AND I GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY ALL HATE THE JEWS

A great quote from Shelby Steele, writing about how western guilt blinds us to the nature of Islamic extremism :

All this follows the familiar pattern of a very old vice: anti-Semitism. The anti-Semite is always drawn to the hatred of Jews by his own unacknowledged inadequacy. As Sartre says in his great essay on the subject, the anti-Semite "is a man who is afraid. Not of Jews of course, but of himself."

It is worth your time to read his entire essay.

Yesterday, the Baron, who foolishly eggs me on in these sorts of things, challenged me to come up with new words to an old Elton John song. The result seems particularly appropriate to what Steele wrote.

AND I GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY ALL HATE THE JEWS

Don't wish it away,
Just endure in the face of adversity;
Between you and me I could honestly say
All their foes have a certain perversity

And while Jews create,
Make the best of the demons inside,
It won't be too long till success
Stabs at heart of sick Arab pride

And I guess that's why they all hate the Jews;
Blame them for their failures; and kill them for news
Blow up their children, bask in confusion
Believe that their strengths are just an illusion--
And I guess that's why they all hate the Jews

Just look at the states
That surround Israel on the map.
Drowning in spite and self-victimization
Their life is all crap.

Then screaming in rage
That the problem is not in themselves--
They simply hate Jews
More than they love life itself.

And I guess that's why they all hate the Jews;
Blame them for their failures; and kill them for news
Blow up their children, bask in confusion
Believe that their strengths are just an illusion--
And I guess that's why they all hate the Jews