Basically they're so despised and distrusted that they're a net loss to any side they support.

The idea that any pathology must come from outside rather than regular old homegrown evil—as though there were no cancer or heart disease, as though all illness were infection—is what allows homegrown evil to spread. It is in fact that homegrown evil’s means of transmission, as we see.

The Jews in Thessalonica are probably the most famous example of a community under direct Ottoman rule, and they *did* fare extremely well in comparison to Europe.

Yemen wasn't really controlled by the Ottomans tbh except nominally; they tended to leave Arabia, with the exception of Mecca/Medina mostly to its own devices. They also had little or no control in the Maghreb

This type of person writes like they're on LinkedIn or Facebook as well

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Ja...

Sometimes I think Western tankie types aren't a million miles away from this sort of thinking about their own countries...

'British London'

FPP systems also give this rotten 1/3 more power than they warrant

It's like the vibe shift in the middle of Goodfellas after the Lufthansa heist. The momentum, excitement, glitz and glamor, etc. are no longer on their side, now it's trying to control the infighting, jealousies, competing visions and interests, key people slipping up and not following orders, etc.

Yeah one of my core convictions is that there is usually likely to be a broad mix of assholes and good people in any demographic group, and the only consistent ethical stance is to judge everyone as an individual rather than as a demographic.

(Western hippies signing up with the Hare Krishnas to escape from 'rigid Christian dogma' has always struck me as hilariously ironic, you've literally found the branch of Hinduism most committed to monotheism, rigidity, and dogma)

Dogmatism and intolerance for other viewpoints within the same faith is by no means inherent only to the Abrahamic faiths either; check out the highly disparaging views of ISCKON on non-Vaishnavite Hindus, or Nichiren Buddhism's views of other sects.

"While [expulsion of the Jews] is a very cruel policy, when looked at from the point of view of the current and future happiness of the entire German people, it may be that, for a time, some sort of extreme action is necessary in order to preserve the nation."

I think DT Suzuki, who probably did more than any other mid-century Japanese thinker to popularise Zen in the West, had some decidedly sus views on Nazi Germany as well

In any case the rewards such as they were would only have been attained by a lucky few, most would have been cannon fodder or minor functionaries at best.

Also the role of the Zen clergy in blessing Imperial Japan's actions during WWII often goes unremarked on