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Comment by J5892 | Hacker News Reader

I would argue that assuming by default that "unseen ones who control them" is referring to Jews is closer to antisemitism.

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The OP is simply recognising language commonly used by antisemites. They're not assuming by default.

It's irrelevant to the parent post and discussion.

I wouldn't. For work I end up reading a lot of antisemitic text, and secret control is a major theme. This goes back a long way, including the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. [1] It has stayed solid through the years, as in the claims of secret control of the Federal Reserve. [2] There are notable QAnon elements that parallel classic antisemitic tropes, [3] so it's no surprise that a Q adherent also believes in Jewish space lasers starting forest fires. [4]

In this case, I don't think the author is antisemitic. But when common antisemitic themes come up in a text, you can bet that some readers, me included, will perk up and start looking for other ones.

[1] https://www.adl.org/news/op-ed/the-protocols-revisited-the-f...

[2] https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/jewish-control-o...

[3] https://www.adl.org/qanon

[4] https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/jewish-space-lasers-funny-mar...

But you might be biased by your work.

For me (and, probably, many other people), who doesn't daily work with antisemitic pamphlet, ‶secret control″ evokes more some shady secret service shenanigans (à la Hoover files or MK Ultra) rather than a nebulous international Jewish plot :)

I sometimes wonder whether the world would actually be better off being run by a secret Jewish Cabal.

We already have silicon valley sucking up all the engineers, and wall street absorbing all the math guys.

The last thing we need is a secret jewish cabal to take all the standup comedians off the market.

> I sometimes wonder whether the world would actually be better off being run by a secret Jewish Cabal.

It might look something like: https://web.archive.org/web/20110106011917/http://internatio...

anyone who could manage to secretly run the world would probably be better at it than the clowns we’ve got publicly running the world.

At least in some countries.

There are still a few better runs left.

I assume there would still be a side show to keep us distracted from the important things. And if current politics is good at one thing, it’s keeping people distracted with unimportant outrage.

Sure, that's the point of language like that. If somebody comes right out and says "Nice to meet you, let's KILL THE JEWS" then they get rebuked and shunned. So it gets toned down enough that there's plausible deniability. Instead they talk about the Rothschilds and Soros and (((them))). And "unseen ones who control them", of course.

I get that the language doesn't bother you. But there are plenty of people out there who lost family members due to pogroms brought on in part by antisemitic conspiracy theories. I, and presumably you, are not at the same level of risk, which makes it much easier for us to blow it off. But if your point is, "The experience of Jews reading something doesn't matter as long as I don't see a problem with it," that's a pretty weird stance to take.

The very narrative of secret powers controlling the world is historically tightly connected to antisemitism. Sure, there are alternatives like reptiloids, pedophiles, freemasons, etc. but Jews normally arise at some point in these theories.

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