Jewish Group

Having such a distorted sense of the correct numbers of any minority group is scary. And dangerous. If you think that some minority group is vastly larger than it really is, and if you are unfavorably disposed to that minority group, then bad things might well ensue.

Here's a related story. I got married in 1980 to an American man who is Jewish. He doesn't look Jewish, and because of that, early learned that he could be a fly on the wall, listening to what others said about persons like him. Anyway, we got married in 1980 and went to Eastern Europe on our honeymoon. In Poland, where all his grandparents had originated, we'd be out walking and men would emerge from the woodwork, go up to him, speak to him in English, and when he was startled and confused, would say, "You're Jewish, aren't you?" I, the Irish American girl, was totally invisible to them. They focused on my husband, who to them was obviously Jewish. After a bit we got used to those confrontations.

It was really quit amazing and wonderful. One time we were led to an attic where documents of the Jewish community had been rescued. They wanted us to see them, to know that their history had been saved. I am not sure we fully appreciated what they were trying to tell us.

I realize this is somewhat different from the overestimation of minorities, but I think it is related.