Christopher Hitchens on Antisemitism

[@MorphingReality]

Watch the full talk here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZKahWOQqJmnobs If you like Hitch, you might like the channel and The Hitch Series :) Here is the portable Hitch, 20ish topics I think are most important kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYLWhqCBfKt4bM0

[@heavenonearthhoetv9271]

Much appreciated, but you should pin the comment so more people see

[@MorphingReality]

@@heavenonearthhoetv9271 oops, thank you for noticing I thought I did do that :D

[@Radical_Induction]

Christopher Hitchens: The only man who can tactfully pull off a baking metaphor at a conference on antisemitism.

[@cisium1184]

Technically it's a fermentation metaphor.

[@speedrunner9907]

lol oh wow so funny you should be a comedian

[@TrvMoney]

Ha! did not notice that...

[@hybridepigenes]

In this singular lecture he demonstrates one of the greatest minds in human history. Every utterance is nuanced and complex and filled with historical anecdotes and humor. I miss him so very much.

[@cohenshcohen]

Yup...brilliant mind...sorely missed...but his history ain't always accurate...

[@aaronkahland9896]

Hitchens is indeed a phenomenon for the 1.5 to 2.5 standard deviation above the mean crowd.

[@michaeldesrosier1068]

eh, 5 dollar words forming 10c thoughts sweetened by a pleasing accent. Hitchens, in many ways, is a dumb person's idea of what a smart person is. No offense.

[@morgenmuffel5747]

Hitchens would have laughed at such a framing. Intelligent, extremely well-read, insightful, a formidable debater, and a wordsmith, yes. One of the greatest minds of all time, no

[@morgenmuffel5747]

@@michaeldesrosier1068I don’t agree with the OP’s characterization, but to imply that Hitchens was not of above average intelligence is just silly.

[@eamonnca1]

So much knowledge coming from his head. He’s not exactly reading this from a teleprompter. He knew his stuff inside out. A remarkable intellect.

[@OtaBengaBokongo]

what did he say specifically that has some value?

[@patmason7370]

Otabe*! You can’t be that stupid.DONT talk such CRAP,,Christopher Hitchens is a one of the worlds greatest orators and can make sense out of the most difficult of subjects so even the ordinary man + woman GETS IT.because you don’t it shows what an unpleasant human?you are the type to put others down not lift them up to help them but stamp on them to keep them in their place that of an ignorant SERF**😢😂

[@Isaac5123]

​@@OtaBengaBokongothat you are an imbecile

[@basit730]

You clearly never went to university. Every lecturer can demonstrate such a compitancy.

[@moazim1993]

What’s with all these comments sucking him off? I completely agree with him, but the dudes just talking and stating the history.

[@mariadelpilar1590]

I could listen to Hitch speak all day . . . I have learned so much from this man

[@willmpet]

Read more.

[@MakeSomeNoisePlaylists]

@@willmpet Dont be arrogant, thank you

[@paulgibbons2320]

So can Hitchens.

[@OstblockLatina]

His statements on so many subjects remain so painfully up to date until this very day, he and his incredible mind are being missed so much.

[@SeoulHomeLIving]

Can't believe that this hasn't gotten millions of views yet. Listened to to it twice due to somewhat poor sound quality.

[@gdlkgscruff6634]

What he brings to the discussion is dearly missed in todays society, that of a curious and questioning mind.

[@rivadenis1073]

A great man sadly missed with the best explanation of Antisemitism I've ever heard. Good time to post this everywhere possible.

[@chelsea321123]

Yeah but how much wood can a wood chuck chuck?

[@robreich6881]

What is his explanation for Anti-Semitism exactly? It basically just seems to be “everything healthy, pure, noble and not homosexual is anti-Semitic, so you should be a gigantic transsexual raging Zionist murderous ex-Stalinist (tee hee) fiend.”

[@obnobn2345]

​@@chelsea321123as much wood as a wood chuck could chuck.

[@catdooley4616]

I am Jewish by blood, but an atheist by choice and after this year I am more anti-sematic then most anti-sematic people.

[@davy_K]

Every time I listen to or read Hitchens I have at least one more book to read.....the man was a human rabbit hole.

[@odieostrich7718]

try ten more

[@hansjuker8296]

Any interview at his house shows books stacked so high they appear to be held up by magick.

[@haydenwayne3710]

I am grateful we have video documentation of this!!!

[@ferregu12]

Save the video before it gets deleted..

[@Dantegrey1]

I had a nasty bout of stress and anxiety some years ago, and I lost much of my ability to remember words and frases. I enjoy Christopher Hitchens best, when I read him, but listening to him like this makes me happy and a bit depressed. He was twelve years older than I am now, when he died, but his mind was clear as a diamond until the end. I envy him tremendously.

[@ljragsandfeathers]

Oh Hitch, where are you when we need you? Whenever I hear that pretentious Balliol accent and the gorgeous turn of phrase … breaks my heart. ❤

[@marioluigi9599]

"Where are you?"...? Hell of course! The place YOU'RE going

[@johnw3736]

@@marioluigi9599 who are you to judge your neighbor?

[@marioluigi9599]

@@johnw3736 Oh sweety, I didn't make that judgment. That was God and he was quite clear about it

[@johnw3736]

@@marioluigi9599 I think you misunderstand what it means to judge, friend. The amount of mental gymnastics you must go through to say something like “hell. The place you’re going”, and then believing it is god passing the judgment and not yourself. What are your feelings about pride and condescension?

