Bari Weiss vs Antisemitism and Woke Culture
I’m pretty late to the party when it comes to consuming the work of Bari Weiss. I’ve heard her name in passing since she left the New York Times, but out of curiosity, I decided to see who she is and what she’s all about a few weeks ago. Although I’ve become less of a fan of Jordan Peterson over the years, he’s a curious person who has interesting conversations, so I introduced myself to Bari by listening to her conversation with Jordan on his podcast.
Once I listened to that episode, I was sold on Bari Weiss and instantly became a fan. I don’t agree with all of Bari’s opinions, but I definitely agree with her principles. As someone who was cancelled for some of my views, her story about leaving New York Times really made sense. Not only have I personally experienced the wrath of the mob, but I see on a daily basis how publications and organizations will throw people to the wolves rather than foster conversations that some people may not agree with. I also respected how passionate she is about giving lesser-known writers a shot to share their views, experiences, and opinions.
Those of you who follow my work and my podcast know I’m forever curious and love to learn. Recently, I’ve been really curious about topics and conversations happening around antisemitism, Israel, and the experience of Jewish people. I’m hoping to sweet-talk Batya Ungar-Sargon into coming back on the podcast to discuss some of these topics, but in the interim, she said I’d probably enjoy Bari’s book How to Fight Anti-Semitism. So, I grabbed a copy and learned a ton. It’s a great book, but I still have a ton of questions.
After following Bari’s work for the last couple of months, I’ve seen that a major part of her brand is being against woke culture while advocating for free speech and exchanging ideas. Her book helped me understand how the woke left actually perpetuates some antisemitic ideas, and it made sense.
I’ve been curious about one specific aspect of Bari’s views for a while now, and her recent conversation with Ben Shapiro really highlighted it for me.
During the conversation, Bari says how her and Ben disagree ideologically on topics, but they can have a discussion and be in the same room. Unfortunately, with the current climate, the outrage mob is able to manipulate the narrative into saying you endorse a person’s ideas just for having a conversation. But this isn’t what stuck out to me. What’s fascinating to me is how both Bari and Ben are Jewish and within the same conversation can go from the overblown discussions around racism and then discuss how antisemitism is a massive issue.
As I mentioned, I’m new to learning about the challenges Jewish people face, but as a cognitive psychology nerd, I can’t help but think biases and heuristics may be clouding some of Bari’s views and opinions on woke culture.
The Woke Culture Wars
I love Bari, but I personally think her content as well as her Substack publication lean a little too hard into the anti-woke topics rather than having discussions. Recently, she had Glenn Loury on her podcast in an episode titled Wrongthink On Race. Glenn is a very intelligent man, and as a recovering drug addict myself, I was moved by his story. But I’ve familiarized myself with Glenn’s work, and he pushes a narrative that America is a meritocracy and Black communities can work hard and succeed because he did. Unfortunately, the data doesn’t back this up, and Lara Bazelon did an excellent job educating Glenn about this over on his podcast. (Lara and I discussed this a little on my podcast as well.)
Bari regularly hosts people like Glenn on her podcast and her publication, and she’ll also share content that backs the idea that racism is overblown in this country. While I definitely think that the woke mob lack nuance and the ability to have mature conversations around race at times, there are definitely issues that need to be addressed.
As I listened to Bari and Ben talk, I saw what happens quite often during these conversations. If you’re in the world of anti-wokeness, you have a Rolodex of anecdotes and questionable statistics to try and debunk topics around racism. These include police violence against Black people, arrest rates, wealth inequality, upward mobility, and more. When discussing anti-semitism, you see people Bari with the ability to do the exact opposite and point out anecdotes and statistics to argue that antisemitism is a massive problem.
Is There Dissonance?
Whether I’m having a conversation with someone or consuming their content, I’m always trying to think of what a detractor would say. I do this even if I completely agree with the person because there’s always a different experience and perspective. So, as someone on the outside, when I see Bari discuss antisemitism and write an entire book on the topic, I think, “Wouldn’t someone argue that these are the same points the so-called ‘woke’ would say about issues around racism?”
No matter who you are, we all experience cognitive dissonance. It’s difficult to hold two conflicting ideas, so we’ll justify our deeply held beliefs by using irrational logic. I’ve never spoken to Bari, but due to what I know about human nature, I’d guarantee if put in a debate with someone far more knowledgable than me about statistics around racism, it’d be difficult for her to concede.
I might be totally wrong, but again, it’s hard to know since her content revolves around people who agree with her, and this goes for the content she endorses as well.
