#yes by all means call out the holocaust poem it should be called out | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

skaruresonic · 10 months ago

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I am a hater and therefore have no soul. Let's do this.

Okay, so for context, I heard about an online altar to Sally before, and assumed it was a small Geocities site or something, but I'm looking at it for the very first time and goddamn, is it really messing with me. People are like. Actually posting stuff to it as though Sally were real.

Folks rag on and on about the Holocaust poem - deservedly - but the fans in here warped songs and Scripture and fucking Kaddish in order to make the words somehow apply to Sally, and it's like welp no wonder nobody raised an eyebrow at Penders' horribly misappropriated Holocaust poem at the time. Monkey see, monkey do.

The most hilarious part is, literally the first thing you see on the site is the disclaimer stating that Sally didn't actually die. She's not dead! Guess all the melodramatics were for nothing xP Anyway, onto the breakdown: ---

This first post is an original fan poem written from Nicole's perspective. Honestly, it's not all that bad since it's a fan work and not a ripoff of copyrighted material or a bastardization of actual religious Scripture, and the sentiment of a grieving character writing a memorial poem is a nice concept in and of itself. Maybe if more of the messages were like this, the memorial wouldn't be quite as Yikes as it becomes later on down the line. Really giving me huge unrequited Sallicole vibes, though, especially with all that talk about Nicole wishing she had lips to kiss Sally's cold corpse mouth with. Liiiiiiittle bit creepy imo, but whatever. YMMV. "But I knew you better than some who called you their love/Though I was always at your side/I was rarely noticed" And, uhhh, yeah. It sounds like Sally really didn't treat Nicole all that great...

---

This is just a direct message from a fan grieving the character. And you know what, I'm not gonna rag on this one because it's actually pretty earnest and it'd be meanspirited to dissect it just for being an honest reflection of a fan's feelings.

It's succinct, it's not melodramatic or overwrought, it doesn't plagiarize anything. I can respect that. Moving on.

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Even her enemies lost something? (cue the part where my diaphragm starts heaving from nascent laughter)

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Apparently this is to be sung to the tune of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." ...Lol.

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Another song ripoff. Celine Dion.

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why does this remind me of the scene in Gilmore Girls where Lorelei starts singing "have I ever told you that you are my heeerooo" to Rory after finding out her love interests trashed a house while fighting over her, and why am I laughing about it

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Mariah Carey song lyrics. Not even ripped off, just straight-up plagiarized lmao.

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O...kay. Gettin a little weird here, fellas

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Wasn't Brave New World like, some sort of sci-fi dystopian novel?

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Apparently this comes from a Sailor Moon audio CD. No comment.

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All of this is so overwrought that my eyes just kinda glazed over but I am vaguely wondering why Sally's hands would look "deathly-pale" if she has brown fur? kinda racist if you ask me /jk

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Motherfuckers can't even cite the sources they're ripping off in order to make their squirrel waifu seem divinely blessed correctly. smh

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Okay, so this is where I start to have to get serious and try to drill down to the bedrock of this stuff, because it gets really culturally appropriative really fast.

While I won't pretend to have anything more than the barest passing familiarity with The Tibetan Book of the Dead, from my extremely limited understanding of its general principles, it's not so much a religious text a la biblical scripture as it is a set of instructions read to a dead person, after death but before rebirth, on how to proceed through the various bardos and help them understand what they're experiencing. The experimental film Enter the Void explores the concept.

Tibetan Book of the Dead - World History Encyclopedia

As a matter of fact, it seems the earliest versions of what became The Tibetan Book of the Dead weren't written; the bardos were instead drawn as mandalas. Apparently the text itself wasn't written until the 8th century AD, though its teachings were transmitted orally, and not translated into English until the 20th century. Make of that information what you will.

It's weird because when I copy-pasted this exact quote into Google, the first result that popped up was the Sally cybershrine, followed by a Tumblr blog. So. Idk if they were copying from some old edition or what - probably - but that's not the point. My point is, I had a funny feeling they chose this quote due to a combination of Sounding Deep and for including the phrase "O nobly born," which obviously would refer to Sally being a princess. Unsurprisingly, while the poster may have assumed (as I did) that "O nobly born" means what it says on the tin, in this context, it's not actually addressing nobility as in royalty, but the "daughters and sons" of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, who in this case would encompass everyone and everything that has ever lived:

Heart Wisdom - Ep. 82 – Respect for All - Jack Kornfield

Oh, Nobly Born, you who are the son or daughter of the Buddha, (insightcolorado.org)

So, score one point for missing the point, I guess? Even outside of that, uhhh. Nobility being used as a narrative device or a stand-in for an audience for a religious tract is... actually pretty common, and not just in Buddhist texts, but in Vedic texts like The Upanishads, and even in Welsh Christian texts like the eagle that proselytizes to a pagan Arthur in the 13th-century poem The Dialogue of Arthur and the Eagle. Remember, kids: don't show your entire ass online. Knowledge is power.

---

The only word in this prayer was changed from Yis'rael (Israel) to Mobius.

Necessary context:

Oseh Shalom | Michael Schachter

Oseh Shalom: A Prayer for Peace - Judaism 101 (JewFAQ)

I sincerely hope whoever changed the lyric is Jewish themselves, because if not, then that shit is just as Fucking Yikes as Penders appropriating the Holocaust poem. Yeah, no, this is starting to depress me. I came here looking for a quick laugh but now it's becoming a serious soul search into myself and my responsibilities as a person to respect the cultures of my fellow human beings over, like. Fictional blue hedgehogs. I'm thinking about how gross it'd be if someone misappropriated Skaruręʔkyéha·ʔ practices to express their grief over a fictional character that didn't even canonically die.

I feel so uncomfortable right now wtf is wrong with Sally diehards man

--- ...Anyway. That's why, for a much-needed palate-cleanser after that awful fucking taste in my mouth... Grateful Dead lyrics! Yay!

---

Not sure what a Velveteen Rabbit reference is doing here but okay. I like the implication that Sonic and/or Sally fans have loved all of Sally's hair off with the presence of this quote, though.

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Which is more hilarious, the idea that Penders was ever "great," the idea that he killed Sally off for money, or the fact that Sally never actually died, you goofballs? ...Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, wasn't it Sega who ultimately had a hand in bringing Sally back? ...So why does everyone lambast them for not including her in a game? Why do Archie fans reach straight to "fuck Sega" when they already slapped Penders down and revived her for your ungrateful asses?

fuck me, dude, can't say thanks for anything you're given huh

---

Yeah so more use of literary quotes out-of-context to make our shrine sound Erudite and Deep.

I have a hunch this one is supposed to allude to Sally's love for Sonic or something, but the poem in its full context is about how bereavement can have a stranglehold on people.

--- Okay, so because Tumblr is saying I'm nearing my 30-image limit for this reblog, I may have to continue this tomorrow, because apparently, a funeral song?? For Princess Diana?? Was plagiarized for this shrine???? bruh.

