#antisemite stick together

[squidgirlautism]

very angry that western leftists are (rightfully) devastated by trump’s re-election and what that means for women’s rights, but a very sizeable chunk of those leftists and feminist activists didn’t say a word about oct. 7 or the hostages.. and if they did say something it was usually “good.”

[lizzzybooo]

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[dragoneyes618]

"A Jew passed in front of Hadrian [ the second-century Roman emperor] and greeted him. The king asked, "Who are you?" He answered, "I am a Jew." Hadrian exclaimed, "How dare a Jew pass in front of Hadrian and greet him?" and ordered, "Off with his head!" Another Jew passed and, seeing what happened to the first man, did not greet him. Hadrian asked, "Who are you?" He answered, "A Jew." He exclaimed, "How dare a Jew pass in front of Hadrian without giving a greeting?" and again ordered, "Off with his head!" His senators said, "We cannot understand your actions. He who greeted you was put to death, and he who did not greet you was put to death!" Hadrian replied, "Do you dare to advise me how I am to deal with those I hate?"

- Lamentations Rabbah 3:9 commenting on verse 3:58

Hadrian acknowledged what most antisemites deny: Their hatred of Jews is unassuageable by any Jewish behavior. Thus, antisemites who fault Jews for "pushing in where they are not wanted" presumably would find no fault with those Jews who ghettoize themselves and remain within their own community. Yet studies have shown that the very antisemites who despise Jews for their "incursions" into the majority culture also are apt to denounce them for "clannishly sticking together."

Antisemites frequently reach for the argument that sounds most plausible. Thus, Jew-haters in the former Soviet Union long focused on Jews as capitalists who were subverting communism, while American antisemites accused Jews of being communists and subverting capitalism.

It is useless to try to reason with these disciples of Hadrian. As the nineteenth-century German historian Theodore Momsen noted: "You are mistaken if you believe that anything at all can be achieved by reason. In years past I thought so myself and kept protesting against the monstrous infamy that is antisemitism. But it is uselss, completely useless" (cited in Deborah Lipstadt, Denying the Holocaust, page 1)."

- Jewish Wisdom, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, pages 463-464

[jewish-vents]

Lost another friend and need to rant about it. This is gonna be long and all over the place: apologies in advance.

I hate how unfair the world is to us. I hate how all the good leftist principles apply to every minority except us. I hate how the world ensures we see that it treats us differently so we can feel totally isolated (we are) and give up. I hate how we aren't given basic human decency like everyone else. I hate how even as I write this, I fear being misunderstood.

I'm a "Jew of color" and the gentile who I am no longer friends with is POC like me. I had to cut them off because they have more contempt towards me (they also treat me like I'm the representative of all Jews) than white people.

I express my experiences with antisemitism and my sadness about how bad antisemitism is right now? They would tell me I'm insensitive and selfish because Palestine. "Just go outside and you'll be fine" but going outside is how I experience antisemitism. Antisemitism is a real thing, I would say. It's not just a few hate comments on a screen by trolls like Hitlerfan123. We are not safe anywhere and we can't hide. This isn't an exaggeration to trick you like the evil Jew I am. And they would just bring up Palestine again. And again. To shut me down and to shut me out. I would get defensive and they'd tell me that I'm acting like a white person. White tears. White fragility. BUT YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO ME, I would say. And they'd tell me I'm acting hysterical. That the zionists put me in some delusion where the world is out to get me but I'm actually fine and no one wants to hurt Jews.

"You're acting like a white person who says "we get hate crimed too" whenever a poc talks about their oppression" they said. They made a few comparisons like that. I tried so hard to get them to understand me. To acknowledge our pain.

Don't they know I can feel pain too? I observed how they would constantly post stuff like "minorities must stick together". They would keep an eye on hate crimes for everyone but us and actually listen to their stories. Do they even know how soul crushing that is? To feel so completely alone?

I couldn't even talk about the Holocaust with them. Every time I tried to, they'd have to say "the Holocaust isn't unique and all genocides are connected" at least once. And it's so fucking unfair. Why are we the only ones being told "we're not special"? These "you and your experiences aren't unique" conversations start and stop with us. I would never, ever tell anyone slavery isn't unique because slavery was unique. I would never go up to someone and tell them oh btw the genocide of your people wasn't unique. That's EVIL. And yet it only happens to us. Before anyone misunderstands me, I know right wingers routinely say this to minorities. But the whole bird mocks and belittles us. Regular people go out of their way to remind us "we're not unique or special". I shouldn't have to give a million disclaimers either. Only we are told our genocide isn't special. I honestly wouldn't care if the people who told me that said the same thing about other genocides. But they never do. They'll go on to talk about how unique every other genocide is and then come back to us with "the Holocaust isn't unique". You only ever talk about the Holocaust when it's time to say "everything's connected" and yet you're surprised I call you an antisemite?! If you can't talk about the Holocaust without mentioning other genocides and other minorities, you can't gaslight me into thinking I'm an anti-intersectionality asshole.

And then there's the speaking over us thing. I dumped my ex friends who were all POC/queer/etc for this very reason. I'm on the floor in pain sobbing about antisemitism and you think you know being a Jew more than me. I say something like "hey Zionist can be a slur towards Jews" and you immediately disagree and try to argue with me. "But my other Jewish friend said otherwise so I don't believe you". Or "This random Jew i follow online says otherwise". I have never been so dehumanized.

Can't forget the "weaponization of antisemitism" thing. I hear this all the time now. Who do they think they are? Gentiles have never felt more comfortable. They are afraid to criticize or say anything about other minorities and will even bend for them but with us, it's "Jews cry antisemitism". And as I said to my ex friends, don't be shy. Expand this convo TO EVERYONE YOU PRICKS. Tell POC they weaponize racism. Tell gay people they weaponize homophobia. And they never do. Because anything flies with Jews and Jews alone.

Okay rant over. I hate this world

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[damnfandomproblems]

We received a handful of very similar submissions not too far apart from each other, so I've decided to break format a bit and include them all in one post together here to get them out of the way. Each will have their own Fandom Problem number but we will still be getting the same amount of posts today, this will just be one item in the queue.

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Fandom Problem #6735:

I saw someone complain that Hatsune Miku drawn as an Israeli teenager is exactly the same as drawing Nazi Germany Miku!

This is an example of an antisemitic trope called Holocaust inversion - but that's actually beside the point.

I saw the same person post their own lovely fanart of an Egyptian Miku.

Look, I don't think random ass Egyptians nowadays are to blame for their government's or their ancestors misdeeds. Nor do I think Egyptian Miku somehow represents them.

But I find it hypocritical that they're implying Israeli civilians are just like the fucking Nazis when they're from a country where ~20 Jews live.

There are over 50 000 Egyptian Jews in the world! They had to leave Egypt because there they're were being murdered or having their houses firebombed. Most went to Israel because no other country would take them.

I guess by this person's logic they're just as bad as Nazis.

But since this is a fandom blog, let's bring Miku back into this:

Miku is Japanese.

Japan is a nation with an imperialist past. Japanese nationalism is still going strong. The Ainu people and Ryukyuan people had their homelands colonized, and were forcibly assimilated. To this day the Japanese government does not recognize them as minority ethnic groups.

The Wikipedia category page for Japanese war crimes has well over 50 entries, sorted by the nation they were committed in. Between them, hundreds of thousands were killed, and hundreds of thousands were raped or forced into sexual slavery. This is not a distant past, there are "comfort women" survivors still alive today. The Japanese government didn't apologize for any of this until the 1990s. Japan continues to not have any laws in place to prevent racial or ethnic based discrimination.

Does Miku represent imperialism, colonialism, mass murder, genocide, racism, and state sponsored mass sexual slavery, just because she is Japanese?

No, of course not. That would be dumb. We don't hold individual Japanese people, and certainly not random Japanese fictional characters, responsible for this. That would be both racist and pointless.

If you think that it's somehow different for a fanmade Israeli teenager Miku design,

🫵you are an antisemite🫵

Fandom Problem #6736:

'white people participating in the international hatsune miku trend is LITERALLY colonialism' isn't a take i expected to see and yet here we are!

