A reader who was converted from atheism and anti-Semitism by VFR

(Note: further down in this entry I discuss anti-Semites who have written to express their support for me, only to turn around and push anti-Semitism.)

Humphrey B. writes:

I have been reading your blog almost every day since 2007. When I first began reading it, I was mainly attracted to your writings on race, because at the time I was an atheist and an anti-Semite, and strongly disagreed with you on most other other subjects. But thanks to the influence of your writings, I have abandoned atheism and anti-Semitism completely, and I now consider myself a traditionalist conservative. The abandonment of atheism in particular has had a tremendously positive influence on my life. I am very grateful for the work you have done over the years, and I am saddened to hear about your state of health. I wish you the best.

LA replies:

This is great to hear. Thank you so much for telling me this.

— end of initial entry —

LA writes:

Speaking of anti-Semites, many are unreformable, so much so that a reader who indicates that he likes and supports me sent me a pathologically anti-Semitic e-mail.

He is a Catholic, and said that he was glad for my turn toward Catholicism. Then he switched to his real subject.

He said that the Jewish people are the Christian Church’s greatest enemy, whose “negatives outweigh their positives,” and that the world would be better off without the Jews than with them. So he’s at least a theoretical exterminationist anti-Semite. He refers to “their [emphasis added] relentless attack on Christianity and decency,” meaning that the Jewish people as such are relentlessly attacking Christianity and decency. Meaning that the Jewish people are the enemies of mankind. He admits there are some good Jews, “But, as a people, their impact is, on balance, negative—Christian charity demands the truth.” So Christian “charity” demands that the Jewish people be declared the enemies of mankind!

After all this, he says that he hopes he has not offended me!

Finally, he closes with “My very best wishes.”

Here is my reply to him:

Yes, you have offended me. Any reader of VFR knows what I think about anti-Semitism, and knows that I have clearly and repeatedly declared that I do not associate with anti-Semites. Yet, in supposed friendliness, you write a disgusting anti-Semitic—indeed exterminationist anti-Semitic—e-mail to me.

I do not want to hear from you anymore.

March 9

Terry Morris writes:

“After all of this, he says he hopes he hasn’t offended me!”

Some people just aren’t very bright. I was once propositioned by a homosexual in a restroom at a roadside stop, at about 3:00am between Tuscon and Phoenix, on our way to San Diego. When I reacted extremely negatively toward his second advance, shoving him away from me and taking a defensive posture, he began to say and repeat “I’m sorry, sir, I did not mean to offend you.” He made an initial non-aggressive advance, to which I reacted disgustedly yet non-aggressively, moving from the urinal into the privacy of a stall. Then when he made his second, more aggressive advance, he acted as though he was shocked by my anger and reactionary aggression toward him in response, claiming it had not been his intention to offend me. I knew what his intentions were, and that was offensive to me by definition, which I made clear after his first advance. So I wasn’t going for that “I didn’t mean to offend you” defense after his second advance.

LA replies:

I would venture to say that the anti-Semites are worse. I don’t think even the most aggressive, flagrant homosexual—say, Harvey Milk—would visit or write to a person ill from cancer and facing death and proposition him. At least two anti-Semites have wrtiten to me since this post was published —a person who has made it abundantly clear that I want nothing to do with anti-Semites—and (a) spoken in friendly, confidential terms to me, then (b) expressed at length their feelngs about how horrible the Jews are and how they don’t deserve to exist on the earth. Anti-Semites are without conscience, without restraint. The one thing they they desire is to express their anti-Semitism, in any circumstance, no matter how inappropriate, no matter how bothersome to others.

March 10

Karl D. writes:

I was thinking about what motivates these anti-Semites to write you letters of praise only to be followed up my a vile expression of anti-Semitism. I think in part they are secretly hoping that you will have some sort of death bed conversion to their side or that deep down you really know the “truth,” and if only they could “reason” with you, you might toss them a crumb of acknowledgment. The very fact that they are even reaching out to you is sick and smacks of narcissism. They could care less about your condition, and their supposed admiration for your writings is a smokescreen. In the end it’s all about them and their anti-Semitic conspiratorial world views. Besides, aren’t you really a Zionist fifth columnist who has been duping us all for years while your Jewish pals met in smokey back rooms planning global domination under ZOG?

LA replies:

EXACTLY.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 08, 2013 10:16 AM | Send