Tl;dr: Ashkenazi jews: not white because they're jews or not semites because they're european?
The "fellow white people" meme made me think of this.
I see all these screencaps of Jews claiming to be 'fellow white people' next to caps of them claiming to be Jews. And people here are quick to point out the contradiction: Jew != white.
I guess that's fair, because they're a pretty distinct group -- different avg IQ (measurable), and also pretty noticeable personality and political inclinations (I don't know if it's been measured but it's what I've observed).
But at the same time you get people pointing out that Ashkenazi Jews are not, in fact, Semites. They're basically Europeans who converted to Judaism.
If that's the case, then how can we say that Jews aren't white (assuming their lineage is 100% Ashkenazi and not mixed)? Or the flipside: Isn't it reasonable for an Ashkenazi Jew to identify as white and Jewish?
I know there's a lot of goats more knowledgeable on Jews than me. I'm calling on your knowledge and looking for either some kind of correction or acknowledgement that there is a contradiction here. If Ashkenazi Jews are European/white, maybe it's an argument for more nuance in racial distinctions, or maybe an argument for culture's interaction with biology. No?
I'd love to be called a shill in the comments. Please let me know what you think.
Edit: If you're downvoting this, please comment. I'm asking in good faith.
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[–] Its_over_9000 [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
Yeah, this is more or less along the lines of the conclusion I'd drawn. Either because of culture or biology, European descendants can be different. IF Ashkenazi Jews are European descendants (some have said they're Khazars), then maybe it's stupid to argue they're not white, but not stupid to point out the majority of people saying 'fellow white people' are Jews.
[–] BlacklistedEvola ago
iirc jews arrived in europe @~11th century
depending on how deep you think the link between biology and culture is, this could be very recent or ancient history
[–] Its_over_9000 [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
My belief is that culture can stick with a group for hundreds of years. Probably takes longer to get away from biology, but we probably evolve faster than most people think.