I think it's time we all go outside!

Fandom Problem #6737:

I really don't want to be judgemental and I know that the whole Mikusona monday/personal Hatsune Miku design trends from a while ago were all about redesigns based on the artist's tastes.

But you know, sometimes the design is so far removed from the original that its just unrecognizable as Miku?

I mean if your character has a different silhouette than Miku, a different outfit than Miku, a different face than Miku, a different hairstyle than Miku, a different hair color than Miku, nothing that would thematically connect it to Miku, then that's not Hatsune Miku, that's your OC!

Fandom Problem #6738:

"I drew Palestinian Miku because Israeli Miku made me feel sick!"

Really? Seriously?!

You drew Palestinian Miku, not because you love Palestine, not because you love Palestinian culture, but because you wanted to stick it up to those pesky Israeli artists?

That's... I don't even know what to say. That's awful, and it reveals an awful lot about you.

You're not even Palestinian - you're appropriating Palestinian culture to fuel your hatred of Israeli citizens.

You aren't pro-peace. You aren't even pro-Palestine. You're just antisemitic.

Fandom Problem #6739:

Artist draws Chinese Hatsune Miku

People: 😍🥰🤗💗

Artist draws Iranian Hatsune Miku

People: 💖☺️😄🤩

Artist draws Afghan Hatsune Miku

People: 😊😻💞🥰

Artist draws Indonesian Hatsune Miku

People: 👏🤗💗🙂

Artist draws British Hatsune Miku

People: 😄♥️😽💕

Artist draws USAmerican Hatsune Miku

People: 🥰😍✨💝

Artist draws Israeli Hatsune Miku

People: I literally feel sick rn kill yourself you racist nationalist genocidal colonizer! How dare you touch Hatsune Miku! Your culture is fake and your art is ugly as shit!

...somehow, I feel that it isn't about genocide being bad 🤔

(and yes, I have actually seen people say each and every single word I wrote there. It's not an exaggeration.)

Fandom Problem #6740:

There's a trend going around of people drawing Hatsune Miku if she was from their own countries, which is really fun to see, but I gotta say,

If seeing someone's drawing of Israeli Miku makes you 'feel sick' (actual quote that I saw), or if you think someone drawing Israeli Miku means they support genocide,

I need you to step back and realize that this line of thought isn't normal, it is in fact really fucking racist.

Random citizens of Israel aren't to blame for their government's actions, if you can't realize that, you have been radicalized and not in a "cute" way!

People are not to blame for their government's actions. Random people sharing their culture and making a drawing fucking Hatsune Miku aren't showing approval for everything their country does.

If you can respect, say, Chinese, Russian, or Iranian artists (or anyone, really) in spite of their countries' rampant human rights violations - because it's not their goddamn fault - but you are unable to do the same for Israeli artists -

That is just racist, it's a double standard, and it reeks of antisemitism.

This sort of performative outrage, this performative disgust - it does JACK SHIT to help people in Gaza.

Please do better.

Fandom Problem #6741:

I can't help but to side eye people who draw their blorbos with Palestinian flags... OK, you drew Miku with a keffiyeh on her ass. Exactly how is that supposed to help? By creating awareness? You really think anyone on this site isn't aware by now?

It seems like performative activism at best.

If you really want to use your art to help people in Gaza, take charity commissions or something that'll help materially you know!

[greycamm-is-gay]

All Too Close To Human.

The long awaited and trailered Bowers Gang fic is beginning its debut lol.

Finally; CHAPTER ONE [words:. 3.2k]

General tags; Homoerotic friendships, Henry Bowers x Victor Criss, Henpat, bowers gang fluff, Henry’s POV, slow burn, setting up plot :)

⚠️WARNINGS;⚠️

Canon-typical homophobia, anger issues, implied/referenced child abuse, homophobic slurs, major sexism, misogyny, immoral narration, unreliable narration, VERY!! brief antisemitism (against Stan), some elements of sexual harassment, [sexually] explicit language and humour, Henry being an awful human being, Patrick being a WORSE human being, and immoral conversations; particularly around consent.

Chapter 1 - Almost Human

Brrrrzing! That god-awful bell, grating as usual, had its daily moment of redemption. They’d been released, and the day was over, thank fuck. And yet his dumbass friends weren’t on their way out yet, still dicking around. Were they deaf?

“Wait, wait– I got a better one!” Victor Criss, smiling like an idiot under his bleached mop, interjected. He’d clearly cut off Belch, who was now pouting, while Patrick applauded some bullshit impression Vic was doing of the school principal. The morons were apparently in no rush. Genuinely; in what world was sticking around more fun than hanging outside when it’s summer! Wasn’t the last day quite yet, but it was close enough to feel freedom around the corner.

Henry elbowed the two loudest in their ribs to get them to shut up, causing Vic to slam his mouth shut and Patrick to tut defensively. Despite the yelp, they both effectively quit it. Thank fucking god. Glancing around at the steadily populating halls, dull white and teal turning sickeningly colorful, Henry urged the other boys to understand.

“School’s out boys! Can we get out of this fucking hellhole already?” Henry said above the rising chatter in the hallways. “I swear to god you’re stalling like it’ll make any of you pass English.”

They’d all decided to have a celebratory skipping of fourth together, but now that school was done for the day, there was no sentiment in watching other kids pump their fists or slam their lockers. Certainly not while prissy geeks kept laughing loudest of them all; rich kids were so noisy.

“Awwe, c’mon Hank,” Vic said sweetly, rubbing his side where Henry’s elbow had been. “Shouldn’t we at least shove some loser into their locker first? Sentimental type o’ thing– you know? We’re practically done for the semester.”

“You get sappy makin’ fun of dorks now, or you chop your balls off?” Henry snorted, though he hardly heard himself over Belch’s desperate chime in.

“Loosen up Hen’. Don’t you wanna’ mess around first?”

Before he had the chance to even register his friends were practically groveling and he could absolutely gloat about this, Vic continued the burlier boy’s thoughts. His pest tendencies were equal parts annoying and familiar. As was the smell of a student body getting denser.

“Yeah– yeah! And, er, girls. We hardly ever see any our age outta school, Hank, come on! Summer’s full of sweaty men and your dad getting on us about chores, dude. Comin’ up on the only chance for the next two months to get some pussy.”

“-actually your mother would strongly disagree–!”

“Like look, look!” Vic planted a cold yet somehow clammy palm on his friend’s shoulder, using his other hand to gesture at a girl grabbing textbooks out of her locker. He kept looking back to Henry for approval, hoping his sales pitch was convincing. Which… it had potential.

Patrick whistled, leaning on Henry’s shoulder like he had permission, eyes gleaming with fascination. Patrick was always like this– a little too touchy, a little too strange, but somehow tolerable. They got along.

The girl, now biting her lip while she stuffed her bag with books she’d never use again, actually caught Henry’s eye. She looked like a challenge. Pretty face. She was hot, even. But more importantly, if Henry hadn’t noticed her before? She’d certainly put effort into that being the case. She thought she could avoid him. Boo hoo.

It was all he could do to not clasp his hands together in excitement. Before Henry had the chance to say or do anything, Vic blurted out quickly to avoid getting cut off.

“Guys, hold up, I actually know that bitch! Kiara. Her birthday was on the announcements today– use that,” Vic said, smirking pridefully. Who the hell was he trying to impress? Maybe Belch, because Belch was just as smiley hearing it as Victor was telling it. Henry made a sour face, pushing his tongue into his cheek.

Patrick cackled, shaking Henry by his shoulders and walking forward with him. Without much thought his shoes picked up the memo, carrying him seemingly towards Victor’s birthday girl. She was alone amongst the flood of kids, so this was no issue. Henry let himself slip into a more willing role, smile easing onto his face and his muscles relaxing. They swaggered right up to the girl. The two of them circled her before Vic and Belch secured the wall.