[@marioluigi9599]

@@johnw3736 Doesn't require any gymnastics at all, sweetheart. It's literally what's going to happen to you. Why you upset? Ain't nobody brought it on but yourself

[@euanmacleod3738]

What a gift to humanity this guy was. The kind of voice we are desperately lacking today.

[@junkscience6397]

You want a guy who advocates such a thing as an Iraq Invasion? Really? lol. Okay. Meanwhile, please ignore his brother.

[@euanmacleod3738]

@@junkscience6397 Because I'm interested in the content of someone's argument and their full body of work, rather than a review of the nebulous consequences of one thing they argued for occurring - yes, really. But you do you.

[@jonnsmusich]

Well. compared with eyeball marketing entertainment tiktok news technology that runs most of our successful media...sure...But that is a very low barrier to jump.

[@Jide-bq9yf]

Only because we are lazy. He died more than a decade ago. We should have caught up by now.

[@modernmanno9943]

@@junkscience6397your username checks out

[@T.S.4287-i7r]

Always want more Hitchens! This is a great video, so much insight.

[@Intake33]

Incredible lecture. Imagine the reaction he would have received if he had been giving it today .

[@melatomic]

Nah,… he would’ve been paid for silence

[@thedolphin5428]

Yeah, tomatoes at the stage.

[@miyojewoltsnasonth2159]

*@Intake33* What do YOU think the reaction would be? *Reply to:* _"Incredible lecture. Imagine the reaction he would have received if he had been giving it today"_

[@miyojewoltsnasonth2159]

​*@melatomic* Because Christopher Hitchens had a long history of keeping silent when others opposed him? Do YOU even know who Christopherb Hitchens _was?_ I suspect you have NO IDEA who he was. *Reply to:* _"Nah,… he would’ve been paid for silence"_

[@miyojewoltsnasonth2159]

*​@thedolphin5428* "tomatoes at the stage," maybe. But Christopher Hitchens would have thrown the tomatoes right back at them. *Reply to:* _"Yeah, tomatoes at the stage."_

[@bubbercakes528]

I miss this man. If only our leaders were half as courageous as he was!

[@peterh1353]

I have heard him make very stupid remarks about third world and Western sensibilities. Including saying that we should take these disagreeable people on in a war! Shouting at the top of his his lungs "bring it on." I wouldn't want my leader to be making remarks like that! There are too many wars, not too little.

[@OtaBengaBokongo]

what did he say specifically that is "courageous?"

[@OtaBengaBokongo]

@johnmartlew He's an anglo and this KZbin, one is afraid the other doesn't allow anything out of the range.

[@mikespearwood3914]

@@OtaBengaBokongo What's wrong with anglos???

[@canavanibus]

My son was expelled from 109 different educational institutions, after 1000s of warnings and demerits. Those bigoted, jealous, bitter teachers and administrators really have it out for him. Really I swear.

[@closetglobe.IRGUN.NW0]

Most were innocent in europe but but not in the Arabic levant

[@atidfelixcastillo-najerala6891]

עם ישראל חי חביבי

[@atidfelixcastillo-najerala6891]

Your son was educated by an antisemite. What can we expect? Honestly

[@closetglobe.IRGUN.NW0]

@@atidfelixcastillo-najerala6891 english

[@jaybee9269]

I think your son is a reflection on you, then! (Talk about a self-own.) I suggest a paddle. Did they also enact pogroms against your son?

[@alecmiddleton1842]

A real shame about the distorted sound quality. I have got the volume up and I'm still having to follow the transcript.

[@cpuuk]

If only we had more people like 'Hitch' who spoke (uncomfortable) truths, maybe the world would stop deluding itself with 'opinions'.

[@sirdiealot53]

Opinions are fine. It’s when people call them facts you get the problem.

[@junkscience6397]

Here's a "truth" for you: by the time he died, more than 100,000 innocent Iraqis had died violent deaths in an unjust war "Hitch" madly advocated for...even though based on lies and manipulation. How's that for "truth"? I bet those Iraqi civilians "deserved" their fates, right?

[@jonnsmusich]

You can't hold Hitchens responsible for the delusions and personal agenda of Bush and the utter incompetence and vainglory of his generals and Rumsfeld. His argument for ridding the world of Saddam was far more nuanced and specific. The total delusion of the administration that once "shock and awe" was done with the Iraqis would sort themselves out on good old western principles was incredible. You can agree with his arguments or disagree. (He would prefer you to disagree so understanding by debate can begin.) "Truth" has nothing to do with anything.... @@junkscience6397

[@harrybeau1712]

@@junkscience6397 Agreed that he was wrong on that one, but at least he wasn't actually involved in making the decision to invade.

[@jonharrison9222]

@@harrybeau1712 Yet proselytised for it and tried to justify it.

[@Story_Fuel]

He was bloody brilliant

[@Juancilra]

I hadn't watched Hitchens in a long time. Forgot just how brilliant he is. This lecture is super relevant for today - autumn 2023. There is no one as erudite, eloquent and also funny as Hitch. I will say this 1 criticism: I think he makes a persuasion mistake by inserting his Atheism into the heart of his argument against Anti-Semites. Like religious fundamentalists, strident Atheists insist on literal interpretation of religion. So when he tells Jews to be proud of the fact that they rejected Jesus & Mohamed & the New Testament and the Koran etc., he is urging them to be extremely provocative. It is also a trap for religious Jews, to undermine their own religion. I don't think this would fool or persuade most religious people.

