As Soon as she had gone out, he mrned to the man and said, "She didn't know it, but see that
platinum
under here?
Adorno-T-Authoritarian-Personality-Harper-Bros-1950
" His prejudice is of the politico-fascist brand, distinctly colored by paranoid fantasies:
He is of pure Italian extraction and naturalized here at the time of the first World
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War. He is very proud of this extraction and for a long time in the early days of Mussolini was active in Italian-American organizations. He still feels that the war against Italy was very unfortunate. Concerning the other minorities he is quite prej- udiced. The Mexicans he feels are enough like the Italians so that if they were edu- cated enough it would be all right. At the present time, however, he feels that they need much education. He believes that the California Japanese were more than correctly handled and that those about whom there is no question should be grad- ually allowed back. He described the Negro situation as a tough one. He believes there should be definite laws particularly with regard to racial intermarriage and that the color liile should also be drawn "regarding where people can live. " "Despite what they say, the Southern Negroes are really the happiest ones. " "The trouble with Jews is that they are all Communists and for this reason dangerous. " His own rela- tions with them have only been fair. In his business relations he says they are "chiselers" and "stick together. " Concerning a solution to this problem, he says, "The Jews should actually educate their own. The way the Jews stick together shows that they actually have more prejudice against the Gentiles than the Gentiles have against them. " He illustrates this with a long story which I was not able to get in detail about some acquaintance of his who married into a Jewish family and was not allowed to eat off the same dishes with them.
We may mention, furthermore, 5052, an anti-Semitic man of Spanish- Negro descent, with strong homosexual tendencies. He is a nightclub enter- tainer, and the interviewer summarizes his impression in the statement that this man wants to say, "I am not a Negro, I am an entertainer. " Here the element of social identification in an outcast is clearly responsible for his prejudice.
Finally, reference should be made to a curiosity, the interview of a Turk, otherwise not evaluated because of his somewhat subnormal intelligence. He indulged in violent anti-Semitic diatribes until it came out near the end of the interview that he was Jewish himself. The whole complex of anti- Semitism among minority groups, and among Jews themselves, offers serious problems and deserves a study of its own. Even the casual observations pro- vided by our sample suffice to corroborate the suspicion that those who suffer from social pressure may frequently tend to transfer this pressure onto others rather than to join hands with their fellow victims.
C. THE IMAGINARY FOE
Our examples of the "functional" character of anti-Semitism, and of the relative ease by which prejudice can be switched from one object to another, point in one direction: the hypothesis that prejudice, according to its intrinsic content, is but superficially, if at all, related to the specific nature of its object. W e shall now give more direct support for this hypothesis, the rela- tion of which to clinical categories such as stereotypy, incapacity to have "experience," projectivity, and power fantasies is not far to seek. This sup- port is supplied by statements which are either plainly self-contradictory or incompatible with facts and of a manifestly imaginary character. Since the
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usual "self-contradictions" of the anti-Semite can, however, frequently be explained on the basis that they involve different layers of reality and different psychological urges which are still reconcilable in the over-all "Weltanschauung" of the anti-Semite, we concern ourselves here mainly with evidence of imaginary constructs. The fantasies with which we shall deal are so well known from everyday life that their significance for the structure of anti-Semitism can be taken for granted. They are merely high- lighted by our research. One might say that these fantasies occur whenever stereotypes "run wild," that is to say, make themselves completely independ- ent from interaction with reality. When these "emancipated" stereotypes are forcibly brought back into relation with reality, blatant distortions appear. The content of the examples of stereotyped fantasy which we col- lected has to do predominantly with ideas of excessive power attributed to the chosen foe. The disproportion between the relative social weakness of the object and its supposed sinister omnipotence is by itself evidence that the projective mechanism is at work.
W e shall first give some examples of omnipotence fantasies projected upon a whole outgroup abstractly, as it were, and then show how the application of such ideas to factual experience comes close to paranoid delusion.
5054, a middle-aged woman with fairly high scores on all the scales, who is greatly concerned with herself and characterized by a "domineering" manner, claims that she has always tried "to see the other side" and even to "fight prejudice on every side. " She derives her feelings of tolerance from the contrast with her husband whom she characterized as extremely anti- Jewish (he hates all Jews and makes no exceptions) whereas she is willing to make exceptions. Her actual attitude is described as follows:
She would not subscribe to a "racist theory," but does not think that the Jews will change much, but rather that they will tend to become "more aggressive. " She also believes that "they will eventually run the country, whether we like it or not. "
The usual stereotype of undue Jewish influence in politics and economy is inflated to the assertion of threatening over-all domination. It is easy to guess that the countermeasures which such subjects have in mind are no less totali- tarian than their persecution ideas, even if they do not dare to say so in so many words.
Similar is case 506za, chosen as a mixed case (she is high-middle onE, but low on F and PEC), but actually, as proved by the interview, markedly ethno- centric. In her statement, the vividness of the fantasies about the almighty Jew seems to be equalled by the intensity of her vindictiveness.
"My relations with the Jews have been anything but pleasant. " When asked to be . more specific it was impossible for her to name individual incidents. She de- scnbed them, however, as "pushing everybody about, aggressive, clannish, money-
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minded. . . . The Jews are practically taking over the country. They are getting into everything. It is not that they are smarter, but they work so hard to get control. They are all alike. " When asked if she did not feel that there were variations in the Jewish temperament as in any other, she said, "No, I don't think so. I think there is something that makes them all stick together and try to hold on to everything. I have Jewish friends and I have tried not to treat them antagonistically, but sooner or later they have also turned out to be aggressive and obnoxious. . . . I think the percentage of very bad Jews is very much greater than the percentage of bad Gentiles. . . . My husband feels exactly the same way on this whole problem. As a matter of fact, I don't go as far as he does. He didn't like many things about Hitler, but he did feel that Hitler did a good job on the Jews. He feels that we will come in this country to a place where we have to do something about it. "
Sometimes the projective aspect of the fantasies of Jewish domination comes into the open. Those whose half-conscious wishes culminate in the idea of the abolition of democracy and the rule of the strong, call those antidemocratic whose only hope lies in the maintenance of democratic rights. 5018 is a p-year-old ex-marine gunnery sergeant who scores high on all the scales. He is suspected by the interviewer of being "somewhat paranoid. " He knows "one cannot consider Jews a race, but they are all alike. They have too much power but I guess it's really our fault. " This is followed up by the statement:
He would handle the Jews by outlawing them from business domination. He thinks that all others who feel the same could get into business and compete with them and perhaps overcome them, but adds, "it would be better to ship them to Palestine and let them gyp one another. I have had some experiences with them and a few were good soldiers but not very many. " The respondent went on to imply that lax democratic methods cannot solve the problem because "they won't co- operate in a democracy. "
The implicitly antidemocratic feelings of this subject are evidenced by his speaking derogatorily about lax democratic methods: his blaming the Jews for lack of democratic cooperation is manifestly a rationalization.
One more aspect of unrealistic imagery of the Jew should at least be mentioned. It is the contention that the Jews "are everywhere. " Omnipres- ence sometimes displaces o~nipotence, perhaps because no actual "Jewish rule" can be pretended to exist, so that the image-ridden subject has to seek a different outlet for his power fantasy in ideas of dangerous, mysterious ubiquity. This is fused with another psychological element. To the highly prejudiced subject the idea of the total right of the ingroup, and of its tol- erating nothing which does not strictly "belong," is all-pervasive. This is projected upon the Jews. Whereas the high scorer apparently cannot stand any "intruder"-ultimately nothing that is not strictly like himself-he sees this totality of presence in those whom he hates and whom he feels justified in exterminating because one otherwise "could not get rid of them. " The
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following example shows the idea of Jewish omnipresence applied to per- sonal experience, thus revealing its proximity to delusion.