There was something intoxicating about how Henry and his friends could just cut off anyone they wanted from public reach. Make a bubble of intimidation even self proclaimed heroes wouldn’t approach.

Kiara, her name was? Kiara was his. Henry was about to win himself a trophy.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Henry greeted, crossing his arms and showing off his teeth. His bottom lip curled in, and he wondered just how menacing he looked right now. He decided on ‘very’.

“We heard it’s your birthday,” Patrick snickered, causing both Henry and Vic to glance at him sideways. Like, really? That’s what he came up with? Lame. Belch, as always, just kept looking at their target. He was the most physically imposing, so it worked out.

Stepping back in, Henry saved the interaction. He should probably start getting rolls of duct tape for his friends mouths beforehand, but what's done is done.

“I’ve got a present for ya’, birthday girl,” he said, lowering his voice suggestively. It was so uncomfortable he almost cringed, a feat quite difficult. “Wanna see?”

Kiara spoke up before the harassment could continue, though she stayed flush to her locker, holding her bag in front of her body like a shield. She trembled. Fuckin’ awesome. She was afraid. Good. “No, thanks.”

She sounded tense, both audible and visible to the four boys who wouldn’t miss a thing. Unforgiving hallway lighting only added to the clinical observation. There wasn’t a hair on her arms that could raise without being noticed; she was being stared down so intensely.

“Oh, come on,” Henry pushed quickly, inching closer. “You’ll love it– we all know you want me.”

Belch chimed in, having good timing to back him up– “You’re in for a real treat,” – but apparently not the good sense to come up with something clever.

The other two giggled and nodded as well. Kiara hardly shrunk into herself, which was lame.

“Look,” she said firmly, eyeing them all distastefully, “you all look like lovely guys, but I don’t know you, and I’m not interested.”

Didn’t know them?! What a load of bullshit! Everyone knew them– everyone knew Henry at the very least. His reputation at Derry High School was incredibly infamous, and impressive of course.

Some kid whistled nervously, scooting by. Henry didn’t bother looking at him, but he knew. The kid sensed the tension. Point proven, right? God, if this bitch kept lying to his face, someone was going to get hit.

“Oh, let’s not lie, shall we?” Henry spat, getting more in her face then he was already. He paused to let his friends do their odd sinister laughter thing before continuing. “But if we’re playing dumb, I guess I’ll bite.”

Vic tensed next to him, which was odd. Was there a teacher nearby? No, if that was true Patrick would say something, and keys would jangle in an authoritative type of way. Whatever. Vic’s weird like that sometimes.

“Henry Bowers. Ring a bell, bitch?”

Again, the idiots he aligned himself with found it in them to giggle and laugh in support.

“Henry,” she warned, voice far too even, “it’s cute how hard you try, but go scare some other girl into a hookup. Or boy, I don’t judge. Just leave me out of it.”

“Cunt!” he barked, slamming his hand into the locker next to her. Kiara actually jumped, and a rush made its way into Henry’s system. Yelling always worked that way. “You fuckin’ need me. Admit it.”

“No,” Kiara murmured weakly, eyes squinting. That was it. The final straw. No one said no to Henry Bowers.

“Don’t say no to me, slut! I swear to god, I’ll—!”

Belch sputtered, tapping Henry’s shoulder and speaking worthless words to him. “Whoa man, cool off for a sec–”

“Fuck off!” he snapped back, spinning on his heel to face his friend. He soon realized everyone in the vicinity, everyone but Patrick, looked scared. Some girl, maybe Kiara’s friend or something, stumbled back in terror. It hardly felt good.

It worried him he couldn’t stop visualizing his mom’s face on all of them. Not her features— those had left years ago. But that same fearful expression. One he couldn’t even enjoy. Fuck them! Was this on purpose? Did they think he’d just let this happen?! His dad always said some people need to be put in their place. God, was he acting like his dad right now? Fuck, no. Not that asshole. Ugh, he needed to get out of here before he thought too hard.

He shoved his way between his friends and stormed off to the nearest exit. Three shell-shocked morons were quick on his heels. Like the sheep they were. Other kids practically jumped out of his way, splitting like he knew they would.

He hated it here. His friends were judging him, shoes were squeaking, there were too many conversations, and he kept seeing people he didn’t fucking like! He even saw the absolute worst of the worst as he stormed by; Cocksucker, Stuttering Bill, Germ Freak, and Jew, who glanced at him silently. Why did everyone keep staring? He was just walking! Fuck this school.

The push doors leading into the parking lot squealed as he shoved through them, his boots changing in sound as they now beat down on the gravelly pavement, then poorly kept asphalt.

He made it all the way to the middle of the parking lot before he boiled over. When he turned around to face the culprits of his rage; Patrick, Victor, and Belch, they all froze like deer in headlights, practically jumping when he began to go off on them.

“You’re all fucking dicks! Not a single one of you tried back there. What the hell! Were you trying to embarrass me or something? Well it won’t fuckin work, dipshits, you can’t embarrass–”

“Hank, it’s okay,” Vic hushed, reaching to put a hand on Henry’s shoulder. “S’not like she’s–”

“Done with you,” Patrick jumped in, grinning. Everyone held their breath, curious as to where this was going. Even Henry’s rage stilled, offering just enough clarity to hear Patrick scheme. “Attempt numero uno, my friend. You’ll get her. Patience.”

Vic looked exasperated, Belch face palmed, and Henry actually calmed down a little. That was a great idea! Duh, there was no need to worry. He was Henry Bowers– the whore would be on her knees begging soon enough. She was just playing hard to get.

He ran his tongue over his teeth, contemplating. A girl that took effort was more fun, anyways, so… “yeah, yeah good point. Nice one using your brain for one, ‘ey Hockstetter?”

Patrick nodded proudly, and the two boys exchanged smug eyebrow raises, faces crinkling along parallel lines above their eyes. Everyone else however had made no effort to prove they should be forgiven, and just got glares. They were like any other asshole browsing the rows of poorly parked vehicles.

“Great. Yeah. Cool,” Belch said, seemingly talking to himself, but relieved the tension had somewhat dissipated. Belch never knew what to do when the gang wasn’t getting along. Kind of sweet when Henry was in the right mood for it. Right now it was just mildly irritating.

A silence fell over the four boys, leaving them all to rest in the comfortable summer air. Sleeveless shirts like he always wore were great for keeping cool, terrible for hiding from the sun. The daylight bit at Henry’s shoulders, though he couldn’t pretend to care. No, his mind was circling birthday-girl Kiara and her meaningless rejection. She was probably crazy for him. Just needed a nudge in the right direction. But god, that whore pissed him off back there.

Henry’s eyes kept to the sidewalk, watching the indistinguishable figures of kids and teens sling backpacks over just one shoulder and avoiding their untied laces. People needed to smarten up and get boots, like he did. Pissed him off.

“So… beer in the forest?” Belch suggested. Henry guessed the scumbag had figured out what to say, during all that quiet.

“Who gave him a brain?” Patrick exclaimed, wrapping one of his lanky arms over Belch’s unwilling shoulder. The silence had broken with some good openers, apparently.

“And when’s Patrick gonna get one?” Vic added on, smiling at his own joke. Henry laughed, despite his better judgement. It wasn’t funny. But Victor, for some reason, was kind of hard to stay pissed at. At least for regular dumbassery.

“Let’s get in the fuckin’ car already,” Henry said, stifling his laughter by wiping his face with his forearm. “C’mon, move!”

Belch’s blue firebird got them to a secluded park on the edge of town, what was probably once someone’s backyard. Short, stunted grass; divets in the ground where a play set would’ve been. No matter what, though, it made for a good parking spot, and had good trails that led to their usual hang out. It was nice because they never, not once, ran into anyone else. It was just the four of them.

They trekked down the path pretty silently (per Henry’s request). The summer hum had started a while ago, but on the quiet walk, it was much more apparent. Annoying or relaxing… Henry couldn’t tell. Though it was clear to him that Belch and Victor kept whispering about him.

