When do you call someone out on a racist remark?
I belong to a listserve for my community. One of the more elderly members on the listserve, call her M, made a blatantly racist remark about a police officer in one of her posts. I was offended by the comment, but chose not to call her on the post, because I did not want to draw attention to the slur, or perhaps embarrass her. Others chose to challenge the woman directly. M responded by stating that the officer had made an anti-semitic remark first, and this was her way of letting the community know.
My belief is that two wrongs don't make a right. I would like this whole issue to die a quiet death, and yet, part of me also wants to respond to M. Since I am desperately trying not to respond on the listserve, here is my response.
There is never an excuse for making a racist comment, even if provoked. If you feel that a police officer has responded inappropriately, then take it up with a supervisor. We tend to be the public face of Judaism. What an Orthodox Jew does or says, how an Orthodox Jew behaves, is very visible, if only because we choose to set ourselves apart somewhat by how we dress and where we live. If we behave with kavod (honor) to all, then we can only hope they will reciprocate. If some non-Jews choose to continue spouting racist beliefs, then I do not advocate turning the other cheek, but I also do not advocate fighting slur with slur. There has to be a better, smarter, more halachic (according to Jewish law) way.
If M felt the need to warn us of her experience, fine, but there was no need to include a racial slur in the warning.
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