[@youareiamurim]

Truly a good specimen of an intellectual ape! Respect! R.I.P 💪

[@RichardDanielli]

Hitchens speaking on a University campus... How far back in the past did you have to reach for this one? These days one would most likely get crucified for simply showing a Christopher clip on a campus. *sigh* I dearly miss Christopher's rhetoric, and strongly feel this world has declined in its absence. Thank you good sir.

[@MorphingReality]

Not too long, its the Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture 2010. I would hope not, I think as long as he isn't mentioned when Iraq is the subject its okay :p The more depressing discovery might be that most of the students have never heard the name.

[@jamesbuzzella2518]

@WTF Again? I don't think CPAC would have minded him if he were speaking about his neoconservative views on foreign policy, but I doubt Hitchens would've accepted an invitation.

[@cameroncameron2826]

He along with Dawkins et al were the founding fathers of modern THOUGHT CRIME behind everyones backs and its hurting all of our lives big time.

[@stevensica89]

Basically, it is a case of "Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play.

[@greyfells2829]

Anti Semitism is fairly common on campuses, liberals tend to side with Palestine, especially the younger generations. You'll get in trouble for supporting Israel much faster, while I've seen Turkish students give outright pro-genocide reports on the Armenian genocide and Israel.

[@manusha1349]

We lost a pearl greater than all our tribe when we lost Christopher Hitchens ❤ I shall never stop missing him

[@ronaldthwaites177]

Yeah mate. He made me think.

[@ishmael2586]

I stopped missing him 15 years ago when i started to open my mind and realise he was nothing more than a drunk neo-con.

[@Unknownvillian___]

@@ishmael2586tit

[@obnobn2345]

​@@ishmael2586 well, at least you can rest well knowing no where near as many people care about nor remember you after you pass. What kind of fool judges one by politics? Spoken like a true believer....

[@Yourmomma568]

Care to elaborate on the neocon statement? Other than a handful of things, he was an avowed communist for most of his life.

[@winonafrog]

My soul needed this thank you

[@goldboy150]

Questioning the biblical prophecy of a state is something quite different than questioning the right for there to be one. Questioning the wisdom of the creation of such a state is also different from questioning its right to be. I’ve always found it uniquely perplexing that commentary on Israel almost always begins with “I recognise it’s right to exist”…why don’t other countries have such disclaimers? The birth of Jordan and Syria trace back to the same source and process…I’ve never encountered a questioning of their right to exist. Pakistan and east Pakistan (now Bangladesh) were created out of whole cloth by the British with immense displacement of the local population into present day India and vice versa out of India and into those two countries. Far more died during that partition and far more were displaced…why isn’t the right of Pakistan or Bangladesh to exist ever in question?

[@MorphingReality]

These things are all often in question, the whole Indian subcontinent has near constant border disputes and independence movements. It is a dumb framework, no state has a right to exist.

[@goldboy150]

@ border disputes aren’t questioning the validity of the state - or rather the people to exercise self determination. Please provide an example of contemporary scholarship questioning the validity of the existence of Pakistan or Bangladesh as a state and I’ll retract my statement.

[@MorphingReality]

​@@goldboy150 First a little nitpick, border disputes absolutely can constitute a questioning of the integrity and validity of states within their established borders. Every attempt at genocide, by definition, is an explicit rejection not just of the right of a people to self determination, but to exist at all. And every effort to conquer is at least a rejection of the former. That covers a lot, but I'll give a few examples. The independence war in Bangladesh started because of an attempted genocide by Pakistan. The attempt by Milosevic et al. to take Bosnia et al. off the map was an active military effort seeking to end the existence of sovereign nations. The same could be said of Turkey/Ottoman Empire with Armenia and Kurdistan. The same could actually be said for pretty much every nation that has overlapping territory with the proposed borders of Kurdistan. The same could obviously be said of colonial and fascist powers in the lands they dominated, whether its North Africa or Albania or Greece or Poland or the Baltic states. What has China done with Tibet and Hong Kong, what does it want to do with Taiwan? All this, far from exhaustive, is to me is far more pertinent than any contemporary scholarship or lack thereof. EDIT: I'll also add Rwanda, the whole Congo region, and Sudan/South Sudan as other potential examples, some disputes ongoing. Could also arguably include Russia in Ukraine depending on what you think the original objectives were.

[@goldboy150]

@ well you really do enjoy a tangent - either that or you’ve completely missed the thread. State action is completely irrelevant to my argument. Hence why I asked for scholarship because that is what is being discussed…not what armed action states or non-state actors do but the shape and tenor of political or philosophical discussion about said states. Nowhere did I mention the actions of the states of India, Pakistan or Bangladesh nor any actions by groups or individuals within those nations. My contention centred solely on current academic or media discussion (or lack thereof, as is my contention) of the validity of the existence of those states given their origin stories being that of colonial partition and the displacement and death of the local population that followed.

[@Roadwarior2]

Even if their borders were arbitrarily decided by decree, at the very least, Jordan, Syria, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are populated by people who are actually from the god damn region they’re inhabiting; Muslim Arabs and Indians respectively for the former and later two. Not like Israel where a minority of the Jews living there have been in the Levant since time immemorial while most of the rest are Jews from just about everywhere in world that British-Americans plunked down in a land that their distant ancestors hadn’t inhabited in almost two thousand years so they can LARP like the kingdom of David was only yesterday.