He spun on his heel, making Patrick trip over him, but Henry didn’t flinch. Patrick’s palms met the matted down grass with a delicate thump, which was funny. Henry wondered briefly if Patrick left handprints behind.“What the hell are you two whispering about?”

“Sorry, Henry..”

“Nothin’, Hank!”

He wasn’t buying it. His boys were shit liars, part of the reason he kept them around. Henry narrowed his eyes, bouncing back and forth between Victor and Belch. Given Belch was the easiest egg to crack, he kicked that idiot’s shin first.

“Ow! Henry what was that for–?”

“If you think there’s something interesting enough to talk about you oughta whisper, I think you should share with the class. Hear me, Huggins?”

Belch paused, looking shamefully past Henry’s shoulder, too much of a wimp to stare at the ground any longer nor meet his eyes. He looked like he was about to spill when Vic interrupted.

“We were just talking about that girl, y’know? Sayin’ maybe you came on a little strong, is all,” he tried, smile wavering but voice mostly sure. Henry couldn't believe this; they were gossiping about him. That’s ridiculous!

His hands balled into knuckle-whitening fists. For now, he chose not to use them. A woodpecker drilled into a tree nearby, and Henry felt a sense of solidarity with its methods. “Oh yeah? You're an expert with girls now, Victor Criss?”

“No, but..”

“‘Cause I haven’t seen any exactly throwing themselves at you. You’re a fuckin’ bleach blonde wannabe who gets exactly zero game and follows me around like you want to suck my dick. So shut the actual fuck up,” Henry spewed, shooting daggers with his glare. Victor flinched, but just kind of nodded sadly. He was surprised this got him, not like he’d actually meant to cut deep or anything.

Dumbass can’t even hold his ground, Henry thought coldly, but as the silence lingered on, he almost felt… bad? Unsatisfied, at least.

“Henry, that was so hot,” Patrick joked, breaking the silence like he often did. “God, no wonder the ladies are lining up! Me next, please? Please?”

Vic kind of laughed through his nose, and Henry just rolled his eyes. Patrick was odd in the sense that nothing Henry said ever got to him, so there were no verbal takedowns to be done. It was incredibly infuriating, but also a dynamic that almost had Henry believing there was someone else on this planet.

With no good comebacks, Henry just kind of grumbled cusses and continued walking. It was clear that everyone was relieved to be moving.

Once they reached their clearing, they all sat down on their respective fallen logs. Some they’d rolled into place a while ago, some that had always been there. Green— too green— light filtered onto the four’s figures, glossing everything with a similar muted sage if it was too harshly contrasted with the skies or leaves. Henry’s red shirt, as example, was more burnt orange than anything.

Belch ripped the plastic off the six pack he’d been carrying, and passed one out to each of them. The cool metal eased the heat of irritation, but just barely. Alcohol would fox the rest.

Halfway through Henry’s can, the knot of fury in his chest loosened. He felt like a person again. With the help of the alcohol, the boys found their rhythm.

“No shit,” Henry said, mouth agape in a playful smiley shock. Belch was recounting the time he fist fought a coyote, but they all knew it was bullshit. Everyone except for Belch, probably.

“Yeah yeah, really! Its teeth came right out. Haven’t seen the toothless fuck since, y’know. Prolly couldn’ do nothin’ but gum shit, so it starved.”

“Yuh think?” Patrick added, leaned so far forward it looked like he might topple over. Patrick’s hands gripped his empty can tightly, making tendons twitch and move. Henry found himself oddly captivated.

“Mm-hm!” Belch hummed proudly, drinking down his second can like it was soda. Certainly expensive soda if that was the case, though Henry never paid for anything, so he felt no impact.

Conversation slowed for a couple moments. The air was mostly filled with rustling leaves and humming cicadas, a nostalgic white noise that faded into nothing if you weren’t thinking about it. A squirrel chittered. It sounded greedy. Probably a fat squirrel.

“Guys, you think I can really get Kiara?” Henry asked, biting his lip. His friends all looked at him with varying degrees of confusion, which was fair. Henry never really asked for reassurance, and he himself had no idea why this time was any different. Still, Vic answered him.

“Course, Henry. Of course I do.”

“She's just being… what’s it called,” Belch said, taking off his hat to mess with his hair. “A priss. Or a… a prude, n’ all that. She’ll come around.”

“They always do, boss,” Patrick tagged on. Henry felt relief smooth over his arms and mind, and he relaxed a little.

“Yeah, yeah. She’s actin’ all like that one girl a year ago– Beverly, I think?” Vic added. “Just tryna’ look good to some other freaks, but knows she really just wants you.”

Victor's eyes said more than just that. But everyone’s words were plenty. He could definitely get Kiara to come around. It was inevitable– if not in the next two days, then over summer break. Yes, Henry shouldn’t worry. After all, no one can simply turn down Henry Bowers.

[historicity-was-already-taken]

One thing that truly disgusting me about so many Jewish people outside of Israel is how much they throw Israeli Jews under the bus. They themselves have never experienced true hate for being Jewish. Getting the stink eye or some flyaway comment is the highlight of the antisemitism they ever experienced, and they wallowed in this in order to keep the victim status as much as they can.

Meanwhile, I, an Israeli, experience people try to murder and annihilate me in a daily basis. Non stop terror attacks, that started years before Israel even established, and are still going full force. There was a serious one in my city last week, in a location I visit frequently. Almost 20 years of being constantly bombed, ever since Israel got out of Gaza. Underground tunnels of terror, underneath Israel territory to allow terrorists to cone into civilian houses and kill people un their homes. October 7, a truly horrifying massacre, including brutal rape, maiming, burning people alive, in their homes or taken from their homes, or from a peaceful festival music in the desert, parading young women half naked and bleeding in front of a crowd of Palestinian men spitting on them, beating them and cheering, filming these actions while laughing. Abducting some of them to Gaza, to these underground tunnels, not letting humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross see them, not telling Israel who had been taken and if they are alive or dead. Calling their children to help them loot the houses of the people who they just massacred and abducted. There is a video out there of these children taunting and mocking an Israeli child who was still alive and calling for his mother. And above all, the knowledge that this could happen again and this time it could me or my family, friends, neighbours, who are brutally raped, maimed, burned alive, abducted. The horrors of living like that you couldn't even start to understand.

No sympathy. Nothing. You have not an ounce of sympathy for the Jewish people who live in Israel. You just want to distant yourself as much as you possibly can, so the false accusations of "Palestinian genocide" will not stick to you. This is the biggest blood libel in history, to say that Israel, a country that literally is fighting for its life, the life and safety of its citizens, is committing genocide just because they have no choice but fight in a populated civilian territory. The numbers of the Palestinians death are also heavily exaggerated, by the way, even the UN that is extremely biased against Israel admits that. But the most important thing is that you can feel good about yourself. Fuck Zionists, fuck Israelis. No sympathy. No empathy.

To say that I am deeply disappointed by the Jewish diaspora is an understatement. You don't feel any empathy or sympathy toward us who live under constant terror, who still have 100 civilians held hostage, dead or alive we don't know, who experience terror attack every other day (currently, ever day), who experience bombing and missiles launched at us, who live in true, real, palpable fear that something like October 7 will happen again and again, unless something would be done to stop it. Who live with an extremely hostile population that wants us annihilated, and they say that out loud, but somehow the world is completely deaf to that.

It hurts, you know? How the world treat us? How much they hate us, us who are being attacked all the time, who tried to reach our hand in peace but getting it bitten again and again, and on October 7, have our hand severed? These Kibbutzim who were annihilated, they were very leftwing, set there with civilians Palestinians in meetings trying to advance the idea of living together in peace, helped the Palestinians, driving Palestinians children to hospitals on their expense, hiring them,and this is what they got. This is what they got.

I am done. I am done. People like you who says fuck Zionists are not my brothers and sisters anymore. Your Judaism is just a tool for you to feel some authenticity and claiming oppressed status. Victimhood points. I am done.

No one harass the person who sent this. Leave them alone. I don’t care what your religion or nationality is. Leave. Them. Alone.

