From: lmk2@garnet.berkeley.edu ()
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: anti-semitism in academia
Date: 10 Nov 1992 04:48:02 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: garnet.berkeley.edu


I have a question about how to deal with anti-Semitism in the workplace.
A coworker recently made it very clear that she is anti-Semitic.  It
centered around her (mistakenly) feeling that I was undercutting her,
etc.  She had, in the course of our conversation about why she was
angry with me, made two "insensitive" remarks.  One was in reference
to her son asking who killed Jesus (she's a non-practicing Catholic,
Polish, raised in the Polish Catholic Church prior to Vatican II).
He's very young, so not quite knowing how to explain it, she replied
"the bad guys killed him."  After relating this, she turned to me and said
"no offense intended."  Thinking this was just an ignorant comment,
I laughed and said, "it's all right, the Romans killed him."  She 
said later that perhaps our differences stemmed from a cultural
difference, "it's this shrewdness that Jews have."  I later gently
asked her about the two remarks, hoping to just educate her, and
she, being a liberal, would immediately see that her remarks were
racist.

Well, that's not what happened.  She apologized for the first
remark and said "well, didn't the Jewish elders pressure the
Romans to arrest Jesus?"  No, I replied.  She also apologized for saying
something in a racist way in regards to the second comment.  But
she said that she still believed what she said.  I asked her if
she meant "opportunistic" in the neutral or negative sense when
refering to this as a Jewish trait.  She replied that she meant
it in the negative sense, that Jews will "walk over" others to
get what they want.  It goes on and on.  She also claimed that
a certain scientific institute in the southwest is run by Jews,
and "you can tell by the people they accept for their programs."
She then tried to explain that her comments aren't racist, 
because she "unfortunately, is saddled with an outdated code
of ethics which keeps her from being able to do things which
others can do in order to get ahead.  Whereas Jews are not
troubled by undercutting, walking over other people to get
ahead, etc."  It was all I could do to not throw my pacifist
code into the trash and reach across the table to strangle her.
I tried to explain how her comments were racist, etc., etc., but
all she said was "well, what do you want me to do?"  Short of 
her giving up her bigotry I asked for her to refrain from
making anti-Semitic/Racist comments.  She said she would, although
she professed not to know how to know what they are.

My problem is this:  I think that she will not make these comments
anymore, in fact, I doubt that she will talk to me, but we
work in the same office on related projects, and I am angry anytime
I see her.  She will be leaving in June (I hope), and I do not want to be
responsible for her not finishing her work here.  I am not sure
how to deal with this situation, except by hoping my feelings of
anger will mellow and waiting for her to leave.  If it continues
I would, of course, consider making an official complaint, but
I'm not sure I want to do that now.  Has anyone else faced a
similar situation?  How have you dealt with it?  Remember, this
is an academic institution, and most of us are graduate students,
so there are some differences in what is done about racism among
colleagues (rather than from a professor to a student).

Thanks
Leslie