But, before we wrap this up, have my absolute favorite, most poignant, 10/10 part of the shrine would horribly appropriate real-world religions for sake of a fictional chipmunk again:

Reblog if you, too, are weird and perverse and other fans' mommies tell them not to play with you

I remember the early days of the Sonic fandumb on the internet. i remember all the online shrines to sally as well as the nasty earth vs Mobius squabbles as well as the "all sonic games after Sonic 3 and knuckles sux" crowd

The online Sally shrine is so funny to me lol

I normally wouldn't advocate laughing at other peoples passionate emotional response to fictional media, but there's an exception to every rule lol

#antisemitism tw #I legit don't know if I should tag this for racism or not and I am being serious here #like what the actual fuck am I reading #yes by all means call out the holocaust poem it should be called out #but can we ALSO TALK ABOUT THIS?

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eldritchsurveys · 4 years ago

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890.

5k Survey XVII

801. How often do you change your mood in a day? >> It depends. Sometimes I can actually stay pretty stable. Other times, more like a seesaw. Throw an emotional flashback or three into an otherwise-normal day and you’re in for a ride. 802. When you ask people how they are doing you actually care about their answer or is it just polite? >> If I, personally, ask how you’re doing, I literally am asking for the real answer. I rarely ever ask that, because that kind of “politeness” strikes me as particularly pointless and I generally don’t care how most people are doing anyway, so you know I mean it when I do ask. 803. Would you consider yourself to be very polite? >> No. I’m courteous in the sense that I say “please” and “thank you” to customer service people, and I hold doors for people directly behind me, and I say “excuse me” and shit like that. But I don’t make generic small talk, I don’t smile like a loon at randos (I’ll do a brief smile back if they smile first, but that’s the limit, and if I’m in a Mood it might end up looking more like a crazed grimace so be ready for that), and I’m not performative about looking “polite”. I’m just not interested. 804. Do you like movies and books that involve nuclear holocaust? >> Sure, I mean... the Fallout series of video games is one of my favourites, after all. 805. Have you ever had a lucid dream (a dream in which you knew you were dreaming and had complete control over what happened in the dream)? >> I’ve come close -- had the awareness but not necessarily full control.

806. Have you ever had a flying dream? >> Nope. 807. Have you ever had a lucid flying dream? >> Obviously not. 808. What’s the oddest law you ever heard of? >> I don’t remember. 809. What is the ultimate way to connect with another person? >> Good question. 810. Can you be intimate with someone without touching him or her? >> Of course. But different people prefer different intimacy styles. Maybe that kind of non-tactile intimacy wouldn’t feel the same for some people. 811. Can men and women ever really be ‘just friends’ with no interest in anything more? >> Shut up. 813. Are you addicted to this survey like drugs? >> No. It’s really just convenient at this point -- I don’t have to go through the whole process of finding a survey to take, because this one’s right here. If I happen to catch up to Elizabeth, I might have to wait a few days for her to post more sections, but other than that I’ve got my work cut out for me already. 814. If your significant other wanted to wait for marriage could you hold out or would you leave them (or would you cheat)? >> --- 815. What’s the longest sentence you can make using only words that start with the same letter as your first name? >> I don’t want to. 816. If you had a theme song what would it be? >> --- 817. Are you cranky? >> Not right now. 818. Which group generally annoys you more, people older than you, or people younger than you? >> There’s no rule with this. People can annoy me at any age. 819. Do you refer to older people as old farts? >> No. 820. Do you refer to younger people as the kids? >> Yeah. Nine times out of ten I’m not being condescending, I even call myself “kid” sometimes. 821. Which is better: Poems that everyone can relate to or poems that are intensely personal to the author? >> Both can exist. Sometimes the same poem can fit both criteria. An intensely personal experience can still be very relatable to a lot of people, and sometimes you find that out when you create art. 822. Is it worse to be too hot or too cold? >> I just don’t like being in extreme conditions of either kind. 823. Are you so flexible that you can put your feet behind your head? >> No. I’m very inflexible. 824. Would you enjoy reading fairy tales written about robots? >> Yes, very much. 825. Is smoking a turn on or gross? >> It’s neither. It’s just a thing people do. 826. What is the one way you wouldn’t want to die? >> Oh, you know. Most ways. 827. Which would look sillier on you: A cowboy hat or a Rasta hat? >> I don’t know. 828. Would you rather have a job doing something indoors or outdoors? >> Indoors. 829. Would you rather learn more about human nutrition or meteorology? >> Fuck, both of those subjects are interesting to me. 830. Have you ever taken honors courses? >> No. 831. What do you think of crop circles? >> They’re fuckin cool. 832. Where do they come from? >> I don’t know, and that’s part of what’s cool about them. 833. When was the last time you screwed up big time? >> I don’t remember. 834. You have a choice. What do you eat - A veggie burger, a turkey dog, or a cheese sandwich >> Veggie burger, absolutely. I eat those almost every day anyway. 835. Do you get a lot of random instant messages? >> No. 836. Do you have a paper journal also? >> No. 837. VHS or DVD? >> Streaming. (DVD if I must choose, but I really don’t care about owning physical copies of things, it just... doesn’t matter as much to me as I guess it matters to a lot of people. I tried to grok it and even adopt it as a practice but my brain just doesn’t work that way.) 838. Vinyl, cassette tape, or CD? >> Streaming. 839. Have you ever seen the video/heard the song Days Go By, performed by Dirty Vegas? >> I think so. It sounds familiar. 840. MTV: should it play more videos or more shows? >> At this point, I don’t even care anymore. The heyday has passed. Also, Catfish and Ridiculousness are fun shows, so fuck it. 841. Name a band: Dream Theater. Do fans of that band tend to share any characteristics with each other? >> I don’t know, I’m not going to stereotype progressive metal fans or anything, lol. I do have to admit that the first thing I thought of was the whole “girls don’t like Dream Theater thing” that Mike Portnoy said that one time, because when me and a girl I knew went to see them, we went for a bathroom break and the line for the women’s bathroom was literally nonexistent while the line for the men’s was a mile long. (That almost never happens anywhere else, lmao.) It was just funny at the time, I don’t actually think that’s a solid representation of listener demographics or anything. 842. What does the expression 'touch and go’ mean? It means being uncertain of a desired outcome. <-- I guess that’s what it means. 843. Caffeine or alcohol? >> Alcohol. I can sleep after drinking alcohol, and alcohol doesn’t make me anxious. Can’t say the same for caffeine. 844. Betty or Veronica? Archie or Reggie or Jughead? >> I was a preteen the last time I even held an Archie comic in my hands, I don’t remember anything about the characters. (And I don’t watch Riverdale either, lol.) 845. What book are you reading right now? >> Well, I was reading Wolves of the Calla but I haven’t picked it back up in at least a week. I’m struggling with wanting to continue this reread -- there’s some stuff I definitely want to reread (like the whole Castle Discordia bit and the part where Roland and Eddie go visit Stephen King), but I’m having a hard time remaining interested in the other shit. Also, I’m tired of Roland. I’m always tired of Roland, but, you know. 846. Is the news too depressing? >> Don’t ask me, I don’t watch that shit. 847. Would you rather have a stuffed lion, elephant, pig or duck? >> Lion! Oooh, I might get one, actually. To represent King Crimson. :B 848. Are you late for a very important date? >> No. 849. Ever use star 69? >> No. 850. Is everyone as smart as you? >> ---

#surveys #survey #5000 question survey

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solohqrry · 5 years ago

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get to know me uncomfortably well

@eatmyshiftsticky tagged me, this was a long one mama i ain’t gonna lie but ily

What is your middle name?

selene (pronounced like seh-leh-neh).