[@Daniel-u3f9k]

One of the main reasons why I enjoy listening to him is his vast knowledge and reference to literature. He refers to books of all types in most of his debates, and almost all of his reading recommendations are brilliant, eye-opening reads, from George Eliot to Conor Cruise O'Brian to Viktor Klemperer.

[@matthewlawrenson2734]

Miss you Christopher. Unreplaceable

[@katiewalker1880]

Thank goodness we can still listen to Christopher 😊 he’s so amazingly Brilliant 🤩

[@MiC-T]

When one takes emotion out of the discussion, the answer is crystal clear.

[@jonharrison9222]

Elaborate.

[@alphaomega1173]

​@@jonharrison9222no

[@skipstopstart]

​@@jonharrison9222Agreed, quite the elaborate statement.

[@timsearle5837]

That ur a bit of self aggrandising pillock?

[@kensurrency2564]

The real problem is of definition: the word “semite” is defined as “a member of any of a number of peoples of ancient southwestern Asia including the Akkadians, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs”. Semite is a classification not limited to jews. Here we have a classification problem and an error of definition. We spend so much time and energy defending and supporting “groups”, when in truth, there are no naturally occurring groups. Groups or tribes are human, social constructs. It is not OK to mistreat any other human based on lineage or birth location. We do not choose to whom or where we are born. Let’s get serious about human rights if that is a concept we believe in.

[@panjandrum.conundrum]

This is misleading. The word was invented in 19th-century Germany and is very specific in its meaning. It's only about Jews.

[@Stumashedpotatoes]

Only a true idiot could use etymology as a challenge to the common understanding of a words meaning

[@daveguy11]

I wish the sound quality was better.

[@BS-vx8dg]

I really wish when people post lectures and other such content years after it was recorded, that in the description they would include the date it was recorded. *This appears to have been recorded March 3, 2010*

[@jarrodanderson2124]

Abe & Solomon joke at 8:18

[@joannaloha]

The references, the tone, the messages are so deeply moving and important to explore and heed.

[@CraigTalbert]

I wish the audio wasn’t clipped.

[@bulldogrj5020]

Wish the sound quality was better but so glad we have this nonetheless

[@robindegu7294]

‘Morphing reality’ channel is appropriately named.

[@Loenthall88]

I really liked Christopher Hitchens. Always engaging, never boring. And brilliant.

[@geoffcrumblin9850]

Hitch, the man for all seasons.

[@jamesfranklin8364]

As long as he chose the season.. he was a rigid. Had his view and his facts and never bent or swayed at all.

[@SierraSierraFoxtrot]

​@@jamesfranklin8364that's blatantly false.

[@SierraSierraFoxtrot]

Antisemitism is always in season. They will never stop hating us.

[@jamesfranklin8364]

@@SierraSierraFoxtrot no its not. Hitch was false. A disgruntled man who tool it upon himself to make a name and money from views such as theology that cannot be proved or disproved.

[@mattpierce5009]

@@jamesfranklin8364 Hitchens and co have always maintained that a theistic worldview is unfalsifiable, which is what makes it an even worse hypothesis than a dumb-but-falsifiable one like, say, alchemy. Saying "you can't prove it ISN'T true" is just pouting (if you're Christian) or equivocating (if you're agnostic). The burden of proof is on the person putting forth the proposition, not the person raising his eyebrow at it. The evidence put forward had not convinced Hitchens, who by the way had a long and successful career as a journalist long before he became known as a public atheist. He earned his scratch as far as I'm concerned, even if I didn't always agree with everything he said.

[@speedrunner9907]

great comedy thanks chris glad you’re still alive to share these bits

[@user-tm8jt2py3d]

I feel empty that I'm not moved by this. I listen with an open mind, but the same doubts nag. It's a question of competing conspiracies. One is that a single group of ideological people have subverted and obliterated passive enough societies for thousands of years. The other is that every other society has adopted that singular conspiracy without merit. The only way to reconcile the idea that it's Jews vs everyone, and that everyone else is wrong about their conclusions, is to conclude that Jews are vastly superior people. I wish somebody would engage honestly with me on this, I'm trying my best to not feel a certain way.

[@MorphingReality]

I am functionally certain that Jews are just as human as the rest of us, I think you're working from a faulty dichotomy.

[@H1JOSH1]

The bit from 6:43 to 7:30 is incredibly pertinent and applicable today.

[@letloverule100]

More than ever.

[@gofindyourself6568]

closing remarks to live by. Mr Hitchens, thank you for your forever articulate and engaging contributions.

[@cheri238]

Christopher Hitchens definitely was a part of my education on many subjects. His love of books and being an excellent writer always made me grasp the meaning of having an open mind. RIP 🙏 ❤ Christopher Hitchens

[@carobresler2767]

Amazing talk...thank you

[@nickhughes2434]

The world was better with Hitch in it.

[@haniffhaniff5764]

Depends who you ask. Iraqis are not so flattered with him. The others, maybe

[@1Esteband]

Thank you for sharing !

[@Plato86]

I like Hitchen’ keen point on the inherent anti-Semitism of Christianity and Islam. The Jews rejected both the Christian Messiah and Islamic prophet and they will never be forgiven. That is beautiful and tragic all at once.

