ABSTRACT
To place anti-Semitism in its proper niche in the scheme of prejudice, one must distinguish between its use as a weapon — its social function — and its function in the personality of the bigot. As a weapon in social conflicts, anti-Semitism is a menacing reality; as a deep-seated psychological fear of one's self, it is likewise an incontestable reality; but anti-Semitism as a doctrine, as an ideology, is a scurrilous yellow myth, a swamp fever exhaled by sick people in a sick society. Anti-Semitism is one of the greatest barriers to self-knowledge and social understanding of our times because it masks a reality — the reality of social, economic, and political injustice. The anti-Semite is essentially a mediocre person, a person well aware of his own mediocrity. The anti-Semite knows and readily admits that he is a mediocre person; in fact, he glories in his mediocrity and seeks out the kinship of other mediocrities.