How old are you?

When is your birthday?

January 31st

What is your zodiac sign?

aquarius sun :-)

What is your favourite colour?

yellow!!!! and pink

What’s your lucky number?

i don’t think i have one to be honest

Do you have any pets?

i have two cats, sesame and sage, and two dogs, thor and ginger

Where are you from?

texas yeehaw

How tall are you?

5′7″ (i’m the shortest in m family but apparently i’m tall to other people)

What shoe size are you?

US 7 1/2 or 8

How many pairs of shoes do you own?

i wanna say like 20 pairs, but i haven’t worn like half of them in ages

What was your last dream about?

i have wild, inexplicable dreams i couldn’t even begin to explain what i dream about but last night i vaguely remember there was something about the holocaust involved which is pretty dark, who dreams about that

What talents do you have?

absolutely none, i am talentless my only talent is being a whore, and i’m not even good at that sometimes

Are you psychic in any way?

i definitely feel like i am, it’s a little mexican thing where we think we have this gut feeling that lets us know when something bad is about to happen, 8 times out of 10 the gut feeling is right

Favourite song?

ugh so many some of my all time favorites are robbers by the 1975, yes i’m changing by tame impala, sign of the times by harry styles, don’t cry by guns n roses, and kashmir by led zepplin

Favourite movie?

Napoleon Dynamite or Moana

Who would be your ideal partner?

god, i really wouldn’t tell you without sounding like a shallow bitvh. i just want a guy that looks like he hasn’t slept in 6 years, is tall, skinny, has long hair, makes me laugh and loves to kiss and cuddle, maybe a dreamy boy that will write poems about my loving stare and soft kisses who will take me on roadtrips that go anywhere, or maybe a jerk that’s rude and rides a motorcycle and never smiles unless he’s around me, i don’t know though

Do you want children?

god no

Do you want a church wedding?

no, i want an outdoor wedding during the fall time, in a nice forest with family and friends

Are you religious?

i was raised catholic and go to church but i don’t know if i believe in everything i have been taught.

Have you ever been to the hospital?

yes i want to say like twice in the past four years

Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

yes :/

Have you ever met any celebrities?

no :(

Baths or showers?

showers

What color socks are you wearing?

pink

Have you ever been famous?

i wish

Would you like to be a big celebrity?

only for the money and to have a bigger platform

What type of music do you like?

indie, rock, punk, rap, spanish music pretty much anything except country, i loathe country music no one can change my mind

Have you ever been skinny dipping?

nope

How many pillows do you sleep with?

four, two under my head, one under my legs, and one to hold onto at night (i’m v lonely)

What position do you usually sleep in?

on my side with one leg hike up and the other stretched out one arm under my pillow under my head the other holding another pillow, or in fetal position

How big is your house?

one story, 3 bedroom 2 bath house, i have a huge front and back yard, i love my house

What do you typically have for breakfast?

a granola bar

Have you ever fired a gun?

never

Have you ever tried archery?

in middle school, i was pretty shit at it

Favourite clean word?

i say heck a lot

Favorite swear word?

bitch!

What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

2 and a half days

Do you have any scars?

i have a lot i was a clumsy kid that got into places i shouldn’t have. my most gnarly scars are on my elbows, knees, and one on my hip where a shard of glass stabbed me.

Have you ever had a secret admirer?

i think maybe as a joke

Are you a good liar?

i am a great liar, i think i could be an actress because i lie so well

Are you a good judge of character?

i am a bit naive if im being honest, it clouds my judgement

Can you do any other accents other than your own?

my british accent is top notch, i can do a super exaggerated cockney accent, and a somewhat good australian accent (don’t quote me on that @eatmyshiftsticky)

Do you have a strong accent?

i don’t think i do, i grew up in a predominantly mexican city so compared to most people here i don’t have an accent but when people from out of town meet me (white people) they say i have an accent, i hear it sometimes in some words but idk

What is your favourite accent?

i love a french, australian, and spanish accents

What is your personality type?

neutral chaotic edgy thot, typical aquarius, peace and love, treat people with kindness type bitch

What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

my platform doc martens which cost me a whopping $180, i am very frugal with everything basically so this was a big spend to me

Can you curl your tongue?

if you mean can i make a taco with my tongue, yes!

Are you an innie or an outie?

innie.

Left or right-handed?

right-handed

Are you scared of spiders?

yes i absolutely hate spiders, if i see a spider i am either swatting that thing or running away

Favourite food?

mexican food specifically nachos and enchiladas, and chinese food

Favourite foreign food?

i like italian food

Are you a clean or messy person?

i’m a tidy person, like i’m messy but not to an extreme my room looks clean at first glance but then you notice little things that make it look messy

Most used phrase?

“on god?” or “no mames” or “mamadas”

Most used word?

i don’t know, i think i say sis and dude a lot.

How long does it take for you to get ready?

ugh makeup and hair and outfit is like a good hour and half, i need time or else i get crabby the rest of the day.

Do you have much of an ego?

not at all

Do you suck or bite lollipops?

suck??? if you bite into your lollipop without sucking it you’re a psychopath

Do you talk to yourself?

all the time, literally i talk more to myself than i do to my family, i’m thinking i should just start a youtube channel so i could talk to myself but with a purpose

Do you sing to yourself?

very badly but yes.

Are you a good singer?

not at all, and i was in choir for two years where did my talent go i wish i knew.

Biggest Fear?

losing my parents

Are you a gossip?

not really unless it’s like good gossip in spanish it’s called chisme and if someone is a gossip they’re a chismosa, sometimes i’m a chismosa i like drama.

Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

Gone Girl

Do you like long or short hair?

on boys long hair is my absolute weakness, on myself i prefer my long hair

Can you name all 50 states of America?

i think i can name a solid 30

Favourite school subject?

english or history

Extrovert or Introvert?

i’m very introverted

Have you ever been scuba diving?

no way being in the open ocean terrifies me

What makes you nervous?

driving, talking to people, ordering my food at a restaurant, school, big crowds, literally everything because i have a generalized anxiety disorder.

Are you scared of the dark?

mmm when it’s outside yes, but not inside my house or room or whatever

Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

idk if it’s my business or affects me than yes

Are you ticklish?

YES the sides of my tummy are my tickle spot and i HATE when people tickle me there

Have you ever started a rumour?

no i would never

Have you ever been in a position of authority?

no, too much pressure is not good for me

Have you ever drank underage?

i was given tequila as a toddler by my grandpa so yes i have had my fair share of alcohol in my 18 years

Have you ever done drugs?

i have had edibles, i have smoked weed, and i have taken molly (please don’t do that it’s only fun while you’re on it).

Who was your first real crush?

i was in love with this boy named alejandro from like 7th grade to 10th i kissed him once, he was a complete ass and broke my heart.

How many piercings do you have?

my ears, my septum and two secret ones.