6070, a 4o-year-old woman, is high-middle on the E scale and particularly vehement about the Jews:
"I don't like Jews. The Jew is always crying. They are taking our country over from us. They are aggressive. They suffer from every lust. Last summer I met the famous musician X, and before I really knew him he wanted me to sign an affidavit to help bring his family into this country. Finally I had to flatly refuse and told him I want no more Jews here. Roosevelt started bringing the Jews into the government, and that is the chief cause of our difficulties today. The Jews arranged it so they were discriminated for in the draft. I favor a legislative discrimination against the Jews along American, not Hitler lines. Everybody knows that the Jews are back of the Communists. This X person almost drove me nuts. I had made the mistake of inviting him to be my guest at my beach club. He arrived with ten other Jews who were uninvited. They always cause trouble. If one gets in a place, he brings two more and those two bring two more. "
This quotation is remarkable for more reasons than that it exemplifies the "Jews are everywhere" complex. It is the expression of Jewish weakness- that they are "always crying"-which is perverted into ubiquity. The refugee, forced to leave his country, appears as he who wants to intrude and to expand over the whole earth, and it is hardly too far-fetched to assume that this imagery is at least partly derived from the fact of persecution itself. More- over, the quotation gives evidence of a certain ambivalence of the extreme anti-Semite which points in the direction of "negatively falling in love. " This woman had invited the celebrity to her club, doubtless attracted by his fame, but used the contact, once it had been established, merely in order to personalize her aggressiveness.
Another example of the merging of semipsychotic idiosyncrasies and wild anti-Jewish imagery is the 26-year-old woman, 5004. She scores high on the F scale and high-middle on E and PEC. Asked about Jewish religion, she produces an answer which partakes of the age-old image of "uncannyness. " "I know very little, but I would be afraid to go into a synagogue. " This has to be evaluated in relation to her statement about Nazi atrocities:
"I am not particularly sorry because of what the Germans did to the Jews. I feel Jews would do the same type of thing to me. "
The persecution fantasy of what the Jews might do to her, is used, in au- thentic paranoid style, as a justification of the genocide committed by the Nazis.
Our last two examples refer to the distortions that occur when experience is viewed through the lens of congealed stereotypy. M732c of the Veterans Group, who scores generally high on the scales, shows this pattern of dis- torted experience with regard to both Negroes and Jews. As to the former:
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"You never see a Negro driving (an ordinary car of which subject mentions a number of examples) but only a Cadillac or a Packard. . . . They always dress gaudy. They have that tendency to show off. . . . Since the Negro has that feeling that he isn't up to par, he's always trying to show off. . . . Even though he can't afford it, he will buy an expensive car just to make a show. . . . "Subject mentions that the brightest girl in a class at subject's school happens to be a Negro and he explains her outstandingness in the class in terms of Negro overcompensation for what he seems to be implying is her inherent inferiority.
The assertion about the Negro's Cadillac speaks for itself. As to the story about the student, it indicates in personalized terms the aspect of inescapabil- ity inherent in hostile stereotypy. To the prejudiced, the Negro is "dull"; if he meets, however, one of outstanding achievement, it is supposed to be mere overcompensation, the exception that proves the rule. No matter what the Negro is or does, he is condemned.
As to the "Jewish problem":
"As far as being good and shrewd businessmen, that's about all I have to say about them. They're white people, that's one thing. . . . Of course, they have the Jewish instinct, whatever that is. . . . I've heard they have a business nose. . . . I imagine the Jewish people are more obsequious. . . ? . For example, somehow a Jewish bar- ber will entice you to come to his chair. " Subject elaborates here a definite fantasy of some mysterious influence by Jews. . . . "They're mighty shrewd businessmen, and you don't have much chance" (competing with Jews).
The story about the barber seems to be a retrogression towards early infantile, magical patterns of thinking.
F359, a 48-year-old accountant in a government department, is, accord- ing to the interviewer, a cultured and educated woman. This, however, does not keep her from paranoid story-telling as soon as the critical area of race relations, which serves as a kind of free-for-all, is entered. (She is in the high quartile onE, though low on both F and PEC. ) Her distortions refer both to Negroes and to Jews:
Subject considers this a very serious problem and she thinks that it-is going to get worse. The Negroes are going to get worse. She experienced a riot in Washington; there was shoo~ing; street-car windows were broken, and when a white would get into the Negro section of the car, the shooting would start. The white man would have to lie on the floor. She did not dare to go out at night. One day the Negroes were having a procession and some of them started pushing her off the sidewalk. When she asked them not to push, they looked so insolent that she thought they would start a riot, and her companion said, "Let's get out of here or we will start a riot. " A friend of hers told her that she had asked her maid to work on a Thursday, but the maid had refused because she said it was "push and shove" day-the day they shoved the whites off the sidewalk. Another friend of hers in Los Angeles told her not to let her maid use her vacuum cleaner because they tamper with it in such a way as to cause it to tear your rugs. One day she caught the maid using a file on her vacuum cleaner and asked her what she was doing. The maid replied, "Oh, I'm just trying to fix this thing. " They just want to get revenge on whites. One cannot give them equal rights yet, they are not ready for it; we will have to
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educate them first. Subject would not want to sit next to a Negro in a theatre or restaurant. She cited the case of a drugstore man who addressed a Negro janitor, a cleaner, as "Mr. " You just can't do that to them or they will say, "Ah'm as good as white folks. " (Outcome? ) "I think there will be trouble. " She expects riots and bloodshed.
(Jews? ) "Well, they are to blame too, I think. They just cannot do business straight, they have to be underhanded-truth has no meaning for them in business. " (What has been your personal experience? ) She cited the case of a friend who is interested in photography and bought some second-hand cameras from pawn shops. One day when he was in one, a woman came in with a set of false teeth. She was told that they were not worth anything (there was some gold in them). Finally, the Jew gave her a few dollars for them.
As Soon as she had gone out, he mrned to the man and said, "She didn't know it, but see that platinum under here? " In other words the teeth were worth many times what he gave for them. Subject's friend did not get gypped because he knew them and called their bluff.
It is often advocated as the best means of improving intercultural relations that as many personal contacts as possible be established between the dif- ferent groups. While the value of such contacts in some cases of anti-Semitism is to be acknowledged, the material presented in this section argues for cer- tain qualifications, at least in the case of the more extreme patterns of prej- udice. There is no simple gap between experience and stereotypy. Stereotypy is a device for looking at things comfortably; since, however, it feeds on deep-lying unconscious sources, the distortions which occur are not to be corrected merely by taking a real look. Rather, experience itself is prede- termined by stereotypy. The persons whose interviews on minority issues have just been discussed share one decisive trait. Even if brought together with minority group members as different from the stereotype as possible, they will perceive them through the glasses of stereotypy, and will hold against them whatever they are and do. Since this tendency is by no means confined to people who are actually "cranky" (rather, the whole complex of the Jew is a kind of recognized red-light district of legitimatized psychotic distortions), this inaccessibility to experience may not be limited to people of the kind discussed here, but may well operate in much milder cases. This should be taken into account by any well-planned policy of defense. Opti- mism with regard to the hygienic effects of personal contacts should be dis-
carded. One cannot "correct" stereotypy by experience; he has to recon- stitute the capacity for having experiences in order to prevent the growth of ideas which are malignant in the most literal, clinical sense.
