Inside the mind of an ideologue.

Just a paraphrased debate I had online. My interlocutor was allegedly educated.

Him: Ashkenazi are Europeans, not Jews.

Me: Who gets to decide who's a Lakota or a Jew except Lakotas or Jews? (Repeated more than a dozen times without an answer, just misdirection.)

Him (finally): Only Lakotas or Jews can decide who's a Lakota or a Jew, but Ashkenazi are not Jews so they can't decide.

Me: Are Mizrahi real Jews?

Him: Yes, Mizrahi are real Jews.

Me: So the Mizrahi can say who are real Jews, and you and I can't.

Him: Yes.

Me: The Mizrahi say the Ashkenazi are real Jews.

Him: The Ashkenazi are European, not Jewish.

Me: Do you see how you've contradicted yourself?

Him: Laugh react, misdirection.

For the record, he claims a degree in International Relations from University of Washington, which just seems all too plausible to me.