Can you roll your R’s?

of course i can.

How fast can you type?

on my phone i type pretty fast on a computer i am very slow

How fast can you run?

not fast at all, i can’t run for shit i have baby lungs

What colour is your hair?

dark brown

What color is your eyes?

dark drown

What are you allergic to?

cats :( and grass :( and pollen :(

Do you keep a journal?

no, my therapist always says i should start one but i just get bored or forget about it.

What do your parents do?

my mom is an elementary teacher and my dad is disabled.

Do you like your age?

i’d say 18 is a pretty solid age

What makes you angry?

the world, america mostly.

Do you like your own name?

mmm yeah, i forget i have a name because no one really says it, is that weird?

Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

i know i said i didn’t want kids but i know if i do have them i am going to name them after planets.

Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

a girl

What are you strengths?

i’m free-spirited and intellectual and loving

What are your weaknesses?

i can be mean, i can take out my anger on people who don’t deserve it, i want comfort but push people away

How did you get your name?

my mom named me after the movie with audrey hepburn

Were your ancestors royalty?

no lol

Do you have any scars?

battle scars dude

Colour of your bedspread?

a nice cream color

Colour of your room?

pastel yellow!

i tag @malibubarbievince @kountessbathory @guns-n-crue and whoever wants to do this, this was fun because y’all get to know more about me so thanks for the tag addy baby!!

#i love tag games #get to know me #about me

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hockey-jews · 7 years ago

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For anyone who wants to learn more about Judaism! Also, kind of a post about how to deal with some Things and Stuff. This is a long post so I’ll put it under a read more for those interested:

This is really for an anonymous message I got that described struggles with things that I think many of us struggle with or have in the past: not being “Jewish enough” in the eyes of other Jews due to your heritage being on the “wrong” side (read; on your father’s side), yet still experiencing antisemitism from goyim. Not learning very much, if anything, about Judaism as a child but wanting to learn more as an adult. Not being comfortable with some traditions or laws of Judaism because you are a) a feminist b) LGBT c) an atheist. Living in a place with few to no Jewish spaces. Not feeling welcome in the Jewish community due to any or all of these things.

Book recs!

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys reading (or can at least tolerate it) I highly recommend these books! They’re all books that I have either read/started reading/or plan on reading. (Please keep in mind that none of these are Jewish texts such as the Torah or the Talmud and that I do understand the importance of such religious texts but am not recommending them because I feel those are obvious sources of information)

A Bride for One Night if you aren’t familiar with the Talmud, it’s a collection of writings and explanations of Jewish laws and traditions and it’s old as balls. The author of this book, Ruth Calderon, takes a bunch of Talmudic stories and makes them into these wonderful beautiful stories that are easier to read than the original ones from the 3rd and 6th centuries. Even if you don’t know anything about the Talmud this book is so fascinating and fun to read.

The G-d Who Hates Lies is literally perfect for you if you have issues with how women are viewed and treated in the most traditional sense of Judaism. It’s a really great criticism by people who are extremely qualified to make those criticisms (both are rabbi’s and I think they both have doctorates in theology, specifically Modern Orthodox Judaism, which makes for a really cool viewpoint). I can’t find anything about the third author of this book, who is a woman, but it’s comforting to know that a woman had a part in this as well. Obviously these people love Judaism, they just want to see it adapt to modernity. Just in general it’s a really thoughtful book that challenges dogma.

Jewish Literacy was recommended by an anon (thank you!) The rest of the title is “The Most Important Things to Know about The Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History” so like. Ya get what ya see here folks. HOWEVER I did see a review that mentions there is some Islamophobia and hostility towards Jews who are antizionist. It does genuinely look informative and I haven’t read it myself so I can’t attune to whether or not that review is accurate, but maybe be cautious if you read this in knowing that the author may not be objective.

Book of Mercy made me openly weep and feel something tender and weird in my heart and like. Okay so it’s not informative so much as it’s a book of poetry by Leonard Cohen (he was Jewish if you didn’t know!) He calls his poems “modern psalms” and honestly this would be a good read even if you aren’t religious at all because his writing is just so gorgeous. But it does have references to Judaism and his identity as a Jew

Understanding Judaism is really a “building blocks” kind of book to me, if that makes sense? It’s really informative but also really basic and is fantastic for people who know very little about Judaism or just want a well presented understanding of the core aspects of the Jewish religion. Even if you aren’t a Jew who’s looking to learn or someone who is considering conversion it’s still a good book if you’re interested in world religions regardless of your faith or lack thereof. (man I’m starting to sound pretentious lmao I just mean like, if you’re an atheist or Catholic or whatever, it’s pretty interesting and also this guy is kinda dorky-funny so it makes for an easier read than some other books about religion)

Shmooze I think this is meant to be more for a group to read an discuss, and like, also maybe meant for a younger audience (I’m talking about teenagers so not really that young, but if you’ve been reading dull infodumps by 90 y/o Jewish rabbis with doctorate degrees this is gonna be a change of pace lmao) I should mention that I’ve only read like two pages of this book because I saw it at Barnes and Noble and just kinda briefly checked it out so I don’t know a ton about it but it stuck in my head and the reviews look positive so

Obvious I don’t think you have to read all of those because I haven’t even read all of those so maybe just check one of them out if it seems like it could be helpful to you.

Judaism here on tumblr dot com:

Okay so like. This is really my personal diced onion so take it however you will but keep in mind that this really only reflects things I’ve come across and how I feel.

Obviously there are a lot of really great blogs about Judaism but I don’t have any specific ones to recommend I’m sorry :O I really really hate ~Discourse~ and like, in-depth arguments about the Holocaust because I get so wrapped up in it and let’s be honest, tumblr is all about the discourse and ignorance. That being said, I like to follow other people who are Jewish and blog about whatever because that usually leads to safer discussions and also is a great way to find really helpful thoughts and discussions by other Jews about topics like being LGBT, being a woman, being an atheist, etc. These are just nice to read and also if you aren’t familiar with certain Yiddish or Hebrew terms that are commonly used it’s a good way to see how and when they’re used in certain contexts.

I’m going to tag anything like this that I post here as “good info” just so me and anyone who wants can find this stuff easier. No they won’t necessarily have anything to do with hockey.

Also please be very careful when you’re reading a post that is presenting certain things as facts, always double check what someone is saying because misinformation is spread so quickly, and it’s almost always unintentional. The things that I find genuinely helpful/safe/fun involve opinions, common feelings and experiences, little personal stories and jokes, cool stuff like that.

I’m Jewish on my father’s side :0

Me too boo. Unfortunately that’s an unending discussion, and one that is often held by matrilineal Jews and doesn’t actually include patrilineal Jews, nor does it consider our thoughts/feelings/experiences. Without sounding like an idiot, it is absolutely buckwild to me that there are people who have been raised Jewish, have never known anything other than Jewish tradition, have been subject to antisemitism, but still aren’t considered Jewish.

And then this is where I see matrilineal Jews who hold this viewpoint bring up Reform Judaism, which is one of the three main branches of Judaism and does recognize patrilineall Jews as Jews. I’ve seen some discrepancy as to whether or not patrilineal Jews had to have been raised Jewish in order to be considered Jewish. This is all well and good for Jews like me whose family practices Reform Judaism, but for patrilineal Jews who wish to practice in an Orthodox or Conservative synagogue, it gets tricky.