I never said anything about Israeli civilians or civil society. I also know the details of exactly what went down on October 7.

What do you want from me? I am a fucking history blog dealing with a bunch of hostile gentiles trying to ideologically pin me down as a good Jew or a bad Jew when I’m just trying to do my work as a Holocaust historian. In fact, I’ve even stated here that so long as half the Jews in the world live in Israel, i am obliged to care for the welfare and safety of Israelis because their fate is inextricabley intertwined with mine. And I was harassed and verbally abused for saying that shit.

You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me and my views on Israelis or the realities of the military operations to eradicate Hamas. You don’t know about my ties to the country, the family and friends I have living there; the safety my family found there after fleeing Poland. Because I don’t put that here. Actually, most of what I put here about Zionism is wrt diasporic Jews who misuse Holocaust history to bully Jews with divergent views.

You know my begrudging takes as a historian and that’s it. I’d end this with a blistering takedown, but you’re one of my people and you’re in pain and I’m so sorry you’re in pain, but I’m in pain too.

I’ve dedicated my life to the history of our people’s pain, and you don’t get to verbally excommunicate me based on my interactions with western gentiles and diasporic Jews who verbally abuse me.

And I guarantee you I’ll be verbally abused for showing you empathy for the horrific situation you’re living through.

No one harass the person who sent this. Leave them alone. I don’t care what your religion or nationality is. Leave. Them. Alone.

[my-jewish-life]

Let's all sign this, we can do it!!

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeaC75TE/

[fmluder24]

Sticking it to the Government: “Drive,” Antisemitism, and the Antiauthoritarianism of Fools (3166 words)

Buckle up and put it into high gear, folks! This is a post analyzing Season 6 Episode 2 “Drive” and its current popularity on my dash as of writing this post. Spoiler alert: This is one of my least favorite episodes (up there with “First Person Shooter” and “En Ami”) and I am very skeptical of its resurgence right now. This post will include an analysis of the episode, placing it within the larger meta-textual context of the show’s treatment of conspiracy and how Mulder in particular is sopping wet with antisemitic tropes. Then I will move on to evaluate the current popularity of one line in particular on Tumblr (“You’ve got to stay alive if you want to stick it to the government”), what that line is responding to in the current American context, and why we should be critical of its application in this moment. Please don’t reply telling me that it’s my fault for reading into this and that it’s not that deep! It is.

The Episode (with Analysis)

Im going to only briefly mention pretty much every Scully scene, not because I don’t love our girl, but because the point of the episode and my problem with it lies entirely in Crump’s scenes. In fact, many of Scully’s scenes are wonderfully atmospheric and show off what a badass she is. They are the best parts of the episode and for that they will be sidelined. This post is already going to be way too long so I need to be economical where I can be.

We open on a broadcast chase scene, which is a very nice moment of realism. Thank you, Vince. Crump is driving with his wife (Vicky) in the backseat of a stolen car. They think she has been kidnapped and intercept him. He gets arrested. Vickys’s head explodes. Cut to Mulder and Scully are doing some grunt work following up on fertilizer purchases. Mulder is grumpy, Scully is very professional. Mulder’s interest is piqued by the news story playing in the background of the house they are at. He convinces Scully to take a detour to investigate the case.

Cut to Crump in his cell, with his head ringing, crying for help. The local law enforcement officer says that he is accusing them of killing his wife. Scully decides to look at Vickys body while Mulder says he will try to talk to Crump. The scene where Scully and the ME examine Vicky’s remains is very good, very atmospheric and viscerally gross. Mulder follows Crumps ambulance as they take him to the hospital. We notice that he does better the faster the ambulance driver drives. When they arrive at a stop sign, Crump jumps out with a gun and takes Mulder hostage. Scully calls Mulder and informs him that there may be a contagion at play, but Mulder is already trapped in close quarters with Crump. Scully tries to coordinate with local law enforcement to intercept them, but Crump threatens to kill Mulder if they don’t back off. Its at this point that we get the first crucial hint of Crumps animus for Mulder. He picks up Mulder’s badge, scoffs, and says, “It’s you people. Figures.”

Now this has some plausible deniability to it. Perhaps he is seeing that Mulder works for the federal government, and being that he evidently thinks government officials are out to get him, he must be reluctant to trust Mulder as he is an officer of the law. However, that is not the reason he tosses the badge aside in contempt.

The tension amps up when Mulder stops at a traffic light and Crump screams for him to go. Mulder puts together that he has to keep the car in motion to keep Crump alive. He then starts calling Mulder “boy” and yells that “you people put me here.” I think the decision to have Crump insist on calling Mulder “boy” is to me more indicative of how I’ve seen white people write anti-Black racism than it is indicative of how antisemitic interactions go, but your opinions may vary. Mulder and Crump avoid the roadblock that local law enforcement set up. Meanwhile Kersch contacts Scully and makes it apparent that the jig is up. They aren’t getting away with doing this under the radar.

Mulder tries to get more information from Crump, who insists Mulder address him as Mr. Crump. Crump then asks Mulder if his last name is Jewish. Mulder neither confirms nor denies this, only insisting that he also be addressed as Mr. Mulder. I think from Mulder’s reaction he is not particularly taken aback at Crump’s statement. We have seen him experience being profiled by antisemites before, which obviously happens during “Kaddish.” Less obvious but still relevant is when he gets tortured by a skinhead in “The Pine Bluff Variant,” but that episode is not the subject of this post.

Cut to Scully investigating the Crump residence, being a thorough badass as per usual. They find a dog who Scully thinks is exhibiting the same pathology, whose head also explodes. Cut back to Mulder and Crump. Mulder is trying to get more information out of Crump to figure out what has been done to him. Crump explains how his wife grew sick and how the faster he drove when taking her to the hospital, the better she seemed to do. Mulder expresses his condolences to which Crump replies “Sure you are. You and your Jew FBI.”

Ding a ling a ling. That’s a bell. There is an element of irony here. Mulder is not a part of some shadowy conspiracy to torture Crump, but he was born into the elite globalist cabal based in New York City. More on that later.

Crump then rants about how he knows what’s really going on and that he is a government guinea pig. He backs up this feeling by listing different negative reporting on real actions of the US government, such as Agent Orange exposure. He says he’s seen government agents sneaking around the woods near his house at night. It is here that Mulder gives us the immortal quip, “On behalf of the international Jewish conspiracy, I just need to inform you that we are almost out of gas.”

Cut to Scully doing her investigative science things and barging into the home of an old deaf woman. Again, this scene is very atmospheric and enjoyable. Mulder and Crump have to stop for gas. Things go wrong such that they eventually just steal another car and hit the road again. He leaves a message to call Dana Scully at the FBI. Scully is puzzling over why the deaf woman has been fine when everyone else is ill. She puts together that this isn’t a pathogen. Scully receives Mulder’s message that if they stop, Crump will die.

Mulder and Crump realize they need to go faster and faster to keep Crump well. Crump mumbles a very half assed apology about “the Jew stuff” stating that Mulder “cant help who he’s born to.” This is, and I cannot state this strongly enough, not an actual apology. Mulder even sarcastically jokes about how he can’t see the road because he is tearing up. Crump then asks what I wonder every time I watch this episode— why the fuck is Mulder helping him? (Because this is a fantasy written by a white Gentile of a minority helping their oppressor despite it compromising their safety but I digress.) Mulder replies that Crump shouldn’t make him question that right now. Crump expresses skepticism that Mulder is actually helping him, fearing that he may just be playing into the hands of the grand Jewish conspiracy. Crump wishes he were dead instead, to which Mulder replies “Hey, you gotta stay alive if you want to stick it to the government.” More on this line later.

