Blair on Corbyn

This is very astute, and, I think, correct. 

Asked if he believed Corbyn himself was anti-Semitic, Blair said yes.

“Some of the remarks are not explicable in any other way, I’m afraid, and that is sad,” said Blair. “Does he think he is? No, he doesn’t think he is at all.”

This is quite a common thing with bigots, in general, but specifically with anti-Semites. They convince themselves they are “anti-Zionists” or “critics of Israel” and so on. I have a sibling like this (possibly two) and there is no question this person is an anti-Semite. But they will say till the cows come home that they are not. Alan, my late brother, had this person’s number years ago – but then, Alan was always the smartest in our family.

While I find the anti-Semitism of certain of my family members appalling, what is even more appalling is the number of apologists they have among our relatives. Same could be said for Corbyn’s apologists, as well as those of Ilhan Omar and her ilk. Alan used to point out to me that both the anti-Semite(s) in our family and their apologists totally lacked self-awareness. Is this a trait of all bigots? Does Ilhan Omar not know she is an anti-Semite? Or is she well-aware of her bigotry but deeply cynical? Do white supremacists not know they hate black people (and so many others)? One wonders.