Basically, yes this is a huge topic that inspires a lot of disagreement, and that sucks, but here’s what it comes down to. No one else is allowed to make you feel inferior because of your heritage. So many people, even modern Orthodox Jews, recognize that certain aspects of Judaism need to adapt to today’s society. I don’t want to offend anyone here, but I really do feel that most matrilineal Jews who don’t consider us Jewish are extremely hypocritical (for a lot of reasons but mostly like...y’all really follow every aspect of Jewish Law? Like do you really? All of it? Girl do u? Or are you maybe just being elitist). Learning about your heritage, talking about shared experiences, combating antisemitism, these are all things that are fair game for you (especially for the anon who said they were atheist) and going to Shabbat services, praying, participating in holy days. That’s all yours if you want it, bubbeleh.

Can I be an atheist Jew?

Sure you can! I, personally, am not an atheist so I wasn’t comfortable finding specific resources about this because I don’t really know much about it? It’s fine with me if you’re atheist that’s none of my business, I just don’t want to direct you to a bad source. But yes, many Jews are atheist, many are secular, I’m sure there are many here on tumblr. It’s absolutely okay, Judaism is an ethnoreligion, and while you may experience Judaism different than the rest of us, you’re still a Jew and still belong.

Here’s an excerpt from a short lil synopsis of Judaism:

These three connotations of Judaism as a monotheistic system, as a literary tradition, and as a historical culture are sometimes viewed separately. For example, there are Jews who see themselves as culturally Jewish, but who are also non-religious or atheist, often identifying more strongly with Jewish “peoplehood” than with traditional understandings of God and Torah. Even so, all Jews would recognize that these three points of reference have shaped and guided Jewish experience through the ages.

Jewish “peoplehood” that they talk about is like. Culture, customs, food, art, history, etc.

One last little note on this, you’ll hear a lot that Judaism focuses more on actions than on beliefs. This is an excellent article that is pretty short and worth reading that I want to include because I think that even if you don’t believe in G-d or even if you are seriously questioning, the focus on just. Doing good. Actively doing good things and trying to be a good person (I know that’s objective but bear with me) is a such a huge part of Judaism that you can try to incorporate into your life without having to subscribe to any sort of dogma or beliefs that you don’t hold. “Judaism is certainly a faith-based tradition. Belief in G-d is central to our religion. It just isn’t a prerequisite. If you are Jewish, you are so regardless of belief.”

But I’m a feminist....

As you should be. This is probably another personal statement you gon’ wanna take with a grain of salt, but I think Judaism, especially in the last 50 years or so, has made huge strides in this. Especially Reform Judaism, but that kind of goes without saying.

Example, my synagogue was founded as a Conservative synagogue. Our website still says we are. I’m not actually sure tbqh, like I said, my family are Reform Jews, and so are most other families in our congregation I think but this is literally the only synagoge for like hundreds of miles so. Anyways our rabbi is female (Rabbi Shaina!) and she does great work, we all love her. She’s really adament on teaching kids that gender shouldn’t keep you from anything, that Judaism is for all Jews, that it should enhance our lives. She wears a tallis, lays her tefillin, and reads from the Torah.

My point here is that while this isn’t like, the end of misogyny in Judaism as we know it, it’s still a big deal in most religions to have a woman as their religious leader, essentially a position of religious power. For men to accept a woman as a religious leader is not something that is super common in most religions. And we’re like, a tiny congregation over a hundred miles away from anyone else, technically a Conservative synagogue, that’s super loving and accepting of a feminist running our shit... female rabbis are super common and I think it speaks a lot to how we’re progressing as a religion. Reform Judaism is going to be your best bet when it comes to tolerance but knowing that all three of the main branches are progressing, at least with this, is really comforting to me.

However, that’s an extremely one sided view and doesn’t really show the issue as a whole. This super short article (? not sure) is a bit pessimistic in my mind but presents the other side of things and gives a good explanation of the traditional sources of misogyny in Judaism, so this could further your understanding as well.

By no means are we perfect but we’re workin on it. Look into Jewish Feminism though, if you have the time. That article is just a lil intro to the topic.

I’m Q*eer/LGBT and I’m not sure y’all are gonna be cool with that...

Well this one’s a doozy.

I’ll kick this right off by presenting an article that is objective and does not reflect the author’s opinion, just lays out the issues at hand. It also has some links to other good pieces, including one cool story about a transgender man, Rafi Daugherty, embracing his role as a father and details his experience with pregnancy and giving birth. I should mention that I am cisgender so I’m interpreting this article through a different point of view, but it really does make a point of celebrating Rafi and his daughter and sharing their story. It does include a little cultural background context, but this is a positive story that I think deserves to be shared :)

Then there’s this statement from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism that confirms its absolute acceptance and support of LGBT Jews.

On the other side of things, there are still homophobic and intolerant Jews. Conversion camps were not just a Christian thing, there were Jewish conversion camps as well, which is horrific. Idk what to say because I think homophobia and transphobia in Judaism is really similar to what you would find in Christian settings.

I’m bisexual and I feel completely welcomed by other Jews who know this about me, and I certainly don’t feel any less Jewish because of it.

I live in a place where Jewish spaces are rare.

I really hate to disappoint with this one but I don’t have any specific sources or anything like that. Alls I got to say is that’s why the internet is so great? I really don’t feel like that’s helpful at all, but I think for the most part, the Jewish side of tumblr is pretty accepting and welcoming. Obviously that’s not always gonna be true though idkdjaskfl;dj

I spose with this one I wanna encourage anyone who has any good resources for involvement or something like that to reply to this post or drop by my inbox and let me know! Or maybe just your thoughts on some Jewish spaces you’ve encountered?

I hope this was helpful

In conclusion, don’t let anyone make you feel less Jewish. Your sexual identity, gender identity, and even your belief in G-d doesn’t take away from your Jewishness. I’d like to say that since I started delving into Judaism a little more I’ve found a lot of peace. And yeah that sounds cliche and also vague but it’s really a breath of fresh air to learn about my family and know more about this community. Also if you’re comfortable with or willing to try prayer, even if you’re atheist, it can be a good way to decompress sometimes, a really therapeutic kind of way to voice your thoughts and feelings and reflect on them.

There’s so much information and culture to delve into but it’s so so worth it to learn and I’m really happy for you that you’re interested in getting more in touch with your Jewish roots.

If any of these links don’t work and you’d like to see them let me know!

#this took 78 years sorry #ok for anyone to rb #there are TYPOS galore I'm sorry #judaism

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shomronneighbor-blog · 7 years ago

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In the rebellion against British rule in Eretz Yisrael during the struggle for Israeli Statehood, the revolutionary poetry of Uri Zvi Greenberg was a source of inspiration for the underground freedom-fighters of the “Lehi” and the “Irgun.” In a famous poem called, “One Truth, Not Two,” he rejects the ideology of the prominently socialist Zionist establishment which preached that the Land of Israel would be redeemed through purchasing land and building settlements. The real truth, he maintained, was that Jewish independence would be attained through armed struggle.

