At A Chandler, AZ School Board Meeting An Antivaxx Woman Blames "The Jews" And Gets Applause For It.

Arizona is developing into a blue state, and quite frankly, got there faster than I thought Texas would.  Some 72,000 people a year are moving here, mostly educated professionals from blue states, so by 2024, it is likely ten points blue and out of reach for the Republicans.  I would say the next Virginia, except we are struggling at the moment, though I still believe Terry wins 51-48.  Even so, Arizona has plenty of extremism, and Thursday night’s meeting of the Chandler Independent School District outlined that.

From the YouTube link description-

A woman named Melanie Rettler, who is not a Chandler parent, made an offensive, anti-Semitic claim at a recent Chandler School Board meeting. A parent with a child in the Chandler school district said she wasn’t surprised.

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YouTube Video

This woman says, “And it’s being taken from your money, and given to these pharmaceutical companies.”  I have no idea what she means by my money being given to the pharmaceutical companies, because all I do is buy medicine.  I don’t invest in their stock.  But that is of course, burying the lede.  Re-watching this video, she seemed to deliberately verbally bomb toss, saying if  ”you wanna bring race into it..blame The Jews.”  Actually let’s make her famous with the entire quote:

“You know what? You wanna talk about racism? You wanna bring it in? Then let’s bring it in. Let’s get to the bottom of, the bottom of it. You’re talking about White supremacy, ok? Let’s get to the very bottom of it. Everyone one of these things, the deep state, the cabal, the swamp, the elite, you can’t mention it. But I will. There is one race that owns all the pharmaceutical companies, and these vaccines aren’t safe, they aren’t effective, and they aren’t free. You know that you’re paying for it through the increase in gas prices, the increase in food prices. You’re paying for this. And it’s being taken from your money and given to these pharmaceutical companies. And if you wanna bring race into this, it’s the Jews.” — Veterinarian Melanie Rettler, speaking at a school board meeting in Chandler, Maricopa County, Ariz., Oct. 28, 2021

Judaism is literally a religion.  However recently a court precedent has been set that protects against discrimination for being Jewish because the social construct of race is applied to them, and of course frequently against them, by society.  I want to thank Raptavio and wasplover below, for expounding upon this conversation.  One of the things I appreciate about the process of writing is not just the opportunity to bring news to light, but also to learn.  The social contructs applied to the Jewish people are very complicated and take more than a few diaries to unwound.

It is a fascinating and necessary study, as anti-semitic aggressions have a cyclical rhythm, as well as obviously, tragic consequences.

In the case referenced below, the judge decided that since the prejudice itself was based on the notion of race, that they could be protected under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  

Judaism is not a race.  But Jewish people can be targeted for racism.

That may seem like a contradiction. But a recent ruling by U.S. Magistrate Mark Hornsby of Louisiana updated anti-discrimination laws in the state. In doing so, Hornsby has potentially helped to clarify the distinction between race and racism at a time when white supremacy is expanding its reach — and finding new groups to single out for hate.

Hornsby concluded that he was, and that racial discrimination can include Jewish people. “Jewish citizens have been excluded from certain clubs or neighborhoods,” Hornsby writes, “and they have been denied jobs and other opportunities based on the fact that they were Jewish, with no particular concern as to a given individual’s religious leanings. Thus, they have been treated like a racial or ethnic group that Title VII was designed to protect from employment discrimination based on membership in that group.”

As far as the pharmaceutical companies go, I would imagine a large cross section of people profit, but I really don’t care, because I do not believe any human being should be denied the right to go into business.  So who owns most pharmaceutical companies?  We will use Pfizer as an example.  The answer?

Shareholders.

The top shareholders of Pfizer are Frank A. D’amelio, John Douglas Young, Mikael Dolsten, Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock Inc. (BLK), and State Street Corp. (STT).

She doesn’t even understand that these are publicly traded companies.

So who is Melanie Rettler?  She is not a parent.  She is apparently a veterinarian.  This does not preclude her right to opine, respectfully, as she is a taxpayer.  But she doesn’t even appear to live in Chandler, as she has a practice in Queen Creek.  I also found a Dr. Melanie Rettler who appears to have a connection to Arizona that shared her visions of Jesus, but as with any religion, I will reserve opinion in this space.

But whoever she is, she clearly was not there to advocate for children.  So upthread I highlghted what we know to be the real crux of QAnon:  anti-semitism.  And I say QAnon because of her use of the terms, “deep state” and “cabal.”

Clearly this is an ugly scene, and one that should not be repeated.  But the lukewarm response of the board member, and more concerningly, the applause of some of the attendees tell me that QAnon and anti-semitism is breaking through into the mainstream, and is no longer a joke, but an existential threat to national security, and now, must be approached as such.

This was ignorance, malevolence, and sheer white supremacy being clapped for.  

Clap back.

-ROC

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