Friday, July 21, 2017

Banning the Star of David: Evidence of Progressive Tolerance

After the scandal involving the ejection of Jewish women carrying Star of David pride flags at Chicago’s Dyke March on June 28, a sister organization in the city has announced that it will follow suit by banning “Zionist displays” from its upcoming protest against sexual violence and “rape culture.”
The ban was announced this week on social media by the organizers of SlutWalk Chicago — part of an international protest movement that “fights rape culture, victim blaming, and slut shaming.” The Chicago event is set to take place on August 12.
“We still stand behind Dyke March Chicago’s decision to remove the Zionist contingent from their event, & we won’t allow Zionist displays at ours,” the organizers tweeted last Sunday — beginning several days of exchanges with other users over the policy. These were distinguished by the organizers’ continued insistence that anti-Zionism is a legitimate progressive belief, and that any linkage with antisemitism should be dismissed as a discrediting tactic.
 I can remember when Zionism was a heavily socialist movement.  I confess SlutWalk taking this on makes perfect sense, as much as any SlutWalk does.  You want women to be treated as equals and not just as sex objects?  So dress like sluts; this tells rapists that you want it,  This would be like protesting stereotypes of gays as promiscuous by organizing events in public restrooms.

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