D. ANTI-SEMITISM FOR WHA T?
It is a basic hypothesis of psychoanalysis that symptoms "make sense" in so far as they fulfill a specific function within the individual's psycho- logical economy-that they are to be regarded, as a rule, as vicarious wish- fulfillments of, or as defenses against, repressed urges. Our previous discus-
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sion has shown the irrational aspect of anti-Semitic attitudes and opinions. Since their content is irreconcilable with reality, we are certainly entitled to call them symptoms. But they are symptoms which can hardly be explained by the mechanisms of neurosis; and at the same time, the anti-Semitic individ- ual as such, the potentially fascist character, is certainly not a psychotic. The ultimate theoretical explanation of an entirely irrational symptom which nevertheless does not appear to affect the "normality" of those who show the symptom is beyond the scope of the present research. However, we feel justified in asking the question: cui bono? What purposes within the lives of our subjects are served by anti-Semitic ways of thinking? A final answer could be provided only by going back to the primary causes for the estab- lishment and freezing of stereoty,pes. An approach to such an answer has been set forth in earlier chapters. Here, we limit ourselves to a level closer to the surface of the ego and ask: what does anti-Semitism "give" to the sub- ject within the concrete configurations of his adult experience?
Some of the functions of prejudice may doubtless be called rational. One
does not need to conjure up deeper motivations in order to understand the attitude of the farmer who wants to get hold of the property of his Japanese neighbor. One may also call rational the attitude of those who aim at a fascist dictatorship and accept prejudice as part of an over-all platform, though in
this case the question of rationality becomes complicated, since neither the
goal of such a dictatorship seems to be rational in terms of the individual's interest, nor can the wholesale automatized acceptance of a ready-made formula be called rational either. What we are interested in, for the moment, however, is a problem of a somewhat different order. What good does accrue l to the actual adjustment of otherwise "sensible" persons when they subscribe
to ideas which have no basis in reality and which we ordinarily associate j with maladjustment?
In order to provide a provisional answer to this question, we may anticipate one of the conclusions from our consideration of the political and economic sections of the interview (Chapter XVII): the all-pervasive ignorance and confusion of our subjects when it comes to social matters beyond the range of their most immediate experience. The objectification of social processes, their obedience to intrinsic supra-individual laws, seems to result in an in- tellectual alienation of the individual from society. This alienation is experi- enced by the individual as disorientation, with concomitant fear and uncertainty. As wili be seen, political stereotypy and personalization can be understood as devices for overcoming this uncomfortable state of affairs. Images of the politician and of the bureaucrat can be understood as signposts of orientation and as projections of the fears created by disorientation. Similar functions seem to be performed by the "irrational" imagery of the Jew. He is, for the highly prejudiced subject, extremely stereotyped; at the same time, he is more personalized than any other bogey in so far as he is not defined
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by a profession or by his role in social life, but by his human existence as such. For these reasons, as well as for historical ones, he is much better quali- fied for the psychological function of the "bad man" than the bureaucrats or politicians, who, incidentally, are often but handy substitutes for the real object of hatred, the Jew. The latter's alienness seems to provide the handiest formula for dealing with the alienation of society. Charging the Jews with all existing evils seems to penetrate the darkness of reality like a searchlight and to allow for quick and all-comprising orientation. The less anti-Jewish imagery is related to actual experience and the more it is kept "pure," as it were, from contamination by reality, the less it seems to be exposed to dis- turbance by the dialectics of experience, which it keeps away through its own rigidity. It is the Great Panacea, providing at once intellectual equilibrium,
countercathexis, and a canalization of wishes for a "change. "
Anti-Semitic writers and agitators from Chamberlain to Rosenberg and Hitler have always maintained that the existence of the Jews is the key to everything. By talking with individuals of fascist leanings, one can learn the psychological implications of this "key" idea. Their more-or-less cryptic hints frequently reveal a kind of sinister pride; they speak as if they were in the know and had solved a riddle otherwise unsolved by mankind (no matter how often their solution has been already expressed). They raise literally or figuratively their forefinger, sometimes with a smile of superior indulgence; they know the answer for everything and present to their partners in discus- sion the absolute security of those who have cut off the contacts by which any modification of their formula may occur. Probably it is this delusion-like security which casts its spell over those who feel insecure. By his very ig- norance or confusion or semi-erudition the anti-Semite can often c. onquer the position of a profound wizard. The more primitive his drastic formulae are, due to their stereotypy, the more appealing they are at the same time, since they reduce the complicated to the elementary, no matter how the logic of this reduction may work. The superiority thus gained does not remain on the intellectual level. Since the cliche regularly makes the outgroup bad and the ingroup good, the anti-Semitic pattern of orientation offers emotional, narcissistic gratifications which tend to break down the barriers of rational
self-criticism.
It is these psychological instruments upon which fascist agitators play in-
cessantly. They would hardly do so if there were no susceptibility for spurious orientation among their listeners and readers. Here we are concerned only with the evidence for such susceptibility among people who are by no means overt fascist followers. We limit ourselves to three nerve points of the pseudocognitive lure of anti-Semitism: the idea that the Jews are a "problem," the assertion that they are all alike, and the claim that Jews can be recognized as such without exception.
The contention that the Jews, or the Negroes, are a "problem" is regularly
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found in our interviews with prejudiced subjects. W e may quote one example picked at random and then briefly discuss the theoretical implications of the "problem" idea.
The prelaw student, 105, when asked, "What about other groups? " states: "Well, the Jews are a ticklish problem-not the whole race; there are both good
and bad. But there are more bad than good. "
The term "problem" is taken over from the sphere of science and is used to give the impression of searching, responsible deliberation. By referring to
a problem, one implicitly claims personal aloofness from the matter in ques- tion-a kind of detachment and higher objectivity. This, of course, is an ex- . cellent rationalization for prejudice. It serves to give the impression that one's attitudes are not motivated subjectively but have resulted from hard thinking and mature experience. The subject who makes use of this device maintains
a discursive attitude in the interview; he qualifies, quasi-empirically, what he has to say, and is ready to admit exceptions. Yet these qualifications and ex- ceptions only scratch the surface. As soon as the existence of a "Jewish problem" is admitted, anti-Semitism has won its first surreptitious victory. This is made possible by the equivocal nature of the term itself; it can be both a neutral issue of analysis and, as indicated by the everyday use of the term "problematic" for a dubious character, a negative entity. There is no doubt that the relations between Jews and non-Jews do present a problem in the objective sense of the term, but when "the Jewish problem" is referred to, the emphasis is subtly shifted. While the veneer of objectivity is maintained, the implication is that the Jews are the problem, a problem, that is, to the rest of society. It is but one step from this position to the implicit notion that this problem has to be dealt with according to its own special requirements, i. e. , the problematic nature of the Jews, and that this will naturally lead outside the bounds of democratic procedure. Moreover, the "problem" calls for a solution. As soon as the Jews themselves are stamped as this problem, they are transformed into objects, not only to "judges" of superior insight but also to the perpetrators of an action; far from being regarded as subjects, they are treated as terms of a mathematical equation. To call for a "solution of the Jewish problem" results in their being reduced to "material" for manipulation.
It should be added that the "problem" idea, which made deep inroads into public opinion through Nazi propaganda and the Nazi example, is also to be found in the interviews of low-scoring subjects. Here, however, it assumes regularly the aspect of a protest. Unprejudiced subjects try to restore the objective, "sociological" meaning of the term, generally insisting on the fact that the so-called "Jewish problem" is actually the problem of the non- Jews. However, the very use of the term may be partially indicative, even with unprejudiced persons, of a certain ambivalence or at least indifference, as in the case of 5047, who scored low on theE scale but high on F and PEC.
"Yes, I think there is a so-called Jewish problem and a Negro problem, but essen-
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tially I believe that it is really a? majority problem. " He felt that there was a need for more education of the ignorant masses and for improving economic conditions so that there would not be a necessity for seeking a scapegoat. Generally, his under- standing of the problems seemed to be quite sound, and he expressed disagreement with anti-Semitism and discrimination against Negroes. However, the manner in which he approached the matter and his tendency to treat it as a purely academic problem seemed to indicate that he was not thoroughly convinced of his statements and was merely using verbal cliches.
The term "problem" itself seems to suggest a too naive idea of common sense justice, following the pattern of democratic compromise in areas where de- cisions should be made only according to the merits of the case. The man who speaks about the "problem" is easily tempted to say that there are two sides to every problem, with the comfortable consequence that the Jews must have done something wrong, if they were exterminated. This pattern of con- formist "sensibleness" lends itself very easily to the defense of various kinds of irrationality.
