The Weird Case of Juan Thompson and the 2017 Jewish Community Center Bomb Threats
Truth is Stranger than Fiction...
Juan Thompson, a 31-year-old disgraced former liberal journalist who was previously been found guilty of literally creating ‘fake news’, (1) was arrested by the FBI and charged with making at least eight bomb threats to jewish institutions (2) then subsequently convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in 2017. (3)
Thompson’s motive was to frame his white ex-girlfriend whose name he used when he called in the bomb threats (4) and then proceeded to complain about them using Social Media. (5)
That is more than a little weird and one rather suspects that Thompson is simply not right in the head.
However despite the attacks being continually referred to as ‘anti-Semitic’ and alleged to be part of some kind of international conspiracy against the jews. (6) The media backpedalled and claimed that this wasn’t and isn’t the case. (7) It wasn’t the media alone either; jewish institutions such as the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith (8) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (9) did it as well.
The narrative was then modified to the idea that at least eight of the bomb threats weren’t anti-Semitic, but all the others were. (10) The problem with his narrative of course is that it exposes the Emperor’s New Clothes in the whole concept of labelling an event as anti-Semitic.
In other words: when the event is felt to be the work of people who the fit the perceived narrative of what an ‘anti-Semite’ should be then the attacks are part of a ‘wave of anti-Semitism’. When the event is felt to be the work of people who do not fit the perceived narrative of what an ‘anti-Semite’ should be then the attacks are not part of a ‘wave of anti-Semitism’.
So, in essence anti-Semitism can quite literally be colloquially defined as ‘something that jews don’t like’, while an ‘anti-Semite’ can similarly be defined as ‘someone who the jews don’t like’.
If the Juan Thompson cases shows us anything it is that you simply cannot assume motives about why something happens. Since otherwise you often end up with egg on your proverbial face.
References
(1) http://thehill.com/homenews/news/322158-st-louis-man-arrested-in-anti-semitic-bomb-threat-case; http://www.timesofisrael.com/bomb-threat-suspect-denounced-threats-against-jccs-vandalism-at-jewish-cemetery/
(2) http://forward.com/news/364882/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-bizarre-jcc-bomb-threat-arrest/
(3) https://nypost.com/2019/12/16/disgraced-reporter-re-sentenced-to-5-years-for-phony-bomb-threats/
(4) http://thehill.com/homenews/news/322158-st-louis-man-arrested-in-anti-semitic-bomb-threat-case; http://www.jweekly.com/2017/03/03/st-louis-man-arrested-for-bomb-threats-against-jewish-institutions/
(5) http://www.timesofisrael.com/bomb-threat-suspect-denounced-threats-against-jccs-vandalism-at-jewish-cemetery/
(6) For example: https://www.bustle.com/p/juan-thompsons-arrest-shows-we-cant-make-assumptions-about-anti-semitism-liberalism-42239; http://thehill.com/homenews/news/322158-st-louis-man-arrested-in-anti-semitic-bomb-threat-case; http://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/nj-officials-denounce-anti-semitism-jewish-community-center-threats/; http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/life/entertainment/story/2017/mar/04/we-feel-increased-hatred-local-jewish-communi/415866/
(7) For example: http://forward.com/news/364882/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-bizarre-jcc-bomb-threat-arrest/
(8) http://www.timesofisrael.com/adl-warns-lone-arrest-wont-stop-unprecedented-wave-of-anti-semitism/; http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/364926/adl-juan-thompson-s-arrest-alone-won-t-stop-unprecedented-wave-of-anti-semi/
(9) http://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2017/03/03/wait-what-splc-says-anti-semitism-may-not-have-been-thompsons-motive-in-jcc-bomb-threats/
(10) http://forward.com/news/364882/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-bizarre-jcc-bomb-threat-arrest/