There is only one truth, he taught his followers, not two.

The same is true with the Land of Israel itself. There is only one Jewish Homeland, not two. Today, there is a point of view in the Diaspora which maintains that it is perfectly OK to live there in foreign, Gentile countries. To Diasporians, Jews can live in Israel if they like, but they can also live in Germany, Australia, and America if they choose.

To them, there is not one truth, but two.

Maintain what they will, the entire focus and goal of the Torah, and the Prophets of Israel, is the establishment of the Kingdom of Israel in Eretz Yisrael. The Jewish People are to flee from the exile, not strive to prologue it.

In the Torah portion, “Vayigash,” the Torah commentator, Kli Yakar, points out that in the verse, “And the People of Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt in the region of Goshen, and they took possession of it, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly,” the verb, “vaya’ahazu ba,” is written in the passive, meaning the “land took possession of them,” (Bereshit, 47:27.) This comes to tell us that when a Jew lives in an alien land, the powers of the land (its culture, language, traditions, etc.), influence the Jew’s sense of identity until he comes to believe that he is an Egyptian, or Frenchman, or German Jew, forgetting that he is really an Israelite exiled from his Homeland.

This profound observation is highlighted by our Forefather, Yaacov, in the Torah portion of “Vayiche”, when he commands his children to bury him in Hevron. Yaacov wants his sons to know, beyond all doubt, that the Land of Israel is their Homeland. Understanding the temptation that seduces Jews into living in foreign lands, he doesn’t want to afford them the excuse of saying, “Our father is buried in Egypt – how can we leave him?”

In Egypt, when four-fifths of the Jews refused to follow Moshe to the Promised Land, G-d slew all of the rebels during the Plague of Darkness, in order to hide the disgrace.

There is one truth, not two.

In the Wilderness, when the leaders of the tribes, who were the Torah Sages of the Nation, discouraged the Children of Israel from journeying onward to the Land of Israel, G-d called them non-believers and rebels, and wiped out the entire generation.

Again and again in the “Book of Devarim,” G-d commands the Jews to keep the Torah in the Land of Israel. Moses himself is punished by not being allowed to attain his supreme desire – to enter the Land of Israel. And, generations later, with the destruction of the Temple, Am Yisrael is made to suffer the horrible punishent and curse of exile in alien lands.

But in recent times, after the Holocaust wiped out a third of the Jewish People, Jews in affluent countries soon forgot that the exile is a punishment and curse, and, as the “Kli Yakar” warned, they fell in love with their alien domiciles, grasping onto the fallacy that there are two truths, not one. Yes, they will admit, the Land of Israel is the historic birthplace of the Jewish People, but that has no bearing on actual life.

G-d has gone ahead without waiting for Mashiach and made the State of Israel one of the most powerful nations in the world, as well as the center of world Torah. Even Orthodox Jews, who follow the commandments of the Torah, evolved a labyrinth of Talmudic explanations and excuses to justify their not making Aliyah. Although the Ramban and a long list of early and later Torah Authorities state that dwelling in the Land of Israel is a Torah commandment in all generations (see Shulchan Oruch, Pitchei Tshuva, Even HaEzer, 75:6), these lovers of the Diaspora cite Rabbis who have written otherwise. Some say that Jews are forbidden to return to the Land of Israel en masse until the Mashiach brings us there – ignoring the obvious fact that G-d has gone ahead without waiting for Mashiach and made the State of Israel one of the most powerful nations in the world, as well as the center of world Torah.

Other Orthodox Jews will say that the commandment to live in Israel is only a Rabbinic commandment, but these same devout Jews will fulfill the Rabbinic mitzvahs of Hanukkah and Purim with all of their tiniest details. In the meantime, they identify wholeheartedly with being French, South African, and American Jews, believing the illusion that it is perfectly OK to live in foreign lands.

But there is one truth, not two.

Many people who read Jewish newspapers or websites are deluded into thinking that the Jews in the Diaspora are a vibrant community. After all, look at all of the articles about Jews, Jewish concerts, kosher products, and Jewish singles groups and cruises all over the world! But in reality, studies show that seventy to eighty percent of Diaspora Jews have absolutely no connection to Jewishness. The Jew of the exile is a vanishing species. In the meantime, the twenty percent still possessing a Jewish identity are sailing away into the horizon of oblivion, enjoying the cruise as long as they can.

Thus we are faced with the sad situation whereby many retiring Rabbis in the Diaspora make Aliyah to Palm Springs and Miami Beach; while others run for the United States Congress; while still others in black hats and long black coats make an annual pilgrimage to Brooklyn, as if Crown Heights was the Jewish Nation’s capital and not Jerusalem. Even Donald Trump knows the difference!

Apparently, they have forgotten that, not only is living in exile a punishment and curse, the very fact that Jews live in foreign lands is a desecration of G-d’s Name, known as a Chillul Hashem, as the Prophet, Ezekiel states:

“And when they came to the nations into which they came, they profaned My Holy Name, in that men said of them: These are the people of the L-rd, and they are gone out of His Land” (Ezekiel, 36:20). This prophecy is coming to tell us that the mere fact that Jews are living outside the Land of Israel is a desecration of G-d. Why? Because, Rashi explains, in the eyes of the Gentiles, our presence in the Diaspora proclaims that G-d lacks the power to keep us in His Land. Now in our time, when G-d has returned the Land of Israel to the Jews, the situation is even worse, for it seems in the eyes of the Gentiles that Diaspora Jews prefer foreign lands to the Land G-d gave them.

We are not talking about individual cases where someone must be in the Diaspora to take care of sick parents, or an aging person who feels he is too old to begin life anew, or about Jews who yearn to live in Israel, but, for whatever justified reason, are unable to make Aliyah. We are taking about the tragic situation of entire Jewish communities ensconced in the darkness of exile, believing that it is perfectly OK to live in Gentile countries. But it is not OK.

There is one Eretz Yisael, and one Torah, not two.

Based on this verse of Ezekiel, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, of blessed memory, head of the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, taught that the Diaspora is the worst desecration of G-d that there is, since it involves so many Jews. The opposite is also true, he explained: “Today, we are struggling between the phenomenon of Kiddush Hashem (the sanctification of G-d’s Name) and Chillul Hashem (the desecration of G-d’s Name.) The greatest sanctification of G-d is that which involves all of the Jewish People, as the prophecy of Ezekiel proclaims: “And I will sanctify My great Name which was profaned amidst the nations, which you have profaned in the midst of them. And the nations shall know that I am the L-rd, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes,” (Ezekiel, 36:23-24).

“How will G-d bring about this great Kiddush Hashem in the world?” Rabbi Kook asked, and answered with the continuing words of the prophet: “For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you into your own Land” (Ibid).

G-d hasn’t waited for Mashiach to bring this about. Why should you?

There is only one truth, not two.

#israel #diaspora #american Jews

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serenity-international · 6 years ago

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Review：A Gushing Fountain by Martin Walser

C.J. Anderson-Wu

Translator: David Dollenmayer

Publisher: Arcade

Genre: Fictional Memoir

ISBN 9781628724240

One should not suppose that German fiction setting time in the 1930s and 1940s are all confessional. It is not the case of A Gushing Fountain, an extraordinary work about ordinariness, about the willed ignorance.