The statement that the Jews are all alike not only dispenses with all dis- turbing factors but also, by its sweep, gives to the judge the grandiose air of a person who sees the whole without allowing himself to be deflected by petty details-an intellectual leader. At the same time, the "all alike" idea rationalizes the glance at the individual case as a mere specimen of some generality which can be taken care of by general measures which are the more radical, since they call for no exceptions. We give but one example of a case where traces of "knowing better" still survive although the "all alike" idea leads up to the wildest fantasies. F116 is middle on the E scale, but when the question of the Jews is raised:
(Jews? ) "Now this is where I really do have strong feeling. I am not very proud of it. I don't think it is good to be so prejudiced but I can't help it. (What do you dislike about Jews? ) Everything. I can't say one good thing for them. (Are there any exceptions? ) No, I have never met one single one that was an exception. I used to hope I would. It isn't pleasant to feel the way I do. I would be just as nice and civil as I could, but it would end the same way. They cheat, take advantage. (Is it possible that you know some Jewish people and like them without knowing they are Jews? ) Oh no, I don't think any Jew can hide it. I always know them. (How do they look? ) Attractive. Very well dressed. And as though they knew exactly
what they wanted. (How well have you known Jews? ) Well, I never knew any in childhood. In fact, I never knew one until we moved to San Francisco, 10 years ago. He was our landlord. It was terrible. I had a lovely home in Denver and I hated to leave. And here I was stuck in an ugly apartment and he did everything to make it worse. If the rent was due on Sunday, he was there bright and early. After that I knew lots of them. I had Jewish bosses. There are Jews in the bank. They are everywhere-always in the money. My next-door neighbor is a Jew. I decided to be civil. After all, I can't move now and I might as well be neighborly. They borrow our lawn mower. They say it is because you can't buy one during the war. But of course lawn mowers cost money. We had a party last week and they called the police. I called her the next day because I suspected them. She said she did it so I asked if she didn't think she should have called me first. She said a man was singing in the yard and woke her baby and she got so upset she called the police. I asked her
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if she realized that her baby screamed for 3 months after she brought him home from the hospital. Ever since then she has been just grovelling and I hate that even worse. "
"Knowing better" is mentioned not infrequently by high scorers: they realize they "should" not think that way, but stick to their prejudice under a kind of compulsion which is apparently stronger than the moral and rational counteragencies available to them. In addition to this phenomenon, there is hardly any aspect of the anti-Semitic syndrome discussed in this chapter which could not be illustrated by this quotation from a truly "all-out," to- talitarian anti-Semite. She omits nothing. Her insatiability is indicative of the tremendous libidinous energy she has invested in her Jewish complex. Acting out her anti-Semitism obviously works with her as a wish-fulfillment, both with regard to aggressiveness and with regard to the desire for intellectual superiority as indicated by her cooperation in the present study "in the inter- ests of science. " Her personal attitude partakes of that sinister contempt shown by those who feel themselves to be "in the know" with respect to all kinds of dark secrets.
Her most characteristic attitude is one of pessimism-she dismisses many matters with a downward glance, a shrug of the shoulders, and a sigh.
The idea of the "Jew spotter" was introduced in the Labor Study, where it proved to be the most discriminating item. We used it only in a supple- mentary way, in work with the Los Angeles sample, but there can be no doubt that people who are extreme on A-S will regularly allege that they can recognize Jews at once. This is the most drastic expression of the "orienta- tion" mechanism which we have seen to be so essential a feature of the preju- diced outlook. At the same time, it can frequently be observed that the actual variety of Jews, which could hardly escape notice, leads to a high amount of vagueness with regard to the criteria according to which Jews might be spotted; this vagueness does not, however, interfere with the definiteness of the spotter's claim. One example for this configuration will suffice. It is inter- esting because of the strange mixture of fantasy and real observation.
5039, a 27-year-old student at the University of Southern California and a war veteran, who scores high on E:
"Yes, I think I can . . . of course, you can't always, I know. But usually they have different features: larger nose, and I think differently shaped faces, more narrow, and different mannerisms. . . . But mainly they talk too much and they have different attitudes. Almost always they will counter a question with another question (gives examples from school); they are freer with criticism; tend to talk in big terms and generally more aggressive-at least I notice that immediately. . . . "
E. TWO KINDS OF JEWS
The stereotypes just discussed have been interpreted as means for pseudo- orientation in an estranged world, and at the same time as devices for "master-
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ing" this world by being abl~ completely to pigeonhole its negative aspects. The "problematizing" attitude puts the resentful person in the position of one who is rationally discriminating; the assertion that all the Jews are alike transposes the "problem" into the realm of systematic and complete knowl- edge, without a "loophole," as it were; the pretension of being able unfail- ingly to recognize Jews raises the claim that the subject is actually the judge in matters where the judgment is supposed to have been pronounced once and for all. In addition, there is another stereotype of "orientation" which de- serves closer attention because it shows most clearly the "topographical" function and because it crops up spontaneously with great frequency in the interview material. It is even more indicative of the "pseudorational" ele- ment in anti-Semitic prejudice than is the manner of speaking about the "Jewish problem. " W e refer to the standard division of Jews into two groups, the good ones and the bad ones, a division frequently expressed in terms of the "white" Jews and the "kikes. " It may be objected that this division can- not be taken as an index of subjective attitudes, since it has its basis in the object itself, namely, the different degrees of Jewish assimilation. We shall be able to demonstrate that this objection does not hold true and that we have to cope with an attitudinal pattern largely independent of the structure of the minority group to which it is applied.
It has been established in previous chapters that the mentality of the preju- diced subject is characterized by thinking in terms of rigidly contrasting in- groups and outgroups. In the stereotype here under consideration, this dichotomy is projected upon the outgroups themselves, or at least upon one particular outgroup. This is partly due no doubt to the automatization of black and white thinking which tends to "cut in two" whatever is being considered. It is also due to the desire to maintain an air of objectivity while expressing one's hostilities, and perhaps even to a mental reservation of the prejudiced person who does not want to deliver himself completely to ways of thinking which he still regards as "forbidden. " The "two kinds" stereotype thus has to be viewed as a compromise between antagonistic tendencies within the prejudiced person himself. This would lead to the supposition that people who make this division are rarely extreme high scorers; a supposi- tion which seems to be largely borne out by our data. In terms of our "orienta- tion" theory we should expect that the "two kinds" idea serves as a makeshift for bridging the gap between general stereotypy and personal experience. Thus, the "good" outgroup members would be those whom the subject per- sonally knows, whereas the "bad" ones would be those at a greater social distance-a distinction obviously related to the differences between assimilated and nonassimilated sectors of the outgroup. This again is at least partly cor- roborated, though it will be seen that the "two kinds" idea is in many respects
so vague and abstract that it does not even coincide with the division be- tween the known and the unknown. As a device for overcoming stereotypy
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the "two kinds" concept is spurious because it is thoroughly stereotyped itself.
JOO? , who scores high on all the scales, comments as follows:
"Most of the Jews I have known have been white Jews, and they are very charm- ing people. Jews are aggressive, clannish, overcrowd nice neighborhoods, and are money-minded. At least the 'non-white Jews. ' My experiences have been of two sorts. Some Jews are amongst the most charming and educated people I know. Other experiences have been less friendly. On the whole, I think Jews in the professions are all right, but in commerce they seem to be quite objectionable. "
Here it can be seen clearly how the over-all stereotypy, as suggested by the list of "objectionable Jewish traits," struggles with the stereotype of a dichotomy, which in this case represents the more humanitarian trend. It is conceived in terms of acquaintances vs. others, but this is complicated by a second division, that between "professional" Jews (supposedly of higher education and morality) and "business" Jews, who are charged with being ruthless money-makers and cheats.