[@wahyasaquii7563]

Wait...are not Muslims in Palestine ALSO of "Shem?" ..."Shemites?" ..."Semites?"

[@johnfused8281]

like the pagans

[@almostafa4725]

“Reject” is a nice way of saying they tried to murder them both but failed

[@arimoff]

​@almostafa4725 wrong. It wss the other two with swords on jewish necks convert or die and they didn't convert and they are still here.

[@99NOFX]

The christians seem to be willfully ignorant of this fact and have some sort of misconstrued affiliation with Jews.

[@andreasstavrinides6980]

If I could invite only one historical figure to dinner, it's this great man. What a gentleman.

[@halflifeproductionz]

I miss this man

[@SierraSierraFoxtrot]

Same. Every day.

[@dpm2515]

Fantastic video. I'd like to add in my occupation as a LL I've met 10-15 anti semites. They work for entry level pay or live off govt assistance. The common denominator shared by all was a dissatisfaction with what theyve achieved in life. Whether its their current economic/social standing in life (younger ppl) or failure to achieve goals/meet expectations set as a young adult (older)...and for any number of reasons an incapacity for self awareness (even with what might seem obvious like daily pot use) and an eagerness to accept an alternative explanation especially when it removes personal responsibility combined with the explanation that a cabal at the top of society rigs everything from the beginning so you never had a chance to begin with...IMO every one was able to delude themselves and unfortunately weren't ever challenged...

[@andrewyoung749]

idiotic cod psychology i support Israel but grow up please. every anti semite i see seems to be wel educated (usually ivy league or similar), well paid, professional careers. -the squad, kanye 'net yohoo' west, dave chapelle, pretty much all ivy league profs that have expressed an opinion, on and c. just as if i wanted to find the biggest concentration of 'men can absolutely give birth' types I know that the best place to hunt for anti semites is at the most successful evels and most elite institutions. couldn't be clearer , after the past month, its actualy been clear for decades but if were still pretending its about guys who havent got a mortgage we should give up now... aoc/half of hollywood/all the well paid journos at the nyt and bbc on and on etc etc, they're all anti Israel because of their low status in life?. get a grip, quickly... "anyone who disagrees with me is just a loser who isnt earning enough and thus they dont agree with me" is such a 5 year old on a playground type cop out..

[@peterh1353]

You have applied to them logic and reason. That is probably flattering. Racists are only racists if they are against you for some defined reason. They may have lashed out because of your hair cut or your trousers or anything that came to mind at that moment. I am not black so I know that people are not reacting to me for being black, but if I was some of the negatives occurrences of my life I might have attributed to it! In short, some people are assholes full stop.

[@Letsgetiton41]

The only one who is deluded is you amigo.

[@alexgreen2850]

When you say LL are you meaning Liberal Left? Just for clarity sake

[@MrBannystar]

@@Letsgetiton41 A truly stunning rebuttal right there, really thought provoking and insightful.......

[@Robespierre-lI]

Hitchens offers viable and valuable arguments, but there are other angles on these issues which i find far more persuasive. The scholarly literature on nationalism is most instructive On antisemitism, the issue is so much more basic than all these quibbles try to make it. It's simply a form of racism like any other. The arguments are simply couched in religion, biblical history, a vaguely sketched modern history of the Levant, and a crude history of the Jewish diaspora. The complaint against Zionism, valid or invalid, is a seperate matter. Antisemitism is just one of the great sins of Western and Near-Eastern civikizations which refuses to die. But it is one among many.

[@soltantio]

I think it's more Insidious in the sense that Jews are otherwise very integrated into all areas of society in many places. And because Jews don't necessarily look any different than non-jews, I think that there is this sense of there being something Insidious to anti-semites. Like the Jews are everywhere and you have to look over your shoulder because you can't quite be sure where they are. That being said, it also depends where you are. Well anti-Semitism in the United States is very troubling, as a practical matter it has not been anywhere near as impactful as racism. But in other countries the impacts of anti-Semitism are far worse than the impacts of racism

[@myoung48281]

Or that Jews are judged purely on the state of Israel and all Jews are presumed in resonance.

[@jonharrison9222]

Pity Elon Musk pushes it.

[@freneticness6927]

Almost as bad as anti scanditism

[@peterh1353]

I always hate to rush behind ignorance, but I got to be an adult like without a thought to Judaism and or knew anything other than a few sketchy facts. I know a little more today, but it doesn't enter my mind much. I think it enters the mind of people entering expensive public schools, golf clubs or academia more.

[@objectivist2963]

A privileged, advantaged class or group is the gate way to tyranny. The antidote is individualism From this perspective Every Individual is a precious person (This philosophy places individual rights at the center of its ethical and political thought. This strong emphasis on individual rights is crucial to a just and free Society). Thank you Christopher Hitchens

[@objectivist2963]

@JasonRing observing and respecting the rights of others is the noblest, most responsible thing to do, which most people do anyway. Misconstruing freedom to life, liberty and the pursuit of happyness, to mean freedom from responsibilities is a false reinterpretation of a very important point. For man to live peacefully with his brothers and sisters, work productively with the highest degree of motivation, vigor, happiness etc, he/she must be free from harassment, bullying, threats, punishment, ridicule, enslavement etc.. individualism simply states that we each hold our life precious and jealously guard it. An inherent value every person holds for themselves. The next step is to recognise that in others, as a universal value we all have in common. Therefore to live well with each other, each individuals responsibility is to recognise this fact in themselves and others, observe it, respect it and defend it for themselves and their fellow brothers and sisters. This way each of us can live unmolested and free. The only people who interpret freedom to mean; irresponsibility to others and disregard their rights are criminals and usually governments, like in Hitler's Germany. Individualism screams in defence for the responsible, law abiding citizens of the human family against the criminals and governments of the world who crave to violate the rights of innocent individuals, to " leave them alone". The responsible individual needs to be freed. Only criminals and governments need to be restricted

[@garylake1497]

If the only thing scientists and AI could ever do is reanimate or resuscitate or replicate this man’s towering intellect it would all be worth it.

