It isn’t just the Jewish “jokes” at Gawker and Wonkette. It is things like this that make me think that anti-Semitism is about the only “ism” that’s allowed today.
A Taunton School Committee member with a history of berating colleagues and the district superintendent at meetings has sparked an outcry by calling a Jewish board member Hitler and allegedly giving him the Nazi salute.
Alfred Baptista , who has been on the board for 22 years, stood up and said “Yes, heil Hitler. Sieg heil” to committee member Barry Cooperstein , who had admonished him for interrupting and yelling at district superintendent Arthur W. Stellar.
How, in any way, shape, or form, is that acceptable in polite conversation? And of course, the non-apology apology.
The Taunton Daily Gazette, which first reported the encounter last week, has called for Baptista’s resignation and Mayor Charles Crowley has demanded a public apology. The City Council plans to vote on a resolution condemning the remarks and apologizing to Cooperstein and Jewish residents at a meeting tomorrow.
In a phone interview yesterday, Baptista said he deeply regretted the remarks and had not meant any harm.
“It was a very unfortunate choice of words, and I feel terrible about it,” he said. “I’m not a racist, I’m not an anti-Semite.”
An “unfortunate choice of words.” He didn’t mean any harm. No, he just figured a Nazi salute and a “Heil, Hitler” was an appropriate thing to use when arguing with a Jew.
And oh, yeah. He didn’t do it. Really. His gesture was misinterpreted.
He said he did not make a Nazi salute, but was gesticulating. Baptista said he was angry at the way Cooperstein was running the meeting.
“I probably should have said, ‘Stop being a dictator,’ ” he said.
Baptista said he believes some people have misconstrued his remarks and that he does not intend to resign. He said he has received a number of calls of support from people who said they understood he misspoke.
Sure. “Misspoke.” Because “Heil Hitler” is such a common phrase to use when you’re angy, especially now, 62 years after the end of WWII. What, doesn’t everybody use it?
The thing I hate almost as much as the anti-Semitic remarks are the pathetic excuses used when the haters are called out for their hate. Not an anti-Semite? Then how is it, pray tell, you used that phrase when arguing with a Jew? And an observant Jew, no less.
Such a coincidence. Such a load of bull. And yet, this man will not be forced to resign. The town has already shown its support for the poor, misunderstood bully.
The mayor is also pleased with the apology.
“That’s what we were asking for, and I hope it was heartfelt and that Mr. Cooperstein considers acceptance of it,†Crowley said. “Hopefully that conduct will not continue in the future. Every public official — not just Mr. Baptista — should conduct themselves in a professional manner, whether they’re addressing another committee member or anyone from the public.â€
City Councilor David Pottier, who last week said Baptista should resign, is no longer calling for the longtime committeeman to step down.
“Taking his word and many years of service into account, if it’s good enough for Mr. Cooperstein and the ADL, then it’s good enough for me,†Pottier said. “I really appreciate that Mr. Baptista apologized. Hopefully we can move on from this.â€
Uh-huh. Move on. Until the next time.
That’s just horrifying.
I would really like to find my former co-worker from long ago. The one who said that antisemitism was dead.
I’m afraid I must disagree.
Not every Hitler reference is a deliberate slur against Jews. It is a sign that someone thinks his opponent (boss, parent) is being too dictatorial, because Hitler is naturally the first dictator that comes to mind. Certainly Baptista’s actions seem childish and overwrought (he sounds like a right ass in general), but they are not necessarily anti-Semitic.
And not everyone knows the religion of everyone he interacts with, or obsesses over people’s backgrounds when dealing with them. (“So-and-so’s German. Don’t mention the war!“)
I’m with you when it comes to Jew-liani or the Jew York Times or Hymietown — deliberate attempts at slurs made by people who are supposed to be leaders. But I’m afraid that you lose me when you make every sullen teenager muttering, “Yawohl, mein Fuhrer,” at his boss into an anti-Semite.
I would agree with you on the teenager thing, Angie, but this guy was screaming at an observant Jew. When a newspaper uses the words “observant Jew” that generally means he was wearing a kippa. I wish I knew that for sure, because it would change this discussion completely if Cooperstein was wearing one.
This ass has been a board member for years.
Meryl, I agree it’s nearly always anti-Semitic when people use Nazi or holocuast imagery against Israel or against Jews as a group. Like Angie, I am not sure if there’s enough information to decide whether Baptista is an anti-Semite or an equal opportunity jerk who chose a particulary inappropriate time to use an over-used perjorative for “overly authoritarian.” For all I know, he could be both.
Yeah, I’m not seeing the antisemitism here either. Jackass, yes. The guy was yelling and interrupting. Cooperstein himself says he has a history of this kind of behavior. He clearly does not play well with others, period.
It seems to me this story has generated a lot of overreaction, and way beyond Meryl’s take. One of the ADL guys called it “the use of Holocaust imagery during a public meeting.” Sorry. A reference to Hitler, without more, doesn’t constitute “Holocaust imagery,” no matter whom you’re speaking to. IMO.
Baptista looks to be a common or garden variety asshat. Personally, what I find scary is the fact that classic anti-Semitism seems to be increasingly respectable in the academic world. When it comes to spreading this old poison some loud-mouthed loser is much less of a threat than a tenured professor with a captive audience of students.
No anti-Semitism?
What if Baptista said to a Black
school member “Hey Rastus … go back
to eatin’ watermelon instead of telling
us White folks how to behave”?
No racism there I suppose.
Baptista is certainly an anti-Semite
and he realizes he was caught. That
is he is so furiously back pedaling.
But Angie S and Lynn B want to bury
their heads in the sand, or put their
fingers in their ears, and hope that
the mean man will go away.
Ain’t gonna happen.
Anti-Semitism needs to be exposed
each and every time it occurs.
I think the real problem is that this casual acceptance of the imagery and rhetoric of nazism is whitewashing the horror of its historical actuality.
We no longer accept other racial stereotypes. Why is this still a matter for a simple apology? Because the man has a record of outrageous behavior in public? He should have been suppressed long ago.
And how widespread is this? In Israel last week the same kind of exchange was a big story when a Knesset committee member said a public official was the same as a German or worse, destroying the soul as well as the body, because he was holding up funds for the member’s project. This to an observant Jew in Israel, whose family was murdered in the Holocaust.
We do it to ourselves. Stop it. Stop demonizing other Jews — and other people generally — simply because we disagree with them. Demonize their policies. Propose viable alternatives. Eliminate the vitriol.