First of all, almost all serious translated literary works are, if not misunderstood, underrated in the English readership, due to the narrow spectrum of English publishing industry(note 1). The original German version was published in 1998, and the English version did not publish until 2015.

But even the award-winning translator David Dollenmayer and publisher Arcade made it happen eventually, it doesn’t mean that the novel has reached the right readers. Among the 18 customer reviews of Amazon.com, 4 of them giving it 1 point. These readers claim they don’t understand what is the point of this novel, or don’t see what they had expected to see, or complain it is boring. Haven’t I said that this extraordinary work is about the willed ignorance? Reviews on GoodReads.com(affiliated to Amazon.com) are no better, some readers say they are not used to the style, and some have read it through but obviously get it completely wrong.

Does our expectation of something dramatic make us ordinary, or our ordinariness makes us expect something dramatic?

Back to the novel. Did I expect to read what brought Nazi regime into power? Of course I did. And I actually saw it—the ordinariness of the multitude and their willed ignorance. In the remote township of Wasserburg, propaganda passed on from Berlin undoubtedly would have been emptied by the time they reached the small town since propaganda usually are illogical and unconvincing. But do emptied illogical propaganda work? Yes. The mechanism of propaganda does not rely on their content, but the repressive attitudes of the people who hold them on tightly. These people could be the priests, school teachers, your colleagues, your neighbors, and parents of the classmates of your children. At that time, remote German towns were the vacuum of information, intellectuality, and rational debates. Joanna’s father, a veteran of the WWI, was the only person in his hometown refusing to romanticize wars. And the author uses his early death to imply the untimely termination of the discussions of public issues. The establishment of an ideology is never built on ideas, but on the strongly willed ignorance of what behind it. The entire town indulged in the belief that the Führer who they never met and never bothered to find out where he was leading the country to would save them from their personal disasters. From a 7-year-old boy’s perspective, this novel draws out an infantilized society.

How did this happen? An adult could degenerate into a child when he faces hardship. In German rural areas, the time before the war was very difficult, and the major issue was economic recession. But in the 1930s, economic recession was all over the world, so why Germany went toward war? As a little boy, Johann was vaguely learned that their economic problems were caused by the Treaty of Versailles. But to the adults, how the Treaty related to their fate was not important. The failure of the business plans of Johann’s father and the foreclosure of Herr and Frau Glatthar’s assets suggested that they were the consequences of the injustice imposed on German public. Nothing is more convenient for a regime to blame other nations for its people’s unfortunate fates, especially when they never question the deduction.

Another scheme is to make poverty a shame. Johann had called a furniture at home “highboy”, but when his classmate Adolf(named after the Führer) visited him, he pointed out it was not a highboy, but simply a “secretary”. It humiliated Johann, he felt ashamed for the humbleness of his home. It was the beginning of his losing competition against Adolf. Even after the war was over, Johann still remembered how he felt about the extravagant highboy in Adolf’s home and the plebeian secretary of his. Instead of patriotism or loyalty, ordinary people are driven by their shame about their status, not the nationalism or ideology we had expected to read from this novel.

So when the war started, no one raised doubt about its legitimacy. Johann first entered the Labor Service of Jungenvolks, then after the death of his older brother Josef in the east front, Johann couldn’t wait to be drafted. It was Johann’s another losing game. Two years younger, he always felt inferior to Josef, and his service in the army was nothing but the attention he needed from his mother who was bereaved by the death of her first-born. Johann’s futile competition against his late brother was proved again at the end of the novel, when he dreamed that the husband of his wife Lena was not him but Josef.

Speaking of Johann’s romance, it is another approach of the author to carefully tell his readers that Johann’s service to his country is not out of his valor, but his frustrated libido drives. He had been after Anita, Rosie, Magda and Lena, not particularly because any of their characters but because they simply were around. Johann recited or wrote poems for them, without knowing if his effort was appreciated or not. His excellent physical performance during the military training was not much beyond his sexual desires having no place to release.

Some reviews say that this novel is about the determination of a young man to his authorship and literary career. Come on! In this novel, Johann and his works, no matter how much he is associated with the author himself, were too plain to have a literary career. Stop the unimaginative, stereotypical encouragement for readers, the world already has too much mediocrity.

For Johann and his folks in Wasserburg, Germany’s defeat or victory in the war never really made difference to their value, they didn’t have the will to change.

The last point of this novel is about the absence of the issues regarding holocaust. Not until to the last two chapters does the author mention Jewish issues. Before the ending of the war, the lance corporal sharing the bunk bed with Johann confided to Johann that he had been participating in the killing of Jews. Johann’s curiosity was aroused, but not enough for him to pursue further on this matter. Sometimes staying ignorant to sensitive issues is the best strategy for one’s commonplace conscious.

In the last chapter, Johann’s childhood friend Wolfgang was surprised that Johann did not know he was a Jew. And Johann thought to himself, “How can I know Wolfgang is from a Jewish father?” It is true that the majority of German population before the war never really knew any Jews in their lifetimes(note 2). For Johann and his folks in Wasserburg, Germany’s defeat or victory in the war never really made difference to their value, they didn’t have the will to change and were not interested in what their nation had done.

Don’t we quote Hannah Arendt’s “banality of evil” from time to time even many of us have read nothing but its title? A Gushing Fountain is Martin Walser’s perfect example of banality, but regrettably, our banality blinds us from seeing viewpoints go beyond our expectation.

Is there a way out this willed ignorance that we are still seeing everywhere and worried that it might lead us to another disasters? In fact the author shades a dim light by subtly bringing in the role of knowledge. Johann had been read books by his father, and when his father was very ill, he read him books. “A gushing fountain” is from Thus Spake Zarathustra, “‘Tis night: now do all gushing fountains speak louder. And my soul also is a gushing fountain.” And at the end of the novel, Johann, still in his teenage and still wrote immature poems, thought, “Language, is a gushing fountain.”

The author is not guaranteeing that knowledge certainly will enlighten us; it also could mislead us. But to break through ordinariness, we must have the will to face difficult issues of our world.

Note 1: For all publications in the US, only around 3% are translation, and in the UK 4%, significantly lower than EU.

Note 2: It is estimated that the Jewish population before the WWII was less than 1% of the entire country. It is also one of the questions Daniel Goldhagen raises in his research Hilter’s Willing Executioners: Why did the multitude support the genocide of an ethnic people that they never really knew?

#A Gushing Fountain #Martin Walser #C.J.Anderson-Wu #Novel #German Literature

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dear-ilenas-friends-blog · 8 years ago

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Dear My Sister’s Friends,

Hi! Whats up? We’ve never met, but I’m _____’s sister, Allison. I’ve heard more about you than I’d care to admit, and honestly I’ve got some issues with all of you, but that’s not what I’m writing this for. You all for the most part seem to be a very Pro-Trump group of people. I wish I felt okay brushing that off, being like “oh whatever they have their beliefs I have mine.” But the country has progressed too far into the abyss, and we are only 11 days into the presidency. So we need to talk. This is going to get rough. I don’t really care about your feelings, just FYI.

