The Nazis decreed that every Jew in Sighet had to wear a yellow star. Eliezer's father says "The yellow star? So what? It's not lethal..." What is the irony of this statement?

The same day, the Hungarian police burst into every Jewish home in town: a Jew was henceforth forbidden to own gold, jewelry, or any valuables.
Everything had to be handed over to the authorities, under penalty of death. My father went down to the cellar and buried our savings.
As for my mother, she went on tending to the many chores in the house. Sometimes she would stop and gaze at us in silence.Three days later, a new decree:
every Jew had to wear the yellow star.Some prominent members of the community came to consult with my father, who had connections at the upper levels of
the Hungarian police; they wanted to know what he thought of the situation. My father’s view was that it was not all bleak, or perhaps he just did not
want to discourage the others, to throw salt on their wounds:“The yellow star? So what? It’s not lethal . . . “(Poor Father! Of what then did you die?)
But new edicts were already being issued. We no longer had the right to frequent restaurants or cafés, to travel by rail, to attend synagogue, to be
on the streets after six o’clock in the evening.Then came the ghettos.