Scully goes to investigate the Navy’s Project Seafarer. She pretends she is part of the FCC. Apparently there was a brief power surge in the ground conduction system. She gets little information. Cut to Crump and Mulder. He is still insisting on being called Mr. Crump, although we have now turned a corner and he has begun to call Mulder, Mr. Mulder. Cops on motorcycles hand Mulder a phone so he can talk to Scully. (Codependent besties cant go a day without talking lol). She fills Mulder in on the ground conduction from Project Seafarer going underneath Crump’s property and how that impacted Crump. Upon hanging up with Scully, Mulder says to Crump, “Whether they did this intentionally or not, you were right. They did it to you.” Here we have no actual condemnation of the antisemitism that Crump is espousing. In fact, Crump is pretty much spot on. Mulder is literally affirming that the government did this to him, with no clarification that this in no way reflects on Jewry.

Mulder relays the plan to Crump. The plan is for Scully to intercept them, using a large needle to relieve the pressure in Crumps ear without anesthetic. Mulder ultimately runs into Scully at the end of the highway, a dead Crump in his backseat, crushed at his failure. He looks pensively out at the ocean, removing his tie.

Cut to DC. Kersch bitches at them for going off without permission and for running up a giant bill that Scully, poor girl, is now responsible for. Scully stands by Mulder’s decisions and the fact that the DOD shut down Project Seafarer due to their work. Kersch is a dick about it. End of the episode.

Hopefully the next one isn’t also radically out of touch, with like, for instance, campy Nazis trying to kill a time traveling Mulder. That would form a concerning pattern!

The Problem with the Episode

The thing about this episode that really gets to me is there is no definitive condemnation of Crump’s version of events. We are meant to read from Mulder’s use of humor, and the truism that Mulder is Always Right, that the crimes of the government in this episode have nothing to do with the ethnoreligion of its suspected members. But the episode does not actively state this. Crump’s bias isn’t actually checked beyond the fact that he seems to think he has met One of The Good Ones in the form of Mulder. The X Files does not actively condemn the antisemitism that infects the show, aside from the episode “Kaddish,” which has its own problems, as do all of the Very Special Episodes of the show. Really, if you were watching this episode as a one off, without the context that we are typically supposed to agree with whatever social or political statement Mulder is making, you could walk away from this thinking that The Jews in fact did this to Crump!

But let’s go with the assumption that almost every episode asks us to go with— that Mulder is right. Mulder doesn’t seem to believe in any antisemitic characterizations of the government he is working from within to fight. At least part of the reason for this seems to be that he is actively, repeatedly under threat from these antisemitic bozos, regardless of his whatever his ethnic affiliation is supposed to be. He is a Jew in the eyes of the people who would do him harm because of that, and he, being aware of this, seems to take a dim view of antisemites.

Why did the writers bother to give him a personal stake in the fight? I think the writers knew they were playing with fire by writing a show about how conspiracy theories are true, and they wanted to distance themselves from the accusations of antisemitism that would inevitably follow. The significant thing to me, here, is that I am fairly certain this was a cynical attempt to distance themselves from allegations of how they were utilizing tropes around Jews in their conspiracy plotlines, rather than an attempt to actually distance themselves from the tropes in question. But why wouldn’t it be enough to just have Mulder condemn antisemitism, as he does by his lines in “Kaddish”?

My cynical interpretation that I have no evidence for beyond my gut feeling, is that they just couldn’t help themselves upon seeing David Duchovny. My more serious, text-based interpretation is that Mulder, while not canonically Jewish, is on a meta-textual level, representative of The Jew. What do I mean by this? I have written elsewhere about the mostly negative Jewish stereotypes embedded in Fox Mulder as a character.

Here is a quick rundown for people who didn’t see that post:

1. He is a rich cheapskate.

2. He is born into the elite globalist cabal based in New York City, which specifically

helped Nazis escape justice after the Holocaust.

3. He dislikes his own appearance, to the point of wanting a nose job, specifically.

4, He knows some Yiddish.

5. He inexplicably hits it off well with sketchy Jewish-coded characters like Saperstein.

6. He died in the Holocaust. (Deep sigh)

7. He consistently faces antisemitism, often to the point of violence being done to him or at the very least threatened.

Bonus round: He is anti-Christianity specifically, and “Revelations” implies that God does not show up in Mulder’s life as a test of Scully’s faith.

In essence, he is a fetishized, and in these cases helpless, victim of antisemitism, while being simultaneously from a very malevolent and powerful background. He stands in opposition to the canonically existing Christian God of the show, and is peppered with these little tiny culturally Jewish moments. All this amounts to him taking the role that is attributed to The Jew as a figure in the non-Jewish imagination, with the various contradictions that that role entails around power, victimhood and privilege. He is not canonically Jewish, yet he’s pretty much beat for beat how these writers would have written a Jewish character, sans some obligatory circumcision jokes.

The show’s treatment of conspiracy cannot be pulled apart from the fact that a character laden with negative tropes around Judaism is explicitly born into the group pulling the strings of this elaborate global conspiracy. Judaism would already be associated with that group given the broader context of how virtually all conspiracy theories around globalist cabals eventually get to an antisemitic place in mainstream American culture. This association is just all the more apparent in the context of The X Files having a character connected to the cabal who has these tropes and experiences attached to him.

The Antiauthoritarianism of Fools

The fact that this goes largely unaddressed within the show and within the fandom leads me to characterize this as “the antiauthoritarianism of fools.” This is a play on the concept of “the socialism of fools,” which is basically the idea that people who have criticisms of capitalism fall for antisemitic conspiracy theories instead of actually thinking critically about capitalism and arriving at a more principled criticism that doesn’t target Jewish people. The antiauthoritarianism of fools, then, would be an antiauthoritarianism that falls into convenient and lazy beliefs around antisemitic conspiracy theories, rather than a principled antiauthoritarianism that targets the actual powers that be.

The government that Crump is trying to to survive to stick it to is, in his head, The Jews. Mulder, in all his Jew-coded glory, is the emissary of that government, simultaneously canonically complicit in what has been done to Crump, and working against the powers that are trying to harm him. Mulder is as paradoxical in the episode as is The Jew is in the non-Jewish imagination. I don’t think Mulder is literally endorsing Crump’s antisemitic worldview when he encourages Crump to stay alive. Mulder is pretty canonically An Ally, if not straight up One of Us depending on your interpretation. But in the narrative of the episode, we are never actually refuting Crump’s assertion that the government he needs to stick it to are The Jews. For all we know, he dies believing that, and believing that he just happened to run into a Good Jew, who couldn’t help the fact that he was born Jewish. This does not actually lessen his antisemitism. He is a very sympathetic villain despite the values dissonance I think the episode is trying and failing to lead us towards. It isn’t enough to lightly imply that he is wrong about what he believes about Jewish people by having Mulder disagree with him; we needed the writers to actually, unequivocally condemn him like they did the Nazis in “Kaddish.” Leaving this open to interpretation just reinforces the tropes they are playing with. Really the entirety of The X Files has a superficial politics, a kind of reflexive paranoia that falls very easily into the antiauthoritarianism of fools.

Why This Matters Here and Now

Okay, so some people are reblogging a gifset on Tumblr with a line I don’t like. Whomp whomp. Who cares?

This matters because this is a popularization of a moment that is the antiauthoritarianism of fools. We are in a context where many, many people in the United States live in terror and rage due to the recent election of Donald Trump. I am one of these people. In that sense, the sentiment that one should stay alive out of spite to such an evil government can be empowering.

We also live in a moment where the richest man in the world did two Nazi Salutes back to back at the presidential inauguration. If you disagree with that characterization of his gesture, block me please. And the ADL, ostensibly made for the protection of Jews in the United States, failed to condemn him. This is a moment of a radical mainstreaming of antisemitism along with every other hateful -ism under the sun. In this moment, we should not promote an uncritical antiauthoritarianism of fools, because that uncritical thinking will bite us all in the collective ass. When people reblog that gifset or images, they are promoting a moment where the context is that The Jews are the evil government that one should resist. Thinking critically about art is essential when fascism is on the rise.

Am I going to block people who post that quote? No. Because I also believe in freedom of speech. I get why the vibe of that quotation is something people are going for when shit is so rough and scary right now, but I think we need to be critical of the context of the quotation if we are going to build communities and spaces strong enough to resist.