This, however, is not the classical form of the "two kinds" idea.
He is of pure Italian extraction and naturalized here at the time of the first World
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War. He is very proud of this extraction and for a long time in the early days of Mussolini was active in Italian-American organizations. He still feels that the war against Italy was very unfortunate. Concerning the other minorities he is quite prej- udiced. The Mexicans he feels are enough like the Italians so that if they were edu- cated enough it would be all right. At the present time, however, he feels that they need much education. He believes that the California Japanese were more than correctly handled and that those about whom there is no question should be grad- ually allowed back. He described the Negro situation as a tough one. He believes there should be definite laws particularly with regard to racial intermarriage and that the color liile should also be drawn "regarding where people can live. " "Despite what they say, the Southern Negroes are really the happiest ones. " "The trouble with Jews is that they are all Communists and for this reason dangerous. " His own rela- tions with them have only been fair. In his business relations he says they are "chiselers" and "stick together. " Concerning a solution to this problem, he says, "The Jews should actually educate their own. The way the Jews stick together shows that they actually have more prejudice against the Gentiles than the Gentiles have against them. " He illustrates this with a long story which I was not able to get in detail about some acquaintance of his who married into a Jewish family and was not allowed to eat off the same dishes with them.
We may mention, furthermore, 5052, an anti-Semitic man of Spanish- Negro descent, with strong homosexual tendencies. He is a nightclub enter- tainer, and the interviewer summarizes his impression in the statement that this man wants to say, "I am not a Negro, I am an entertainer. " Here the element of social identification in an outcast is clearly responsible for his prejudice.
Finally, reference should be made to a curiosity, the interview of a Turk, otherwise not evaluated because of his somewhat subnormal intelligence. He indulged in violent anti-Semitic diatribes until it came out near the end of the interview that he was Jewish himself. The whole complex of anti- Semitism among minority groups, and among Jews themselves, offers serious problems and deserves a study of its own. Even the casual observations pro- vided by our sample suffice to corroborate the suspicion that those who suffer from social pressure may frequently tend to transfer this pressure onto others rather than to join hands with their fellow victims.
C. THE IMAGINARY FOE
Our examples of the "functional" character of anti-Semitism, and of the relative ease by which prejudice can be switched from one object to another, point in one direction: the hypothesis that prejudice, according to its intrinsic content, is but superficially, if at all, related to the specific nature of its object. W e shall now give more direct support for this hypothesis, the rela- tion of which to clinical categories such as stereotypy, incapacity to have "experience," projectivity, and power fantasies is not far to seek. This sup- port is supplied by statements which are either plainly self-contradictory or incompatible with facts and of a manifestly imaginary character. Since the
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usual "self-contradictions" of the anti-Semite can, however, frequently be explained on the basis that they involve different layers of reality and different psychological urges which are still reconcilable in the over-all "Weltanschauung" of the anti-Semite, we concern ourselves here mainly with evidence of imaginary constructs. The fantasies with which we shall deal are so well known from everyday life that their significance for the structure of anti-Semitism can be taken for granted. They are merely high- lighted by our research. One might say that these fantasies occur whenever stereotypes "run wild," that is to say, make themselves completely independ- ent from interaction with reality. When these "emancipated" stereotypes are forcibly brought back into relation with reality, blatant distortions appear. The content of the examples of stereotyped fantasy which we col- lected has to do predominantly with ideas of excessive power attributed to the chosen foe. The disproportion between the relative social weakness of the object and its supposed sinister omnipotence is by itself evidence that the projective mechanism is at work.
W e shall first give some examples of omnipotence fantasies projected upon a whole outgroup abstractly, as it were, and then show how the application of such ideas to factual experience comes close to paranoid delusion.
5054, a middle-aged woman with fairly high scores on all the scales, who is greatly concerned with herself and characterized by a "domineering" manner, claims that she has always tried "to see the other side" and even to "fight prejudice on every side. " She derives her feelings of tolerance from the contrast with her husband whom she characterized as extremely anti- Jewish (he hates all Jews and makes no exceptions) whereas she is willing to make exceptions. Her actual attitude is described as follows:
She would not subscribe to a "racist theory," but does not think that the Jews will change much, but rather that they will tend to become "more aggressive. " She also believes that "they will eventually run the country, whether we like it or not. "
The usual stereotype of undue Jewish influence in politics and economy is inflated to the assertion of threatening over-all domination. It is easy to guess that the countermeasures which such subjects have in mind are no less totali- tarian than their persecution ideas, even if they do not dare to say so in so many words.
Similar is case 506za, chosen as a mixed case (she is high-middle onE, but low on F and PEC), but actually, as proved by the interview, markedly ethno- centric. In her statement, the vividness of the fantasies about the almighty Jew seems to be equalled by the intensity of her vindictiveness.
"My relations with the Jews have been anything but pleasant. " When asked to be . more specific it was impossible for her to name individual incidents. She de- scnbed them, however, as "pushing everybody about, aggressive, clannish, money-
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minded. . . . The Jews are practically taking over the country. They are getting into everything. It is not that they are smarter, but they work so hard to get control. They are all alike. " When asked if she did not feel that there were variations in the Jewish temperament as in any other, she said, "No, I don't think so. I think there is something that makes them all stick together and try to hold on to everything. I have Jewish friends and I have tried not to treat them antagonistically, but sooner or later they have also turned out to be aggressive and obnoxious. . . . I think the percentage of very bad Jews is very much greater than the percentage of bad Gentiles. . . . My husband feels exactly the same way on this whole problem. As a matter of fact, I don't go as far as he does. He didn't like many things about Hitler, but he did feel that Hitler did a good job on the Jews. He feels that we will come in this country to a place where we have to do something about it. "
Sometimes the projective aspect of the fantasies of Jewish domination comes into the open. Those whose half-conscious wishes culminate in the idea of the abolition of democracy and the rule of the strong, call those antidemocratic whose only hope lies in the maintenance of democratic rights. 5018 is a p-year-old ex-marine gunnery sergeant who scores high on all the scales. He is suspected by the interviewer of being "somewhat paranoid. " He knows "one cannot consider Jews a race, but they are all alike. They have too much power but I guess it's really our fault. " This is followed up by the statement:
He would handle the Jews by outlawing them from business domination. He thinks that all others who feel the same could get into business and compete with them and perhaps overcome them, but adds, "it would be better to ship them to Palestine and let them gyp one another. I have had some experiences with them and a few were good soldiers but not very many. " The respondent went on to imply that lax democratic methods cannot solve the problem because "they won't co- operate in a democracy. "
The implicitly antidemocratic feelings of this subject are evidenced by his speaking derogatorily about lax democratic methods: his blaming the Jews for lack of democratic cooperation is manifestly a rationalization.
One more aspect of unrealistic imagery of the Jew should at least be mentioned. It is the contention that the Jews "are everywhere. " Omnipres- ence sometimes displaces o~nipotence, perhaps because no actual "Jewish rule" can be pretended to exist, so that the image-ridden subject has to seek a different outlet for his power fantasy in ideas of dangerous, mysterious ubiquity. This is fused with another psychological element. To the highly prejudiced subject the idea of the total right of the ingroup, and of its tol- erating nothing which does not strictly "belong," is all-pervasive. This is projected upon the Jews. Whereas the high scorer apparently cannot stand any "intruder"-ultimately nothing that is not strictly like himself-he sees this totality of presence in those whom he hates and whom he feels justified in exterminating because one otherwise "could not get rid of them. " The
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following example shows the idea of Jewish omnipresence applied to per- sonal experience, thus revealing its proximity to delusion.
