When 419 Scams Meet Single Jews
JDate, the Jewish dating site, has had an influx of empty-profile African women looking to meet guys. Sometimes they explicitly state that they are from Ghana or Nigeria. Usually, they leave the profile mostly-blank.
This is the best one so far, though:
hotsusanF07F
I AM SUSAN 26 YEARS OLD BLACK AFRICA LIEVING WITH PARENT I AM GOOD LOOKING CAREING HAVE SENCE OF HUMON NOT COMPLICIVE I LOVE ATDOOR ACTIVETIES I LOVE TO SEE MY SELF HAVE FUN WITH FRIENCE I AM GOD FREAING PERSON HOLPING TO MEET A MAN THAT IS GOOD IN EVERY RAMIFICATION A MAN THAT HAVE SENCE OF HUMON AND DO THINGS IN A GOOD MANNAR I AM TO BE KNOW FOR GOOD AND EMOTION FEELINGS
Sweetheart, your ass is the best thing I've ever seen — and the leopard print and bent-over-the-couch pose makes me want to pull a Strom Thurmond.
But, wrong fucking site. And Jews like bagels and the Beastie Boys. Not ALL CAPS and bad spelling. And we really, really aren't interested in spending time with a shiksa who describes herself as God-fearing.
I find it funny that one of the fields on JDate's profiles is "Ethnicity".
Posted by: Keesey on March 27, 2006 12:07 PM | permalinkThey mean it in the Ashkenazi/Sephardic sense (believe it or not, some people care).
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on March 27, 2006 12:20 PM | permalinkHonestly Joe, you're just trying to up the ass content of your blog, aren't you?
Posted by: Shabbir on March 27, 2006 12:47 PM | permalinkIt used to bring in the AdSense bucks. I hope this blog hasn't turned into a "cargo cult" of booty.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on March 27, 2006 12:57 PM | permalinkAMERICAN Jews like bagels and Beastie Boys. Let's not forget about the Jews who prefer pita and Eyal Golan.
Posted by: S on March 27, 2006 1:12 PM | permalinkWell, the Ashkenazi thing might be for a legit reason. An Ashkenazi might want to have kids, but not with another Ashkenazi so that they don't risk one of the genetic disorders that have a chance of popping up.
Posted by: Od-ll on March 27, 2006 1:20 PM | permalinkThey mean it in the Ashkenazi/Sephardic sense (believe it or not, some people care).
Wow ... talk about a fear of miscegenation.
Well, then again, wanting to date someone of similar culture is understandable. It's difficult for someone from a multiracial culture (such as an American like me) to see the difference between racism and cultural loyalty in monoracial cultures. (Is monoracial even a word?)
Posted by: Keesey on March 27, 2006 1:33 PM | permalinkThinking about things, it's a bit of a double standard for Jews to preach unity/acceptance/equality/etc. and then aim for a segregated dating/marriage. I thought that groups were supposed to dissolve instead of trying to preserve themselves.
Posted by: Od-ll on March 27, 2006 2:01 PM | permalinkIt is paradoxical on some level; Judaism has a built-in antipathy towards assimilation.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on March 27, 2006 2:08 PM | permalinkHey, you can't spell "Ashkenazi" without "Nazi".
Posted by: Keesey on March 27, 2006 3:07 PM | permalinkVery, very tacky. If I didn't personally know you, that would have gotten you banned.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on March 27, 2006 3:32 PM | permalink"I thought that groups were supposed to dissolve instead of trying to preserve themselves."
For real? Did you ever study Cultural Anthropology?
Posted by: S on March 27, 2006 4:07 PM | permalinkMy apologies and feel free to delete it--should have at least added a ":]".
And avoiding "outbreeding" by peaceful means (while still potentially racist to some extent) is of course vastly morally superior to avoiding "outbreeding" by *killing everybody else*.
Posted by: Keesey on March 27, 2006 4:21 PM | permalink"For real? Did you ever study Cultural Anthropology?"
I'm talking about the modern politically correct attitude in the US.
Posted by: Od-ll on March 27, 2006 8:31 PM | permalinkOne of my best friends (an ashkenazi) dated a persian guy for a while. His mother was absolutely opposed. IIRC, not only did she not want him dating an ashkenazi, she didn't want him dating a sephardic girl who wasn't persian. I think that sort of tradition is much more what's at work here.
... and what shabbir said ;)
Posted by: Lori on March 27, 2006 9:36 PM | permalinkThat, too, is a paradoxical school of thought: it's great to celebrate diversity; it's awful to focus on differences.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on March 27, 2006 9:36 PM | permalinkWhatever, it's human nature to be group-oriented. And, when you've been crapped on throughout history as much as the Jews have, a strong in-group mentality develops. Not to mention Jewish law: I'm no scholar but I think it's pretty explicitly stated in the Torah that marriage between a Jew and non-Jew is spiritually, metaphysically and otherwise 'halachically' impossible. Those kinds of values die hard.
Posted by: S on March 28, 2006 10:50 AM | permalinkIf you'd actually read all of my comments, you'd see that my point is that some people (not just Jews, to be fair) practice a double standard for what they say and what they do. Look up the word hypocrisy in an English dictionary.
"Those kinds of values die hard."
That's the way it is for some white people who hate black people because it has been the norm for so long. It's unheard of to accept their views, and it should also be unheard of to accept similar views based on religious elitism.
Btw, pretty much everyone has been crapped on at some point (eg, Native Americans whose current population is half that of the US Jewish population), and many groups are currently being crapped on today (such as people in the Darfur region).
Some become investment bankers instead of alcoholics, so they get their museum in DC and recognition as top victims. I guess that the casino wealth in recent years has probably helped that Native American museum in DC finally happen. Maybe we'll see some movies soon.
Posted by: Od-ll on March 28, 2006 2:23 PM | permalink"That's the way it is for some white people who hate black people because it has been the norm for so long. It's unheard of to accept their views, and it should also be unheard of to accept similar views based on religious elitism."
Sweetheart, relax. The preference to marry someone within one's own culture is entirely different than being consumed with hatred for another group.
As for other groups being crapped on, if they choose to marry within their own culture/religion as a means of preserving their heritage, that's their business. Just as it is with the Jews.
Incidentally, Catholics are only supposed to marry Catholics too. Traditional priests will not perform intermarriages.
Is that a lead-in to some joke about where she got those buns?
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on March 28, 2006 10:19 PM | permalinkfirst of all, this profile is probably a scam.
I am new to your blog and have been searching around a little. I agree with most of what you say, but this post is way outta line in my opinion.
"Sweetheart, your ass is the best thing I've ever seen � and the leopard print and bent-over-the-couch pose makes me want to pull a Strom Thurmond."
-That is sleazy and racist and generally disgusting
But, wrong fucking site. And Jews like bagels and the Beastie Boys. Not ALL CAPS and bad spelling. And we really, really aren't interested in spending time with a shiksa who describes herself as God-fearing.
--What is she's looking for a Jewish guy? Doesn;t she have the right to post? You are one Jew, so what's with the "we" really, really aren't interested? How do you know there aren't any jews who'd describe themselves as God-fearing? And I'm curious, how well do you spell in Swahili or other African languages?
No wonder you have no black friends.
It's tongue-in-cheek racism.
God-fearing is a typically Christian phrase.
I don't go posting on SwahiliDate.com and if I did, I'd have someone proofread it.
Thanks for the feedback.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on April 9, 2007 9:24 PM | permalinkNo more comments! Either someone has violated Godwin's Law, I'm tired of the discussion or, most likely, the ten-week window has closed. You can, however, contact me through email.