If they go to prison, and they want kosher food, so we send them some? If they get fired for not working on Shabbos, do we give them assistance in suing? Do they insist on living in walking distance of a shul since they don’t drive on Shabbos? When they apply to colleges, do they limit themselves to ones with kosher food and a minyan, and pass on athletic scholarships and ROTC (which are the two largest “merit” based scholarship programs)? Do they dress or act in ways that makes them part of a discriminated against minority, rather than part of the American mainstream?
Most of us have learned to ignore the many forms of discrimination that have a serious impact on our lives in America. Having to live near a shul rules out most of the country, and probably most of the job opportunities – we have adjusted to live with those limits. Non-Orthodox Jews’ manner of observing Shabbos and Kashrus means they avoid almost all that discrimination. If a Jew is following halacha enough to be giving up many of the economic advantages of living in America, they are “one of us.”