6070, a 4o-year-old woman, is high-middle on the E scale and particularly vehement about the Jews:
"I don't like Jews. The Jew is always crying. They are taking our country over from us. They are aggressive. They suffer from every lust. Last summer I met the famous musician X, and before I really knew him he wanted me to sign an affidavit to help bring his family into this country. Finally I had to flatly refuse and told him I want no more Jews here. Roosevelt started bringing the Jews into the government, and that is the chief cause of our difficulties today. The Jews arranged it so they were discriminated for in the draft. I favor a legislative discrimination against the Jews along American, not Hitler lines. Everybody knows that the Jews are back of the Communists. This X person almost drove me nuts. I had made the mistake of inviting him to be my guest at my beach club. He arrived with ten other Jews who were uninvited. They always cause trouble. If one gets in a place, he brings two more and those two bring two more. "
This quotation is remarkable for more reasons than that it exemplifies the "Jews are everywhere" complex. It is the expression of Jewish weakness- that they are "always crying"-which is perverted into ubiquity. The refugee, forced to leave his country, appears as he who wants to intrude and to expand over the whole earth, and it is hardly too far-fetched to assume that this imagery is at least partly derived from the fact of persecution itself. More- over, the quotation gives evidence of a certain ambivalence of the extreme anti-Semite which points in the direction of "negatively falling in love. " This woman had invited the celebrity to her club, doubtless attracted by his fame, but used the contact, once it had been established, merely in order to personalize her aggressiveness.
Another example of the merging of semipsychotic idiosyncrasies and wild anti-Jewish imagery is the 26-year-old woman, 5004. She scores high on the F scale and high-middle on E and PEC. Asked about Jewish religion, she produces an answer which partakes of the age-old image of "uncannyness. " "I know very little, but I would be afraid to go into a synagogue. " This has to be evaluated in relation to her statement about Nazi atrocities:
"I am not particularly sorry because of what the Germans did to the Jews. I feel Jews would do the same type of thing to me. "
The persecution fantasy of what the Jews might do to her, is used, in au- thentic paranoid style, as a justification of the genocide committed by the Nazis.
Our last two examples refer to the distortions that occur when experience is viewed through the lens of congealed stereotypy. M732c of the Veterans Group, who scores generally high on the scales, shows this pattern of dis- torted experience with regard to both Negroes and Jews. As to the former:
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"You never see a Negro driving (an ordinary car of which subject mentions a number of examples) but only a Cadillac or a Packard. . . . They always dress gaudy. They have that tendency to show off. . . . Since the Negro has that feeling that he isn't up to par, he's always trying to show off. . . . Even though he can't afford it, he will buy an expensive car just to make a show. . . . "Subject mentions that the brightest girl in a class at subject's school happens to be a Negro and he explains her outstandingness in the class in terms of Negro overcompensation for what he seems to be implying is her inherent inferiority.
The assertion about the Negro's Cadillac speaks for itself. As to the story about the student, it indicates in personalized terms the aspect of inescapabil- ity inherent in hostile stereotypy. To the prejudiced, the Negro is "dull"; if he meets, however, one of outstanding achievement, it is supposed to be mere overcompensation, the exception that proves the rule. No matter what the Negro is or does, he is condemned.
As to the "Jewish problem":
"As far as being good and shrewd businessmen, that's about all I have to say about them. They're white people, that's one thing. . . . Of course, they have the Jewish instinct, whatever that is. . . . I've heard they have a business nose. . . . I imagine the Jewish people are more obsequious. . . ? . For example, somehow a Jewish bar- ber will entice you to come to his chair. " Subject elaborates here a definite fantasy of some mysterious influence by Jews. . . . "They're mighty shrewd businessmen, and you don't have much chance" (competing with Jews).
The story about the barber seems to be a retrogression towards early infantile, magical patterns of thinking.
F359, a 48-year-old accountant in a government department, is, accord- ing to the interviewer, a cultured and educated woman. This, however, does not keep her from paranoid story-telling as soon as the critical area of race relations, which serves as a kind of free-for-all, is entered. (She is in the high quartile onE, though low on both F and PEC. ) Her distortions refer both to Negroes and to Jews:
Subject considers this a very serious problem and she thinks that it-is going to get worse. The Negroes are going to get worse. She experienced a riot in Washington; there was shoo~ing; street-car windows were broken, and when a white would get into the Negro section of the car, the shooting would start. The white man would have to lie on the floor. She did not dare to go out at night. One day the Negroes were having a procession and some of them started pushing her off the sidewalk. When she asked them not to push, they looked so insolent that she thought they would start a riot, and her companion said, "Let's get out of here or we will start a riot. " A friend of hers told her that she had asked her maid to work on a Thursday, but the maid had refused because she said it was "push and shove" day-the day they shoved the whites off the sidewalk. Another friend of hers in Los Angeles told her not to let her maid use her vacuum cleaner because they tamper with it in such a way as to cause it to tear your rugs. One day she caught the maid using a file on her vacuum cleaner and asked her what she was doing. The maid replied, "Oh, I'm just trying to fix this thing. " They just want to get revenge on whites. One cannot give them equal rights yet, they are not ready for it; we will have to
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educate them first. Subject would not want to sit next to a Negro in a theatre or restaurant. She cited the case of a drugstore man who addressed a Negro janitor, a cleaner, as "Mr. " You just can't do that to them or they will say, "Ah'm as good as white folks. " (Outcome? ) "I think there will be trouble. " She expects riots and bloodshed.
(Jews? ) "Well, they are to blame too, I think. They just cannot do business straight, they have to be underhanded-truth has no meaning for them in business. " (What has been your personal experience? ) She cited the case of a friend who is interested in photography and bought some second-hand cameras from pawn shops. One day when he was in one, a woman came in with a set of false teeth. She was told that they were not worth anything (there was some gold in them). Finally, the Jew gave her a few dollars for them.
As Soon as she had gone out, he mrned to the man and said, "She didn't know it, but see that platinum under here? " In other words the teeth were worth many times what he gave for them. Subject's friend did not get gypped because he knew them and called their bluff.
It is often advocated as the best means of improving intercultural relations that as many personal contacts as possible be established between the dif- ferent groups. While the value of such contacts in some cases of anti-Semitism is to be acknowledged, the material presented in this section argues for cer- tain qualifications, at least in the case of the more extreme patterns of prej- udice. There is no simple gap between experience and stereotypy. Stereotypy is a device for looking at things comfortably; since, however, it feeds on deep-lying unconscious sources, the distortions which occur are not to be corrected merely by taking a real look. Rather, experience itself is prede- termined by stereotypy. The persons whose interviews on minority issues have just been discussed share one decisive trait. Even if brought together with minority group members as different from the stereotype as possible, they will perceive them through the glasses of stereotypy, and will hold against them whatever they are and do. Since this tendency is by no means confined to people who are actually "cranky" (rather, the whole complex of the Jew is a kind of recognized red-light district of legitimatized psychotic distortions), this inaccessibility to experience may not be limited to people of the kind discussed here, but may well operate in much milder cases. This should be taken into account by any well-planned policy of defense. Opti- mism with regard to the hygienic effects of personal contacts should be dis-
carded. One cannot "correct" stereotypy by experience; he has to recon- stitute the capacity for having experiences in order to prevent the growth of ideas which are malignant in the most literal, clinical sense.
D. ANTI-SEMITISM FOR WHA T?
It is a basic hypothesis of psychoanalysis that symptoms "make sense" in so far as they fulfill a specific function within the individual's psycho- logical economy-that they are to be regarded, as a rule, as vicarious wish- fulfillments of, or as defenses against, repressed urges. Our previous discus-
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sion has shown the irrational aspect of anti-Semitic attitudes and opinions. Since their content is irreconcilable with reality, we are certainly entitled to call them symptoms. But they are symptoms which can hardly be explained by the mechanisms of neurosis; and at the same time, the anti-Semitic individ- ual as such, the potentially fascist character, is certainly not a psychotic. The ultimate theoretical explanation of an entirely irrational symptom which nevertheless does not appear to affect the "normality" of those who show the symptom is beyond the scope of the present research. However, we feel justified in asking the question: cui bono? What purposes within the lives of our subjects are served by anti-Semitic ways of thinking? A final answer could be provided only by going back to the primary causes for the estab- lishment and freezing of stereoty,pes. An approach to such an answer has been set forth in earlier chapters. Here, we limit ourselves to a level closer to the surface of the ego and ask: what does anti-Semitism "give" to the sub- ject within the concrete configurations of his adult experience?
