The hate begins

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the debate over Mel Gibson's The Passion is bringing the haters out of the woodwork.

The Anti-Defamation League, which has been at the forefront in raising red flags about the anti-Semitic content of the film, reports that it is being flooded with hate mail and phone calls.

A sampling:

"You should be more concerned about the conduct of Jews in our government and financial markets … and stock scams promoted by Jews…" "The hypocracy [sic] going on by Jews in this nation such as your radical Marxist liberal people in government … and the entire diatribe [sic] that opposes our Christian faith and daily tries to undermine our Constitution. … "If a backlash comes it will be a result of that kind of conduct we see out of Jews … not a result of some historically based film …. Many people are just not going to be pushed around much longer."

"I find it sad that you would attempt to censor Gibson. Whether you like it or not, the Jews of the time were instrumental in Jesus' death. We don't need anymore revisionist history. Didn't the Holocaust teach you anything?"

"Shame on the ADL and its attempt at censorship! Where is the ADL when Holocaust films come out that cause feelings of hate toward Germans? … Stop trying to control world opinion and get over yourselves!"

[Note: I particularly enjoy the inherent irony of this argument, which I've been hearing increasingly on the right. It doesn't seem to occur to the writer that what Holocaust films inspire is hatred not of Germans (I happen to be of German descent) but of Nazis. Or is the writer unaware of the difference?]

"All anti-Semitism is the fault of Jews. If you would direct your people to quit being so dishonest, immoral, atheistic, and Marxist, this stigma would go away…. If you want people to quit their prejudice, then quit giving them reasons to be prejudiced. As long as you act like immoral heathens people will treat you the same way."

"Why are you so upset about Gibson's movie? What he portrays is the truth! Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus! … Maybe when Jesus returns as the Messiah, you won't try to do it again."

So much for all the skepticism that The Passion might inflame latent anti-Semitism.

Of course, if any of these same skeptics bothered to read La Voz de Aztlan (to which certain critics are attempting to link Cruz Bustamanate), they'd know that the debate over the movie is already serving as a significant pretext for spreading anti-Semitism.