Thank you for reading if you made it this far. If you need me, I’ll be writing Tu B’Shvat MSR fluff, because Jewish fans deserve a celebration of Judaism, not whatever the hell Carter and Co. wrote. If you want more of a Jewish perspective on this episode, I wrote a fic a while back where Mulder is actually Jewish and processes with Scully what that experience of being kidnapped by an antisemite would have been like for him. Here’s the link:

[girlactionfigure]

ALIYAH #1

I’m leaving Britain and moving to Israel 

Even if it wasn’t for the antisemitism I’d be leaving

Britain is a dying society 

I’ll be fine in Israel 

It’s the most dynamic, creative and positive place I’ve ever been - even though surrounded by Islamic fundamentalist psychopaths who daily try to destroy it 

You can forget the power of positivity and optimism 

It’s become taboo in England 

That’s one thing I’ll never understand or make peace with 

Britain is currently a shit hole - but if you try to express positivity, pride and optimism in the idea of salvaging something good about ourselves and improving things - you’ll be shamed and beaten down by smug, elitist morons who have a stranglehold over our culture - a culture that they have made desperately dull and oppressive 

Britain is a place that hates individuals who stick their head above the parapet, hates self-belief, hates pride, and it hates success 

Our enemies have contributed to this grim culture of floundering confusion and self-loathing Useful idiots do the donkey work 

And our leadership seem to lack entirely any connection with the grandeur or grand ideas that drive not just a society forward - but a civilisation

Israel isn’t perfect of course

But Jewish civilisation - for all our kvetching - is infused with positivity on such a cellular level that it seems impossible to extract it from every instinct we have

Even our kvetching is celebrated. Think about that. We celebrate our skill and ingenuity at complaining.

It’s impossible for Jews to ever be truly pessimistic

We are the descendants of Jacob - who wrestled with an angel and refused to let go of a shitty situation unless it was turned into a blessing

We waited for ten fucking plagues with our bags packed to leave Egypt

Others would have unpacked after three.

A Jew who doesn’t believe in miracles isn’t a realist.

Whether you believe in miracles or not - we are the descendants of those who did - and that triumphant impulse of hope has saturated the unconscious rhythm of our entire being

Preparing for Shabbat bespeaks faith that Shabbat will come

Raising your kids Jewish bespeaks faith they will raise theirs too

Muttering Oy bespeaks belief that on some level your pain is heard

So whatever problems lie ahead for us - who knows how we’ll solve them - but we’ll find a way

If something is broken it can be fixed

Zionism is proof

Once our nation was broken

We were scattered around the world

The re-establishment of our nation in our ancestral home - after two thousand years - is the most audacious act of repair in the history of the world

Every Jew who makes aliyah carries back a small piece of the broken kingdom

Together we’ll build something even better than before

If you’re a Jew I hope you’ll come.

I hope you’ll come soon

And why not now??

The sea has parted.

Just walk through

The path is trodden smooth by the hopeful

LEE KERN

MAY 7

[amieruby]

Okay so my last post got a lot more attention than I thought it would but some of you are missing the point.

I never said if I’m a Zionist or not. I just wrote that Jewish queer people should be safe in queer spaces.

If you have to bring up Zionism and Israel/Palestine to say whether a queer Jewish person should be safe in queer spaces then you are antisemitic.

I’m Jewish, I’m queer, I should be allowed in queer spaces without being interrogated on my views on Israel and Palestine.

And to all the queer Jews reposting and can relate to this, I’m so sorry you’ve experienced this too. The queer Jewish community is so beautiful and I’ve made real friendships from it and we have to stick together. Let me know if you are interested in a space for queer Jews to connect.

Oh and antisemites, this page isn’t safe for you.

[ofmdsalt]

i really enjoyed con and taika’s implied backstory/headcanons for izzy and ed’s past and how they met at kids, grew up together etc etc and i was always really bummed that we never get a flashback to see that.

then I saw the fandom discourse and it’s sheer unerring devotion to misread every single one of Izzy’s relationships & interactions in the worst possible faith, and I’m pretty sure that if we’d gotten that flashback in canon, the gentlebeardies would say some shit like “it’s so clear now that Izzy groomed Ed from the beginning” because that is level of media illiteracy we are at.

hey op! if you have any links to where con and taika have talked about their backstories for there characters, i'd love to check them out and see what they said!

the one part on Taika's take on Ed and Izzy's relationship is him saying to Con that they were like Jesus and Judas Iscariot from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar and i for one find this imagery very interesting! indulge me for a moment here.

many people raised within a Christian context and/or society all likely know of the story of Jesus and Judas. Judas, as one of the original 12 disciples, being the one to eventually betray Jesus and lead the Romans to him in the Garden of Gethsemane all for 30 pieces of silver. the guilt of this leads Judas into killing himself. the interpretation of his character is predominantly about how bad he is. how evil he is. how he is responsible for Jesus' death and it's largely simplified his character. i prefer more modern interpretations of him, and i think Jesus Christ Superstar made him a much more nuanced character than say others media have done (Mel Gibson's fairly antisemitic Passion of the Christ comes to mind when it sort of also supports the over-simplification of Judas' role in Jesus crucifixion)

but this is all to say the interpretation i like the most comes from the understanding of Judas being more concerned and hesitant about Jesus when he started kicking up more attention. more attention directed at them. like clearly Judas was comfortable with what Jesus was saying and preaching. he stuck around long enough to be called a disciple, but the moment those words turned into actions? when Jesus started flipping tables in the temple? when he started miraculously healing and calling people back from the dead? well, now, hang on, Teacher. all this noise will draw the ire of the Romans. is that what we want? is that what you are calling us to do? what if they come and jail us? what if they kill us? Jesus' radicalism in a time of oppression may have scared those too willing to keep their head down. consume some radical materials on the side, but otherwise not stick their necks out too far out of fear they would get themselves killed. i mean, Peter likewise denied ever knowing Jesus for fear that he would be crucified too.

but even after all that, Jesus was killed. murdered by the state for his beliefs. perhaps Judas didn't think they would take it that far. that he wouldn't be made a message, but he was. and it's that grief that pushed Judas into committing suicide

going back to the parallels of Ed and Izzy, it's easy to see where Taika would get this inspiration. Jesus Christ Superstar starts with Judas warning Jesus against Mary Magdalene because accepting a prostitute would go against his teachings. Izzy is frustrated by Ed's growing fascination with Stede because it goes against his teachings of keeping pets on board, and Izzy tries to get Ed to see how Stede is nothing more than a pet project to Ed. and pets are not allowed.

i can see Izzy's frustration with Ed's changing path of being more "why would you give up the image of Blackbeard when that fearsome reputation has kept you and your crew safe for all this time? why would you give it up to be this gentleman? to be this fish out of water?" just as Judas might wonder why Jesus is as outspoken as he is. why draw more attention to yourself? why make yourself a deliberate target in this way? why why why?

Judas does what he thinks is best in the moment and so does Izzy, but Izzy doesn't let Ed go to his doom. he pays his bail and tries to show him why it's dangerous for people like them to give up on the things that have kept them safe. even if those ways of being are no longer required. the world has changed, is changing, and they should change with it.

it's a tragedy what they have become. too used to the pain and violence that has become a reality for them to even see that there is another way of existing.

all we can do now is speculate on how Ed and Izzy came to meet and how they came to be friends. how they came to be what they are. i think there's a lot of potential for people to play around with who they were, how they rose to infamy, and how they ultimately destroyed each other. it was mutual self-destruction and it's frustrating to see how certain other fans try to over simplify the relationship. either by removing Ed's agency entirely to say that it was all Izzy's doing, despite how they also assert that Izzy is actually a terrible planner and has never done anything successful in his life ever.

im sure David and co had more plans for Ed and Stede flashbacks as they did throughout s1. it would've been interesting to see how Ed took on the name Blackbeard. where he started. where it all came together because we all know how it fell apart

[punkbakerchristine]

if you’re a vegan, I literally do not want to talk to you right now.