The Availability Heuristic
We all think our problems are the worse, and some people refer to this as the “Oppression Olympics”. Sections of white men think they have it the hardest as they believe the world is turning against them. Right now, there’s a battle between old-school feminists and the trans community as they argue about which issues are more important. And speaking of the trans community, the Dave Chappelle standup controversy is largely about Black vs trans oppression and who is in more danger. Then, we have this topic of racism vs antisemitism.
The reality is that aside from dissonance, our perception is skewed due to the availability heuristic.
The availability heuristic, also known as availability bias, is a mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to a given person's mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method or decision.
Rather than seeing the big picture, we pull from immediate examples. If you’re a woman, it’s easier to think about your challenges because you experience them. If you’re trans, the same thing happens. If you’re Black or Jewish, you turn to your personal experiences.
We’re also affected by the news and content that we consume. So, if you’re following a ton of woke media or mainstream media that panders to the culture wars, you’re going to believe that things may be worse than they actually are. This is one reason Steven Pinker pissed so many people off with his book Enlightenment Now.
On the other side, if you’re someone like Bari, you’re going to see antisemitism as a massive issue; especially when compared to woke topics. Bari Weiss has been a Jew her entire life and she also attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Later, she was a founding editor of The Current, which covered politics, culture, and Jewish affairs. Not only that, but Bari also grew up in Pittsburg where she attended the Tree of Life Synagogue, which was tragically the target of a mass shooting in 2018.
If we zoom out through the lens of the availability heuristic, things start to come into focus. With Bari’s personal experience, field of study, and writing a book, it’d make sense that she sees antisemitism as a larger issue than racism. This has been front and center of her mind throughout life. And when you consider the awful events at the Tree of Life Synagogue, there’s a good chance she knows people directly affected by this mass shooting, and she was probably personally affected as well.
But when we switch back to the side of those who argue that racism is a major issue, how many of them have been personally affected? And did any of them personally know people who were killed in the mass shooting that took place at the Black church in Charleston, South Carolina?
What Matters?
The problem we face is one where we’re keeping score and trying to gauge the subjective experience of suffering. Who has it worse and what issues matter? Who cares. Suffering is suffering, and we owe it to each other to try and eliminate as much senseless suffering as possible.
Who among us is tasteless enough to start comparing body counts of Jewish or Black Americans to say which topic deserves attention? How are we going to say that Black people are being woke when they get upset about racist dog whistles but then argue that there’s a ton of covert antisemitism going on?
I’m not here to downplay anyone’s experience, and there are definitely conversations to be had involving the oppression, violence, and dehumanization around any group. What bums me out is the bickering and the time spent saying, “Your problem doesn’t matter. MY problem matters.”
What would happen if someone like Bari Weiss actually sat down with someone like Ibrim Kendi, but it wasn’t for a debate. What if it was to educate one another about their experiences and to fill gaps in the other person’s knowledge? Would Kendi realize that maybe it’s messed up to talk about the white privilege of Jews? Would Bari see that even in 2021, Black people are still dealing with systemic racism and not everyone is as fortunate as Glenn Loury?
It’s not just Bari either. In my opinion, independent media is becoming just as bad as mainstream media when it comes to pandering. People find their audience and feed the monster that is confirmation bias.
We all have our “thing”. My thing is mental health and addiction advocacy, but I realized we’re not in a zero-sum game when it comes to the suffering we’re all facing. Humans are pretty awesome, and we can care about multiple things at the same time. I can care about the raging opioid epidemic and suicide rates while also caring about racism, antisemitism, misogyny, transphobia, and all sorts of other issues.
Personally, I think there’s a fear that if we allow people to think topic A is the bigger issue, they won’t care about topic B. The reality is that if we just focus on having decent values, we can care about all of these issues and work together to decrease suffering as much as possible through conversations and taking action.
I like to end my pieces with a solution, so I’ll tell you what’s helped me out a ton. I read books from the perspective of someone fighting against injustice. I read Bari’s book on antisemitism. I’ve read books on racism, feminism, LGBTQ activism, environmental issues, and more. Reading a book by someone who is fighting for something and trying to raise awareness will give that person the space to tell you some stuff you may not know. This will do much more for you than just listening to your side that someone is blowing an issue out of proportion.
Note: This is my personal opinion based on what I’ve seen. I’d love to chat with Bari at some point because I may be totally wrong. I’ve reached out to her and her team multiple times to have her on the podcast to discuss her book. I haven’t received a response yet.
I’ve been working on organizing all the books I’ve read, and I have multiple lists of books on becoming a better thinker. There are lists for education, social issues, critical thinking, self-deception, and biases. For the rest of the categories, click here.
I’m always open for a conversation and to be shown what I might be missing or where I may be wrong, so feel free to email me at TheRewiredSoul@gmail.com