Juan Cole: Donald Sterling’s Illiberal Zionism Part of Racism Controversy with Magic Johnson
(By Juan Cole)
Major political ideas and philosophies are complex and ambiguous, not straightforward. American conservatism is an alliance of economic conservatives and cultural conservatives. Economic conservatives are champions of entrepreneurs and business, seeking low taxes and little regulation and opportunity for risk-takers from all persons of all backgrounds. Their ideology contains contradictions. Economic conservatives imagine that they uphold individual rights against government intrusion, but they are perfectly happy to get up a war of choice and coerce people into paying for it. (Libertarians are an exception here, being mostly anti-war, but they are a minority of economic conservatives).
Economic conservatism contains an implicit hierarchy. The rich are better and more deserving than the poor of political influence because they are hardworking and wealth-creators and the actual tax-payers. That most of the rich are increasingly born with a silver spoon in their mouths and many haven’t done a day of honest physical labor is covered up. That many make their money in finance in ways that actually destroy jobs or ship them abroad is covered up. That the wealthy get the lion’s share of benefit from government, so that it is only just that they pay most of the taxes, is covered up. The working poor, who are poor because they aren’t paid a living wage (as with Scrooge Walmart), are covered up.
In contrast, cultural conservatives highlight identity issues, especially racial and gender hierarchy. Cultural conservatives implicitly believe that men are superior and should be in control, and are threatened by professional and by powerful women, as well as by developments (such as abortion and birth control) that free women from patriarchy and from religious control. Cultural conservatives say they are committed to democracy, but they are convinced that half the population is freeloaders who don’t really deserve the vote, and lately they’ve been trying to figure out a way to keep that half from voting.
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He told his girlfriend V. Stiviano, after complaining about her posting photos with African-Americans like Magic Johnson to the internet,
“Donald Sterling: It’s the world! You go to Israel, the blacks are just treated like dogs.
V. Stiviano: So do you have to treat them like that too?
DS: The white Jews, there’s white Jews and black Jews, do you understand?
V: And are the black Jews less than the white Jews?
DS: A hundred percent, fifty, a hundred percent.
V: And is that right?
DS: It isn’t a question—we don’t evaluate what’s right and wrong, we live in a society. We live in a culture. We have to live within that culture.”
Although Sterling maintained that he was not making a value judgment in upholding the discrimination in Israel against Jews from Ethiopia, Yemen, and Morocco (and against non-Jewish black African immigrants, not to mention against Palestinians), he clearly was. He was saying that Israeli society is characterized by a racial hierarchy which is “natural” and must be accepted. Further, he was comparing that Israel racial hierarchy to the one in the United States and arguing that both are “natural” and must dictate behavior if one is to get along.
The complete piece is at: http://www.juancole.com/2014/05/sterlings-illiberal-controversy.html
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