[@Subcleff]

Fuck, I miss that man...

[@cameroncameron2826]

No need. Even though they were pitching a good ''we'll protect your freedom'' story , behind everyones backs the new atheists were modelling the thought crimes that are ruining everyones lives. So its not really possible to get away from him. Thats not the part that mystifies me for the world has been corrupt a very long time and there were always characters like the new atheists spinning even more yarn & growing fat. No - what gets me is even while it was always easy to tell what a bunch of charlatans new atheists are, they STILL have the most vigorous bottom feeding following. I'm a life long atheist virtually, but i knew they were going to cause this outcome as soon as they opened thier mouths. And i wonder often - did new atheist disciples really think that a model, designed and tested on control groups ( new atheist fanatics / christians ) - and being a model tantamount to this being the first time any humans have been ordered by LAW not to practice 'X' since the witch trials ( being a christian in public ) - that such a model would not escape from its cage ? Well it did & now globalist cabalist dictators are telling us what we can & cannot think with that DAWKINSIAN MODEL. As i said theres no need to miss him or any of them because actually thats like saying you'd miss Stalin. NO ? - just look at the empirical data - Dawkins anti christian model / christians BANNED from worshipping in public / ALL OF US now expected o consider ourselves non biological entities or its a THOUGHT CRIME. No its NOT a coincidence its the same model applied to MORE BANS ON FREEDOM FOR ALL THIS TIME. Dawkins ? - just bought a huge mansion in Chipping Norton. New Atheist Disciple = Useful Idiot for supplying gushing ecstatic consensus on having theirs & everyone's freedoms violated by cabalists via the thought crime models formulated by New Atheism..

[@angelamaryquitecontrary4609]

Every bloody day.

[@miriamliremberg5840]

Would be possible to get the transcripts of this class?

[@omarmahfouz5599]

Hitchins is a classic example of the God That Failed transitioner, he used to be an ardent leftist in his earlier days with a "no Gods no Masters" approach, he soon realized this is a losing battle and transitioned into what you are seeing in this video. If you oppose all religions why would you advocate for a jewish supremacist state? Do you accept the same premise for an islamist state? (I dont). His views on the war on iraq is evident of the same. Hitchins was either enjoying his AIPAC money or has simply transitioned to a state pleaser.

[@MorphingReality]

He said elsewhere he thought zionism was a bad idea, and he applied the same logic to Pakistan or Bangladesh. But once a state exists and people have been living in it, that cannot be undone without extreme force.

[@omarmahfouz5599]

@@MorphingReality that was probably his debate with edward said in mid 80s and that is what I was referring to when he was younger. Colonizing land based on a 3000 years fictional book that is also subject to various interpretations is a terrible idea, Netenyahu himself just said that he will fullfill Isiah's prophecy a few months ago which is an extreme form of religious fanaticism and I am surprised Hitchens is ok with taking land based on religion.

[@MorphingReality]

@@omarmahfouz5599 it was after 2001 as it was on Charlie Rose and he was discussing Letters to a Young Contrarian. Its clipped on youtube as "Christoper Hitchens on Zionism and Modern Israel" He didn't advocate taking land based on religion.

[@nimbydimby]

The sound is terrible. Is there a better sounding version?

[@SeaMark782]

How prescient.

[@Nobel_Freeman]

please reply me if anyone has the text of this speech.. tnx

[@DieFlabbergast]

I would have liked to listen to this one, but unfortunately the audio is just too poor. I'm English, and I can't understand what he's saying twenty percent of the time.

[@januszpiechota6994]

You’re not serious I hope I’m polish and understand every word It called education

[@johnfused8281]

@@januszpiechota6994 He means the sound quality very bad

[@soltantio]

Agreed, the sound quality was pretty bad

[@patricklambe7081]

Yes, but just turn on subtitles.....not ideal but. This is too important a speech to let bad audio put you off. There is also transcript available to you. Slán.

[@DieFlabbergast]

@@januszpiechota6994 Idiot. I clearly said the audio is too poor. Perhaps your audio reproduction is better than mine, but the fault lies with the KZbin video producers.

[@lindag4544]

most people do not know BTW that Hitchens maternal lineage was Jewish/eastern Europeans … like many (think madeline albright) he did know until later in his life….was raised Christian-but rejected Christianity from an early age…

[@robinalexander5558]

I adore Hitchens but… right off the bat: there’s a difference between debating the existence of a Jewish state before hand, and trying to destroy it after it exists - especially when it was sanctioned by the UN.

[@MorphingReality]

He made that point elsewhere, saying that many states were founded on dubious grounds, and that alone doesn't justify their end.

[@robinalexander5558]

@user-cx7kg6ok9b You don't make a bad point. Absolutely. Here's how it went, I think. Israel gets attacked, Israel wins new land -- often happens in a war. I get it. They weren't supposed to win, but they did. They have given some of it back (Sinai). But obviously not all. Nevertheless, they should have tried much harder to make the whole peace process work. No doubt. Nevertheless, it's not one-sided. And it is a colossal mess. And I hate that people on all sides are suffering.

[@robinalexander5558]

@@MorphingReality Israel was founded by the U.N.; not so dubious. But I will say they made a colossal mess of it. Seriously.

[@jamesedwards3266]

So the Israelis can cherry pick which UN resolution they want and ignore the rest.

[@hiphopotal]

​@jamesedwards3266 since the u.n turned out to be extremely bias and often sntesemite throughout the years, yes. We dont see the need to listen to everything they have to say

[@JosephD1986]

Interesting and entertaining as always, but the section 11:10 to 13:00 is unworthy of Hitchens and all intelligent listeners.

[@paulmetcalfe3721]

22:30 This is why the West needs to wake up. This is everyone’s fight.

[@CraigTalbert]

Best comment.

[@ams5572]

Zog

[@CARambolagen]

Unfortunately very distorted audio...

[@davmar5789]

Easy to listen to who you agreed with but almost unbearable when the person thinks the opposite to you waya

[@captainmission]

amazing man, what a profound and relevant speech

[@rickyelvis3215]

I owe this man ( genius) a tune 🎶

[@DiogenesOfDelaware]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGiTe3umqM6KZqc Full lecture

[@riquelmeone]

video unavailable

[@globalchaos1984]

Dmn it was taken down

[@gazza1op583]

If only he was around 2000 years ago, things may have been very different. He was uniquely brilliant.

[@lukasychtyl1938]

Just wow....respect to late Mr. Hitchens. He is dearly missed

[@chelsea321123]

Yeah but how much wood can a wood chuck chuck?

[@allsouls5997]

Any truth spoken is attached by the mainstream. And I disagree with Hitch on their being a power that designed this realm. Yet he is correct on certain issues.

[@stanleystriker7065]

I can't wait for AI to be capable enough to provide clear audio reproduction in recordings like this....

[@AsFewFalseThingsAsPossible]

Is this any better ? kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZKahWOQqJmnobs

[@mbill1578]

audio is difficult to understand

[@kenjiromaruyama758]

dammit I was trying to save some money this month, now I have 4 more books to buy.

[@rzxt]

It's amazing seeing him discuss anti semitism on the left. I bet he would have a lot to say witnessing current events

[@pickettmandi]

Israel is a nation, not a religion.

[@atidfelixcastillo-najerala6891]

​@pickettmatrue. That's how we Jews call our selves. "The nation of Israel 'ndi

[@brendonpitcher5611]

there cant be a jewish state, oh no. but there can be dozens of Islamic states no problem lol.

[@ostrich67]

Who says there can't be a Jewish state? It's just that we can't for some reason call it out for being as religiously barbaric as Iran.

[@brendonpitcher5611]

​@@ostrich67 very many people lol. "from the river to the sea", go back to sleep

[@HappyinJapan358]

I wonder how this magnificent man would discuss the current status in Gaza etc

[@Landerdog]

He certainly nailed the current support of Hamas by young self-described progressive people who don't know what they're talking about.

[@Thrillkilled]

How’s it feel to be a lapdog for Israeli propaganda? Genocide is okay as long as they’re brown, right?

[@chrismac2234]

I have very few occasions to diasgree with the Hitch. However, the greatest living physicist is Roger Penrose. His impact to the field says so.

[@MorphingReality]

I'd say Andrei Linde :)

[@Anti_wokeness]

Aged like wine.

[@jimlabos]

I wonder what he would have said about Oct 7th 2023. Miss this man greatly.

[@dBer-lu8cu]

??? Is it a question for you?

[@jimlabos]

@@dBer-lu8cu why ask?

[@warnaoh]

Well he's a partly Jewish neocon who hates Muslims... Kinda easy to guess lol

[@elainegoad9777]

Low and muffled sound

[@rlukins]

Adjusting Hitch’s mic is going to be a little tricky at this point.

[@tropicaljupiter]

The audio on the this video is ridiculously bad

[@donaldbutcher1260]

I see Wikipedia left out one thing in its description of Hitchens that would have made him very upset and that thing is " contrarian " 😊

[@hendrixinfinity3992]

Hitchens was not a contrarian. A contrarian is someone who holds non-normative views for the sake of argument.

[@markpatterson766]

He would have disagreed with you about that.

[@peterh1353]

His views are contrived to match an audience that he knows lies out there. He doesn't need to write a book which slanders Mother Teresa, but he knows there is an audience for it. He never walks the dark/unpopular side of the street where there is no money. He also is a juxtapositionist - often using different fields and different dynamics. Discovering facts is not his strong point. Indeed I can't think of one new piece of information he has brought to the world.

[@JoeCharogoff]

Perceptions of people often become hyperbole; they're either assumed to be better or worse than humanity. Reality however is that we're all the same.

[@thedolphin5428]

I'm puzzled as to why CH, as an atheist humanist, seemingly elevates anti-semitism to a higher status than general racism. After all, does not the term Semite include all three Abrahamic doctrines. Surely a more accurate term for anti-semitism is anti-Judeism, or Judeophobe. Since Jewishness is a racial AND a religiously based self-identification, it is only a subset of all discrimination and prejudice and logically no worse that any and all the other hatreds.

[@thedolphin5428]

@Ich Kämpfe Even so, that neither excuses nor justifies (although it may explain) his frequently uneven commentaries that anti-semitism is some worser prejudice than Islamaphobia.

[@NDHFilms]

@@thedolphin5428 Hitchens answered this in another video. Antisemitism is worse than garden-variety racism in that there's usually a conspiracy-theory element to it. It goes hand in hand with anti-intellecualism, which is something Hitchens points out in this speech.

[@soverycomplicated]

@thedolphin5428 You must not know a single bloody thing about the history of Jew hatred compared to the history of Islamophobe. Luckily a brilliant fellow by the name of ‘Hitchens’ does. Google ‘Hitchens Islamophobe’ to get a glimpse of the vast vast diff separating these 2 phenomena

[@thedolphin5428]

@@soverycomplicated You have completely missed my point. I am NOT COMPARING Judeism to Islam; nor anti-semitism to Islamaphobia, nor the crimes and hatreds by or against Jews to the crimes and hatreds by or against Islamacists. I was pointing out that the word Semite applies to all descendents of the semitic/Abrahamic tribes and that, as such, Islamaphobia is only a subset of anti-semitism. Therefore, an indigenous, Middle Eastern Islamicist (a member of the Semite ethnicity/culture/language grouping) who hates jews cannot be an anti-Semite. They must be instead a Judeophobe. My original comment was a query as to why Hitchens (an avowed atheist against all stripes) regularly elevates anti-Judeism to a higher plane of religious-racial hatred than Islamaphobia. It is a philosophical inconsistency for an atheist and humanist. The answer was suggested above by @Ich Kämpfe in that Hitchens is Jewish (at some level). Hitch, whom I have read and respected for many many years, like so many, so often conflates the extreme and fundamentalist elements of the doctrine of Islam with Islamic worshippers -- just as many conflate the extreme and fundamentalist elements of Judeo-Christianity with Jewish and Christian worshippers.

[@oremfrien]

@@thedolphin5428 It is incorrect to claim that Antisemitism is a hatred of all Semites. The original term was Judenhass or Jew-hatred, but with the rise of Scientific Racism in the late 1800s, Willem Marr came up with the term "Semitismus" arguing that a Jew's "Semitic racial characteristics" made him unifit for White civilization in much the same way that "Black racial characteristics" would make Blacks similarly unfit. Therefore, Marr was proudly "Anti-Semitismus", against the integration of Jews because of their "Semitic racial characteristics" and this term has stuck to refer to those previously just considered Jew-haters because Antisemities were proud of their Antisemitism, believing it to come from an enlightened, scientific perspective.

[@VolkColopatrion]

Oh i see... this is something i needed to hear. But what of blood and soil arguments againet the Jewish state? Would that be antisemitic?

[@TheChristnumber1]

Jesus, Hitch getting it so wrong with the Naturei Karta. They have been to holocaust denial and revisionism gatherings in Europe over the years as well as also siding with Hamas and Hezbollah too.

[@EqualOpportunity9109]

Right? This guy is an intellectual 😅🤣🤣

[@azysheff]

Hamas is Israel...

[@arimoff]

​@@azysheffhamas is islam

[@thedoctor.a.s1401]

No, actually not. It depends on which members you talk to.

[@maximuskhan2100]

@@azysheff Hamas is Palestine.

[@nannersguyaners2745]

How we miss Hitch…How we NEED Hitch ❤

[@diment0857]

What a shame Christopher Hitchens isn't still around. He would have a field day in this age of wokery and self-righteousness.

[@paulgibbons2320]

Hitchens does not believe in witchcraft and esotericism. He believes that, as most do that praying is just murmering some harmless words into his hands. I shared many of his views before I witnessed such things. Nobody should be subjected to that against their will. When they tell you, beleif is everything. They are not kidding. His convictions are deeply held and legitimate based on the evidence he has.

[@sleepisthecousinofdeath7395]

I’m anti Zionism and Anti Judaism religion, I’m against Christianity and Islam. That does not make me an anti semite.

[@snaker9er]

I am anti Abrahamic

[@aleksanchez9251]

Sure it does, if you oppose the existence of a Jewish state, you most certainly are antisemitic.

[@scionofdorn9101]

I’ve many a quarrel with religion but none, in general, against the Jews as a race.

[@destinybaron5115]

Because you are consistent . If you are only against the Jews .. guess what

[@kengruz669]

Oh, you; 're just too cool.

[@_letstartariot]

I honestly had no idea we angered Muslims cos we accurately called Mohammad what Mohammad was. 2 billion+ people holding a grudge against 20 million for what happened 1500-2000 years ago lmaoooooo

[@StephenBrennanGuitar]

A towering genius.

[@TravelAboveMe]

Hey everybody, yes, hitch was great, but you know what I imagine he'd hate reading? People deifying him rather than taking action. I'm certainly at fault for not taking more action., but echo chambers are dangerous.. just a thought

[@josephrohland5604]

Hitch was mistaken about much concerning the Holocaust.

[@PK-sc2vn]

Such as??

[@Userhasbeenbanned0]

@@PK-sc2vnhe still thinks it happened (it didn’t)

[@peterh1353]

There are professors in the university of Tel Aviv who argue among themselves as regards even basic numbers. If people who specialise in the subject cannot agree how can anyone say what is fact, propaganda, guesswork or spin?