“ohhhh, we should’ve turned to plant-based stuff, now we’re all suffering with the egg shortage!” shut the fuck up.

listen, eggs are a vital staple of baking. They’re both a binder and a leavening agent: the proteins in the whites help with the rise, while the fats in yolks work with the whites to be a glue of sorts; angel food cake is as light and airy as it is because it’s risen from the whites. When you make a cake or cookies with 1 or 2 eggs, you end up with a finished result that rose well and manages to keep itself together. When you use one of the substitutes i shared earlier, you have to think around it. Baking soda and vinegar, and also arrowroot powder and water, will give the rise of proteins, but it’s lacking fats and moisture, so you have to use something like yogurt or buttermilk. Applesauce, bananas, avocado, and seeds with water will add a taste—depending on what the baked good is, it could be delicious or make you lose your lunch. It’s not something you can dick around with, either: you have to experiment. You have to be a chemist as well as a baker.

plus, one of the many things that helped me lose a ton of weight was adding scrambled eggs and Denver omelettes to my diet. They’re good proteins and good fats (in the case of the Denver omelette, you get vitamins from the bell pepper and onion embedded), they build your muscles, bone tissue, and also brain tissue, and they stick to your ribs so you don’t eat as much. really, I’m usually good to go until mid-afternoon after I have a couple of eggs with some toast. And from an evolutionary standpoint, we need those good proteins and fats (why do you think we have incisors?) it’s why I think if you go purely vegan, you have got to talk to a dietitian and a nutritionist about it first. And I feel most people who do go vegan—that is, almost everyone now—don’t. The small minority of vegans who do have been so their entire lives, like they just didn’t care for the taste of meat starting from when they began eating solid food. Or they went that way late in life with consultation at the helm and it worked wonders for them, like in the cases of Paul McCartney and Bill Clinton. ***edit: I just thought of this, referring back to animal proteins helping build brain tissue. I can’t be the only one who finds it weird that as veganism has gotten popular, intelligence seems to have fallen off a cliff.

But I’m not going to listen to an entire collective of people who blindly bought into a trend thinking they’re saving the world and doing their bodies good. It’s why I find the whole pro-Palestine movement a bunch of bullshit, other than the people who comprise the movement are antisemites and refuse to admit to it. It’s absolutely blind leading the blind and beckons the whole “if the cool kids jumped off a bridge, would you?”

my whole beef (no pun intended) with the whole vegan trend is not the lifestyle itself, it’s not the pervasiveness, it’s not even the taste—and in fact, I often have to make the disclaimer to say that vegan food is often the most delicious food I’ve had. I always feel healthier immediately after eating a vegan dish. I’m also not saying vegan recipes and substitutions don’t work: a lot of them, like aquafaba meringue and the baking soda-vinegar trick, are miracles of science.

It’s the shitty, snotty holier-than-thou, condescending attitude that way too many of them have, and Jesus Christ, they are seriously coming out of the woodwork right now in the face of the egg shortage. If you have to trick yourself into eating more healthily, that is, you resort to eating “plant-based meats” (which I personally don’t think are healthy, as they’re heavily processed plants shaped into a piece of meat like a steak or a handful of shrimp, just like how tofu did in the 90s), and constantly talk about how great it is (when you look pale, sick, and in some cases, 3D printed—am not going to explain that), you failed at the lifestyle and probably shouldn’t have done that.

I got 6 eggs left in my fridge and I’m protecting them like they’re gold in the basement of Fort Knox until I can find another dozen or 18 eggs. I’ll be making a cake tomorrow with the baking soda-vinegar combination with mayonnaise as that gives moisture and fat (as it’s got egg yolks, milk, and oil in it). Fingers crossed.

I already scoff at how the internet treats baking as is, like it’s an aesthetic or one big joke. If there’s any silver lining with the egg shortage, it’s that I hope it kills this mindset dead and shows just how the vegan movement is limp-wristed, pathetic, and all frosting with no cake underneath. Not everyone can afford plant-based steaks, Becky, or even metabolize it very well. And yeah, Nikki, not so funny now that you can’t get eggs and make your elaborate chocolate-cherry-pistachio-ginger-lemon cake with cherry-raspberry-pistachio Italian buttercream frosting or your elaborate chocolate-peanut butter-pumpkin spice cake and post your heavily edited “journey” where your makeup is perfect and you’re laughing most of the time online now can you?

[liminalweirdo]

I feel like the Jews I know irl and online, and disabled people are kind of feeling the same way. Obviously I don't speak for everyone, and I'm not trying to, but I've been thinking about this tonight. That we've been excluded or abandoned from other groups (especially queer groups) and — in my experience at least, as a disabled person — especially since covid. Everything has gotten worse since then — antisemitism especially.

And I think we're disillusioned a little by seeing everyone pull together the way people did at the beginning of the pandemic because we've done this before. And we anticipate the rush to "return to normal." We know that as soon as other marginalized groups are re-secured that they will forget about us again — and that a lot of queer people don't ever think about us at all even though we've been trying for years to be heard.

but I just... can't do it, chat. I have to keep believing that more people will start to understand. That more queer people will suddenly see us — disabled, Jewish, both — and realize that we can't do any of this unless we all do it together. And even if 90% of people in communities we thought were ours are willing to step over us again; forget us, again, and get back to their lives like they did as soon as masks stopped being mandated and antisemitism started being accepted fucking en masse because of the power of jumping on the bandwagon or whatever — maybe another 10% will actually stick it out this time around, and if it's 10% more than we had before this election, then I'll take it.

idk. I'm not asking people to agree with me, but I have to keep believing that the queer community, my community, is still good, and that one day they'll put on a fucking mask/respirator in public spaces and remember Jewish people and disabled people in the conversation.

It was Jewish people, more than any other people (besides disabled people) who showed up, wearing masks, to protests and community meetings and other various political and educational meetups this year. Jewish people have come through, more than any other group for the disabled community these past few years and I will never ever forget that.

And I hope people see us and listen to what we've all been saying in these coming months, and beyond. I hope they fucking see us

[velvetvexations]

Hey! I just wanted to thank you for using your platform to stick up for transmascs. I do have one request, though - could you not use Zionist as an insult? It's been a dog whistle for "jew I don't like" for a long time, and the perception that Zionist = person advocating for colonialism and imperialism and wants to turn Gaza into a parking lot and murder all palestinians is just... Really really antisemitic. The only thing Zionism means is the belief that Jewish people have a right to live in the land they're indigenous to, and that land is Israel. It doesn't mean pushing all Palestinians out, it doesn't mean Jewish supremacy, and it doesn't mean agreement with any of the choices the netanyahu and the rest of the Israeli government are making. Antisemitism has skyrocketed since 10/7 and the casual use of Zionist as an insult is just one of the small examples of it.

I've had a big problem with the word "Zionist", which I've occasionally mentioned here before, because even aside from how it's misused nowadays it's also just incredibly bad optics because screaming about Zionists was exclusively the domain of ultra-Nazis and the most out-of-it conspiracy theorists. We desperately need a new word for "supports the Israel government" for a lot of reasons. In light of that I can certainly be a lot more careful with how I myself use it and steer around that kinna language when I talk about Israel.

About the right to live in the land Jews are indigenous to, however, I do want to let you know for your sake that while we're on the same page regarding Israel's current administration, I can't fully agree with you about the subject even still. In 2024, I don't think the Jews that live there should be kicked out or anything like that, I've said before that a two-state solution is the only thing that makes any sense to me, but it's initial creation in the first place following WWII was really bad. Israel was unfortunately founded on really terrible actions done with the justification that Jews had a right to it, and that justification has continued to fuel further terrible things throughout the near-century since, so I don't think I can co-sign it.

I'm sincerely sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. I don't think you or people who think as you do are necessarily bad people when you try very hard to find a balance of mutual happiness between Jews and Palestinians, and I don't consider your viewpoint totally incompatible with working together towards either peace between Israel and Palestine or other progressive goals. I'm just letting you know where I stand on that specific detail so you can make an informed decision when you engage with my blog.