way conservatives feel when folks like Van Jones and Anita Dunn openly display their blatant anti-American and pro-totalitarian views - it acts as vindication for the claims of the Right, and puts lie to the counter-claims that the cries of impending socialism are just Tea Party fantasies.

Which begs the question, of course: Do politically correct speech codes actually harm the eradication of hatreds, since it forces such speech underground, among like-minded people, who discuss their prejudices freely with each other but mask it "on the outside"? And does this then make it harder to expose the haters (of all stripes), allowing them either quietly to spread their twisted ethos, or to act it out in a potentially tragic way?

The question is rhetorical, I suppose. But let's give cheers to Sarah Silverman for talking about the scourge of antisemitism on national television, and let's appreciate the fact that she is every Jewish boy's secret fantasy: The sweet, innocent-looking Jewish girl next door, who just happens to have the mind - and foul mouth - of an adult film starlet.

Now if she would only disown that Obama fellow....well, regardless, I still think Rule 5 applies here: