For the second time, actress, comedian, and host of The View, Whoopi Goldberg, was called out for suggesting that the Nazis’ persecution of the Jews was not “racially” motivated.
The politically correct thought police jumped all over Goldberg, claiming her statement was antisemitic.
We disagree with almost everything Goldberg espouses on The View. We find her perspective to be far-left, naïve and often intolerant of those she disagrees with. But we’re also fair in our analysis, and will seek to look at the context in which a statement is made, regardless of which side of the political aisle the speaker hails from.
We often lament the fact that liberals claiming to be warriors against intolerance are the most intolerant of us all in failing to accept the perspectives of those with whom they disagree. It’s usually the left that is the first to censor or cancel.
That’s why it’s important for those of us who support unhindered expression to defend all those on the entire political spectrum when free speech comes under attack.
In our view, Goldberg was wrong in claiming that the Nazis’ persecution of the Jews was not racially motivated because, she claims, Judaism is not a race. Hitler and the Nazis believed that the Jews were indeed a race. In fact, their justification for wiping out the Jewish population was based on the ridiculous theory that this was an inferior race.
Goldberg inaccurately looks at race as just being a matter of color or outward appearance. To paraphrase her words: If you can walk down the street and not tell the nationality or religion of a person, then it is not racial. When she, as a Black woman, walks down the street and can be easily identified as Black, that is racial.
In our view, she’s wrong because race is more involved with it than just outward appearance. It also has to do with culture and generations reproducing over the centuries.
That being said, it is hard to call Goldberg antisemitic here because her intent was not to disparage the Jewish population. She was just making a thoughtful conclusion that religion is different from race because one can change one’s religion, but not one’s race. She’s incorrect in this case, as it pertains to the Jewish population, since they were indeed perceived as a race by their Nazi persecutors.
Goldberg can be wrong, but that doesn’t mean there was ill will in her analysis. We have to defend the rights of those we disagree with to make their points, even if they are wrong. We can have an intelligent discussion, be respectful of a contrarian view and still seek to educate that person as to why they, in our opinion, are inaccurate. However, we don’t have to destroy their careers if the intent was not harmful in the first place.