Big Day for Anti-Semites

I don't usually spend much time worrying about whether people hate me because I'm Jewish, but some days you can't help but think about it.

First, a gunman opened fire at the Holocaust Memorial Museum right here in Washington, DC. Police have arrested an 88-year-old long-time white supremacist and anti-Semite named James von Brunn, who is apparently the author of "Kill the Best Gentiles," a conspiracy theory book about how Jews are threatening the white race. "It's time to kill all the Jews," he said in a recent e-mail. Then he took his rifle over to the museum.

Of course, carrying such weapons around will soon be perfectly legal in DC if Congress repeals all our gun control laws, as it is threatening to do in an amendment attached to the DC Voting Rights Act.

Meanwhile, if you were wondering whether Reverend Jeremiah Wright has been unfairly portrayed by the media or whether he really is a smug, narcissistic blowhard, he helpfully cleared things up by explaining that "them Jews" aren't allowing President Obama to talk to him.

Bernard Malamud said, "If you ever forget you're a Jew, a Gentile will remind you." As I said, I don't spend much time thinking about this, but some days it seems that the Jews serve as a litmus test for hateful people. Eventually, we bring out their bigotry.