Some of the functions of prejudice may doubtless be called rational. One
does not need to conjure up deeper motivations in order to understand the attitude of the farmer who wants to get hold of the property of his Japanese neighbor. One may also call rational the attitude of those who aim at a fascist dictatorship and accept prejudice as part of an over-all platform, though in
this case the question of rationality becomes complicated, since neither the
goal of such a dictatorship seems to be rational in terms of the individual's interest, nor can the wholesale automatized acceptance of a ready-made formula be called rational either. What we are interested in, for the moment, however, is a problem of a somewhat different order. What good does accrue l to the actual adjustment of otherwise "sensible" persons when they subscribe
to ideas which have no basis in reality and which we ordinarily associate j with maladjustment?
In order to provide a provisional answer to this question, we may anticipate one of the conclusions from our consideration of the political and economic sections of the interview (Chapter XVII): the all-pervasive ignorance and confusion of our subjects when it comes to social matters beyond the range of their most immediate experience. The objectification of social processes, their obedience to intrinsic supra-individual laws, seems to result in an in- tellectual alienation of the individual from society. This alienation is experi- enced by the individual as disorientation, with concomitant fear and uncertainty. As wili be seen, political stereotypy and personalization can be understood as devices for overcoming this uncomfortable state of affairs. Images of the politician and of the bureaucrat can be understood as signposts of orientation and as projections of the fears created by disorientation. Similar functions seem to be performed by the "irrational" imagery of the Jew. He is, for the highly prejudiced subject, extremely stereotyped; at the same time, he is more personalized than any other bogey in so far as he is not defined
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by a profession or by his role in social life, but by his human existence as such. For these reasons, as well as for historical ones, he is much better quali- fied for the psychological function of the "bad man" than the bureaucrats or politicians, who, incidentally, are often but handy substitutes for the real object of hatred, the Jew. The latter's alienness seems to provide the handiest formula for dealing with the alienation of society. Charging the Jews with all existing evils seems to penetrate the darkness of reality like a searchlight and to allow for quick and all-comprising orientation. The less anti-Jewish imagery is related to actual experience and the more it is kept "pure," as it were, from contamination by reality, the less it seems to be exposed to dis- turbance by the dialectics of experience, which it keeps away through its own rigidity. It is the Great Panacea, providing at once intellectual equilibrium,
countercathexis, and a canalization of wishes for a "change. "
Anti-Semitic writers and agitators from Chamberlain to Rosenberg and Hitler have always maintained that the existence of the Jews is the key to everything. By talking with individuals of fascist leanings, one can learn the psychological implications of this "key" idea. Their more-or-less cryptic hints frequently reveal a kind of sinister pride; they speak as if they were in the know and had solved a riddle otherwise unsolved by mankind (no matter how often their solution has been already expressed). They raise literally or figuratively their forefinger, sometimes with a smile of superior indulgence; they know the answer for everything and present to their partners in discus- sion the absolute security of those who have cut off the contacts by which any modification of their formula may occur. Probably it is this delusion-like security which casts its spell over those who feel insecure. By his very ig- norance or confusion or semi-erudition the anti-Semite can often c. onquer the position of a profound wizard. The more primitive his drastic formulae are, due to their stereotypy, the more appealing they are at the same time, since they reduce the complicated to the elementary, no matter how the logic of this reduction may work. The superiority thus gained does not remain on the intellectual level. Since the cliche regularly makes the outgroup bad and the ingroup good, the anti-Semitic pattern of orientation offers emotional, narcissistic gratifications which tend to break down the barriers of rational
self-criticism.
It is these psychological instruments upon which fascist agitators play in-
cessantly. They would hardly do so if there were no susceptibility for spurious orientation among their listeners and readers. Here we are concerned only with the evidence for such susceptibility among people who are by no means overt fascist followers. We limit ourselves to three nerve points of the pseudocognitive lure of anti-Semitism: the idea that the Jews are a "problem," the assertion that they are all alike, and the claim that Jews can be recognized as such without exception.
The contention that the Jews, or the Negroes, are a "problem" is regularly
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found in our interviews with prejudiced subjects. W e may quote one example picked at random and then briefly discuss the theoretical implications of the "problem" idea.
The prelaw student, 105, when asked, "What about other groups? " states: "Well, the Jews are a ticklish problem-not the whole race; there are both good
and bad. But there are more bad than good. "
The term "problem" is taken over from the sphere of science and is used to give the impression of searching, responsible deliberation. By referring to
a problem, one implicitly claims personal aloofness from the matter in ques- tion-a kind of detachment and higher objectivity. This, of course, is an ex- . cellent rationalization for prejudice. It serves to give the impression that one's attitudes are not motivated subjectively but have resulted from hard thinking and mature experience. The subject who makes use of this device maintains
a discursive attitude in the interview; he qualifies, quasi-empirically, what he has to say, and is ready to admit exceptions. Yet these qualifications and ex- ceptions only scratch the surface. As soon as the existence of a "Jewish problem" is admitted, anti-Semitism has won its first surreptitious victory. This is made possible by the equivocal nature of the term itself; it can be both a neutral issue of analysis and, as indicated by the everyday use of the term "problematic" for a dubious character, a negative entity. There is no doubt that the relations between Jews and non-Jews do present a problem in the objective sense of the term, but when "the Jewish problem" is referred to, the emphasis is subtly shifted. While the veneer of objectivity is maintained, the implication is that the Jews are the problem, a problem, that is, to the rest of society. It is but one step from this position to the implicit notion that this problem has to be dealt with according to its own special requirements, i. e. , the problematic nature of the Jews, and that this will naturally lead outside the bounds of democratic procedure. Moreover, the "problem" calls for a solution. As soon as the Jews themselves are stamped as this problem, they are transformed into objects, not only to "judges" of superior insight but also to the perpetrators of an action; far from being regarded as subjects, they are treated as terms of a mathematical equation. To call for a "solution of the Jewish problem" results in their being reduced to "material" for manipulation.
It should be added that the "problem" idea, which made deep inroads into public opinion through Nazi propaganda and the Nazi example, is also to be found in the interviews of low-scoring subjects. Here, however, it assumes regularly the aspect of a protest. Unprejudiced subjects try to restore the objective, "sociological" meaning of the term, generally insisting on the fact that the so-called "Jewish problem" is actually the problem of the non- Jews. However, the very use of the term may be partially indicative, even with unprejudiced persons, of a certain ambivalence or at least indifference, as in the case of 5047, who scored low on theE scale but high on F and PEC.
"Yes, I think there is a so-called Jewish problem and a Negro problem, but essen-
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tially I believe that it is really a? majority problem. " He felt that there was a need for more education of the ignorant masses and for improving economic conditions so that there would not be a necessity for seeking a scapegoat. Generally, his under- standing of the problems seemed to be quite sound, and he expressed disagreement with anti-Semitism and discrimination against Negroes. However, the manner in which he approached the matter and his tendency to treat it as a purely academic problem seemed to indicate that he was not thoroughly convinced of his statements and was merely using verbal cliches.
The term "problem" itself seems to suggest a too naive idea of common sense justice, following the pattern of democratic compromise in areas where de- cisions should be made only according to the merits of the case. The man who speaks about the "problem" is easily tempted to say that there are two sides to every problem, with the comfortable consequence that the Jews must have done something wrong, if they were exterminated. This pattern of con- formist "sensibleness" lends itself very easily to the defense of various kinds of irrationality.
