"So, there you have it: the yellow badge, a symbol of history’s persistent habit of picking on one group for no good reason. From ancient Islamic lands to medieval Christian Europe to 20th-century Nazi Germany, this little scrap of fabric has been humanity’s go-to tool for exclusion." . . .
"Most people think the Nazis came up with this little accessory of oppression, but, surprise! Humanity has been forcing Jews to dress differently for centuries. It’s not just a Nazi thing—it’s more like a historical tradition of “othering” dressed up as law. The Nazis were just the ones who made it globally infamous, but they were late to the party of discrimination.
"Let’s rewind to the 9th-century Islamic caliphates, where the concept of marking Jews and Christians first popped up in legal decrees. Back then, Jews were classified as dhimmi, second-class citizens who were tolerated as long as they paid a tax and didn’t cause too much trouble. To make sure no one mistook them for Muslims (heaven forbid!), they were sometimes forced to wear yellow belts, patches, or hats. Apparently, even then, someone thought yellow was the universal color for “not one of us.”
"Fast forward to medieval Europe, where Christians decided to borrow this fun idea. In 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council decreed that Jews should wear distinctive clothing so they wouldn’t accidentally blend in with Christians. They couldn’t have people confusing their oppressors with their victims, could they? Yellow badges and silly hats started popping up across England, France, and Germany. Even Shakespeare got in on the act with Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. The Church claimed it was for “moral order,” but we all know it was just another excuse to make Jews feel unwelcome.
"Enter the Nazis in the 20th century, the masters of turning historical discrimination into an industrialized process. They dug up the yellow badge from the depths of history and slapped it onto every Jew in occupied Europe starting in 1939. But they didn’t stop at identification. Unlike their predecessors, who just wanted Jews to look different, the Nazis used the badge as a death warrant. It was their way of saying, “This is where history’s longest hate story meets its darkest chapter.”
"So, there you have it: the yellow badge, a symbol of history’s persistent habit of picking on one group for no good reason. From ancient Islamic lands to medieval Christian Europe to 20th-century Nazi Germany, this little scrap of fabric has been humanity’s go-to tool for exclusion. It’s not just a badge; it’s a reminder of how creative we can get in finding new ways to be awful to each other." . . .
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