Bruce Ditman wants to believe Macklemore that he had no idea his costume looked like a racist caricature of a Jewish man, but it’s not easy.
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I am struggling. I am struggling to believe you, Mr. Macklemore. I’m willing to believe because, in the end, what you knew isn’t the point, but you are asking a lot.
Let’s assume the following:
1.You didn’t know of the classic racist propagandist depiction of the “International Jew” and are utterly unaware of Jewish stereotypes
2.When you bought the fake nose you didm’t read the tag on it that labeled it “Fagin.”
a.quick assumption here that you didn’t buy this “disguise” as a set – a dubious claim in itself
3.That, had you seen the tag, you an otherwise seemingly intelligent and culturally informed artist, had never read Oliver Twist and were unfamiliar with the Jewish predatory, thieving and cruel character after which it was named.
4.That no one around you, zero point zero people in your camp or entourage or just group of friends, had any of this knowledge of any of this as well.
5.There are so few Jewish people in the entertainment business that you were able to pass unnoticed and onto stage without comment.
6. You’ve never watched the history channel which, at this point, basically just covers WW2.
So…GULP…let’s swallow that. What do we have left? We have one person offending a lot of people by accident. Right? While his apology has serious problems in it, Mr. Macklemore does make it clear that he had no intent to offend and no racism or bigotry in his heart. And I believe him. Where he really loses me, however, is when he attempts to flip the dynamic and claim to be the offended party. After all, a true apology must focus on the people you have hurt and not on your own (perceived) hurt. Mr. Macklemore’s outrage that people would call him a racist or bigot is precious and disturbing in the extreme.
You, sir, did in fact do something racist. It was unintentional but still it was unintentionally racist. Therefore, you do not get to cry victim or admonish people for pointing out what could be most charitably characterized as your own ignorance. Callous victim blaming will make it very difficult for me to successfully digest numbers 1-7(above,) and upon vomiting them up I’m certain that we will not like what we find in our laps.
But still…there it is. The face of thousands, hate-filled posters on stage..rapping. We could dismiss his ignorance and give him a pass, but that doesn’t sit right with me. He should’ve known. He should’ve known better.
I don’t know what went through Mr. Macklemore’s head as he got dressed up and I never will. But I’ll take it as a lesson in my own life that goes as follows: Not knowing isn’t acceptable. We show respect for each other as humans by being well informed, well read, culturally alert and, above all, interested in those who are not like ourselves. Let’s care enough to know better.
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Image above: Macklemore in “disguise”/WWII German anti-Jewish propaganda poster
In the book, it might, but I’ve only ever seen film versions of Oliver Twist and had no idea Fagin was meant to be a Jew. I appreciate now how naive that was but there you go.
That said, when he looked in the mirror after putting that costume on he must have realised what it looked like…
Hey Brian: thank you for your comment. It raised doubt in my own mind about what was real vs perceived by me in the novel. I did remember Fagin as Fagin the Jew. Turns out, Dickens refers to Fagin as “The Jew” 257 times in the first 38 chapters. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_the_work_of_Charles_Dickens
I loved Oliver Twist. Know all the songs from the play we did in 5th grade.
I had no idea that Faggin was a jewish character. Maybe, just maybe he is telling the truth.
I doubt he was that clueless as to what he might resemble wearing that ‘disguise’