The statement that the Jews are all alike not only dispenses with all dis- turbing factors but also, by its sweep, gives to the judge the grandiose air of a person who sees the whole without allowing himself to be deflected by petty details-an intellectual leader. At the same time, the "all alike" idea rationalizes the glance at the individual case as a mere specimen of some generality which can be taken care of by general measures which are the more radical, since they call for no exceptions. We give but one example of a case where traces of "knowing better" still survive although the "all alike" idea leads up to the wildest fantasies. F116 is middle on the E scale, but when the question of the Jews is raised:
(Jews? ) "Now this is where I really do have strong feeling. I am not very proud of it. I don't think it is good to be so prejudiced but I can't help it. (What do you dislike about Jews? ) Everything. I can't say one good thing for them. (Are there any exceptions? ) No, I have never met one single one that was an exception. I used to hope I would. It isn't pleasant to feel the way I do. I would be just as nice and civil as I could, but it would end the same way. They cheat, take advantage. (Is it possible that you know some Jewish people and like them without knowing they are Jews? ) Oh no, I don't think any Jew can hide it. I always know them. (How do they look? ) Attractive. Very well dressed. And as though they knew exactly
what they wanted. (How well have you known Jews? ) Well, I never knew any in childhood. In fact, I never knew one until we moved to San Francisco, 10 years ago. He was our landlord. It was terrible. I had a lovely home in Denver and I hated to leave. And here I was stuck in an ugly apartment and he did everything to make it worse. If the rent was due on Sunday, he was there bright and early. After that I knew lots of them. I had Jewish bosses. There are Jews in the bank. They are everywhere-always in the money. My next-door neighbor is a Jew. I decided to be civil. After all, I can't move now and I might as well be neighborly. They borrow our lawn mower. They say it is because you can't buy one during the war. But of course lawn mowers cost money. We had a party last week and they called the police. I called her the next day because I suspected them. She said she did it so I asked if she didn't think she should have called me first. She said a man was singing in the yard and woke her baby and she got so upset she called the police. I asked her
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if she realized that her baby screamed for 3 months after she brought him home from the hospital. Ever since then she has been just grovelling and I hate that even worse. "
"Knowing better" is mentioned not infrequently by high scorers: they realize they "should" not think that way, but stick to their prejudice under a kind of compulsion which is apparently stronger than the moral and rational counteragencies available to them. In addition to this phenomenon, there is hardly any aspect of the anti-Semitic syndrome discussed in this chapter which could not be illustrated by this quotation from a truly "all-out," to- talitarian anti-Semite. She omits nothing. Her insatiability is indicative of the tremendous libidinous energy she has invested in her Jewish complex. Acting out her anti-Semitism obviously works with her as a wish-fulfillment, both with regard to aggressiveness and with regard to the desire for intellectual superiority as indicated by her cooperation in the present study "in the inter- ests of science. " Her personal attitude partakes of that sinister contempt shown by those who feel themselves to be "in the know" with respect to all kinds of dark secrets.
Her most characteristic attitude is one of pessimism-she dismisses many matters with a downward glance, a shrug of the shoulders, and a sigh.
The idea of the "Jew spotter" was introduced in the Labor Study, where it proved to be the most discriminating item. We used it only in a supple- mentary way, in work with the Los Angeles sample, but there can be no doubt that people who are extreme on A-S will regularly allege that they can recognize Jews at once. This is the most drastic expression of the "orienta- tion" mechanism which we have seen to be so essential a feature of the preju- diced outlook. At the same time, it can frequently be observed that the actual variety of Jews, which could hardly escape notice, leads to a high amount of vagueness with regard to the criteria according to which Jews might be spotted; this vagueness does not, however, interfere with the definiteness of the spotter's claim. One example for this configuration will suffice. It is inter- esting because of the strange mixture of fantasy and real observation.
5039, a 27-year-old student at the University of Southern California and a war veteran, who scores high on E:
"Yes, I think I can . . . of course, you can't always, I know. But usually they have different features: larger nose, and I think differently shaped faces, more narrow, and different mannerisms. . . . But mainly they talk too much and they have different attitudes. Almost always they will counter a question with another question (gives examples from school); they are freer with criticism; tend to talk in big terms and generally more aggressive-at least I notice that immediately. . . . "
E. TWO KINDS OF JEWS
The stereotypes just discussed have been interpreted as means for pseudo- orientation in an estranged world, and at the same time as devices for "master-
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ing" this world by being abl~ completely to pigeonhole its negative aspects. The "problematizing" attitude puts the resentful person in the position of one who is rationally discriminating; the assertion that all the Jews are alike transposes the "problem" into the realm of systematic and complete knowl- edge, without a "loophole," as it were; the pretension of being able unfail- ingly to recognize Jews raises the claim that the subject is actually the judge in matters where the judgment is supposed to have been pronounced once and for all. In addition, there is another stereotype of "orientation" which de- serves closer attention because it shows most clearly the "topographical" function and because it crops up spontaneously with great frequency in the interview material. It is even more indicative of the "pseudorational" ele- ment in anti-Semitic prejudice than is the manner of speaking about the "Jewish problem. " W e refer to the standard division of Jews into two groups, the good ones and the bad ones, a division frequently expressed in terms of the "white" Jews and the "kikes. " It may be objected that this division can- not be taken as an index of subjective attitudes, since it has its basis in the object itself, namely, the different degrees of Jewish assimilation. We shall be able to demonstrate that this objection does not hold true and that we have to cope with an attitudinal pattern largely independent of the structure of the minority group to which it is applied.
It has been established in previous chapters that the mentality of the preju- diced subject is characterized by thinking in terms of rigidly contrasting in- groups and outgroups. In the stereotype here under consideration, this dichotomy is projected upon the outgroups themselves, or at least upon one particular outgroup. This is partly due no doubt to the automatization of black and white thinking which tends to "cut in two" whatever is being considered. It is also due to the desire to maintain an air of objectivity while expressing one's hostilities, and perhaps even to a mental reservation of the prejudiced person who does not want to deliver himself completely to ways of thinking which he still regards as "forbidden. " The "two kinds" stereotype thus has to be viewed as a compromise between antagonistic tendencies within the prejudiced person himself. This would lead to the supposition that people who make this division are rarely extreme high scorers; a supposi- tion which seems to be largely borne out by our data. In terms of our "orienta- tion" theory we should expect that the "two kinds" idea serves as a makeshift for bridging the gap between general stereotypy and personal experience. Thus, the "good" outgroup members would be those whom the subject per- sonally knows, whereas the "bad" ones would be those at a greater social distance-a distinction obviously related to the differences between assimilated and nonassimilated sectors of the outgroup. This again is at least partly cor- roborated, though it will be seen that the "two kinds" idea is in many respects
so vague and abstract that it does not even coincide with the division be- tween the known and the unknown. As a device for overcoming stereotypy
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the "two kinds" concept is spurious because it is thoroughly stereotyped itself.
JOO? , who scores high on all the scales, comments as follows:
"Most of the Jews I have known have been white Jews, and they are very charm- ing people. Jews are aggressive, clannish, overcrowd nice neighborhoods, and are money-minded. At least the 'non-white Jews. ' My experiences have been of two sorts. Some Jews are amongst the most charming and educated people I know. Other experiences have been less friendly. On the whole, I think Jews in the professions are all right, but in commerce they seem to be quite objectionable. "
Here it can be seen clearly how the over-all stereotypy, as suggested by the list of "objectionable Jewish traits," struggles with the stereotype of a dichotomy, which in this case represents the more humanitarian trend. It is conceived in terms of acquaintances vs. others, but this is complicated by a second division, that between "professional" Jews (supposedly of higher education and morality) and "business" Jews, who are charged with being ruthless money-makers and cheats.
This, however, is not the classical form of the "two kinds" idea.