#1. The ban on citizens from muslim-majority countries is unconstitutional, as is the complete freeze on the Syrian refugee program. Allow me to remind you of WWII and the Holocaust (do not deny it happened, if you do we have a bigger problem on our hands). While the Nazis of Germany and the Fascists of Italy and the Communists of Japan slaughtered millions of people they felt were a threat to society, the United States refused to take in refugees, citing our need to stay out of the war. The US allowed MILLIONS of people to die while we sat back and watched. WE CANNOT LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN. Oh what's up maybe you were never taught the poem on the statue of liberty? I had to sing it in third grade, and it goes like this: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”. Yeah we don’t turn people away. This whole fucking country was started by people escaping religious persecution in England. And DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED on the fact that we slaughtered indigenous people in order for the immigrants to live here (unnecessary).

#2. Let’s chat about women’s rights. Okay let’s assume that most of you don’t want to get pregnant at the moment, but one of you does. You don’t want that baby? TOO FUCKING BAD BECAUSE THE MEN IN THIS COUNTRY THINK YOU WANT THAT BABY. Some one them think that if you got pregnant from rape (god forbid) your body could just shut down and boom no pregnancy. Oh do you want an abortion? HAHA GOOD FUCKING LUCK. The way your precious president is going, women will not only have limited access to abortions, they may not be able to get them in time. There is a proposed ban on abortions past 6 weeks currently sitting in the senate and let me tell you something, most women do not know they’re pregnant until at least 8 weeks. THAT MEANS YOU WILL BE WAAAAYYYY MORE LIKELY TO HAVE TO CARRY THE CHILD. Oh and, on a related note, they are not children at conception. Fuck that. It’s a fucking zygote until brain waves are present at 25 weeks. And if the woman wants an abortion, her life is ALWAYS more important than the child’s. Yes, in case you forgot, zygotes are what happens when a sperm fertilizes an egg and it begins to grow into a fetus. FETUS. NOT CHILD. Mmmm want some free birth control? Of course you do! I get my pills for free, so does Ilena, so do you. Condoms are pretty free at the health center (or your RA has them - they’re always there just FYI). Bros, the new administration does not want your pills (or IUD or implant or whatever form of contraception you used) to be free. Actually, they don’t want them there at all. Besides the fact that men are running the government and are fundamentally stupid about how women’s bodies work (ask a guy what hole women pee out of- just do it), they also seem to forget about separation of church and state (you know jesus doesn’t believe in birth control blah blah blah see 19 kids and counting for more explanation). I will get more into separation of church and state later. Don’t worry. It’s coming. Anyway, birth control. Remember that. It’s a big deal.

#3. Okay. Separation of Church and State. Hotly debated. Basically it means that we are not a Theocracy, or a government governed by the rules of the bible (a la the Vatican or...Spain in the 1500s). For some unknown reason, peeps in the government (read: men) think that we aRe kind of a theocracy?!? And love to use the bible to back up research. Okay. There’s a whole lot of shit wrong with that, starting with the fact that the Bible is...kinda not real, and ending with the whole Separation of Church and State clause in our GODDAMN CONSTITUTION. I would also like to take this moment to inform you of a very interesting concept called the American Civil Religion, which is basically the overlying tone of religion that weaves its way through our principles and governmental officials. Why do we always have to say “God Bless America”? Which god? Whose god are we talking about anyway? It doesn’t matter. That’s American Civil Religion. The belief that America is bLeSsEd by God in any way (this is also American Exceptionalism, which is the thing where Americans think they’re better than everybody else and ugh). Google “white savior complex” if you really want to get more into this topic.

#4. Shall we chat about people being nominated by Trump? IDK are you familiar with your currently president’s newest pick for the Supreme Court? Gorsuch? Yeah that guy is literally the worst. He sides with corporations over workers’ unions, has fought for domestic violence to be decriminalized, and would like to appeal Roe v. Wade (that’s the abortion one, in case you didn’t know). Let’s see, who else. Oh yes, his entire cabinet is...well...a clusterfuck. He chose a former CEO of ExxonMobil (oil giant, biggest oil spill in history, ruined the environment NBD) as his Secretary of State. Do you know what the secretary of state does? They go country to country, negotiating and meeting with heads of state, furthering our relationships with allies and creating new relationships with countries. The secretary of state is the most important job in the government next to the president. The most accomplished people have held the position (Madeline Albright, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Thomas Jefferson). I just realized you probably don’t know who Madeleine Albright is. She was the first woman to be Secretary of State, and she’s a badass. Look her up. Tillerson has no governmental experience (unless you count testifying in congress to save his ass) How can he be expected to be the country’s top diplomat? Let’s see, who else? Oh, let’s hit Betsy DeVos. You’ve heard of her right? She’s just a casual multi-billionaire nominated for Secretary of Education. She’s the one who said schools need guns because of bears. She’s also the one who has no experience with public education, and would like to take funding out of public institutions (cough cough University of Massachusetts Amherst cough cough) and give it to private schools and charter schools. Most of you had to take out loans for school right? Yeah good luck paying those off with her in charge. Bernie wanted to make college free? DeVos has no idea how to set interest rates for loans, and the way she’s planning on allocating Education Department funds makes it look like those rates will only increase. So good luck getting out of debt. Department of the Treasury? Steven Mnuchin, former Goldman Sachs executive. If you spent any time being angry at Hillary for taking money from Goldman Sachs, thank you new Secretary of the Treasury, who by the way, has zero governmental experience. Secretary of Defense? General James Mattis, a retired Military commander who (thankfully) knows that torture does not work (looking at you Trump). Department of Justice? Jeff Sessions, who famously criticized the NAACP and ACLU while seemingly praising the KKK. Figure that one out. Health and Human Services? Tom Price, and ultra-conservative who has fervent opposition to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) (aka the whole reason you can stay on your parent's health plan until you’re 26). Who else who else...oh yeah Ben Carson, Mr. “I’m not experienced enough to be in the white house bye”, or better yet, Trevor Noah’s best impression to-date. Bro has zero experience in Housing and Urban Development, minus being poor in Detroit. He’s a pediatric brain surgeon….so yeah. Housing. No. Ah the Department of Energy and Rick Perry. The guy who famously said he’d want to eliminate the...department of energy. AWKWARD. Yeah, not a scientist. Climate change denier (though he’s recanted that recently) and oh did you know that the Department of Energy is in charge of our nuclear weapons? Yeah neither did he. The Department of Labor? Andrew Puzder, the one-time chief executive of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. (fast food chains). He’s a constant critic of minimum-wage laws (aka why should we pay people a lot of money so that they can live instead of struggle - let them struggle!) aaannnnddddd shockingly he has no governing experience whatsoever. Only a few left, stay with me! Secretary of the Interior nominee Ryan Zinke was a Navy Seal (that’s cool). He firmly supports mining and drilling on federal lands - which is big no no for environmental preservation. The Department of Commerce’s nominee is Wilbur Ross (shockingly another rich white guy) who...has no experience in government and doesn’t care about workers rights. Honestly no one cares, but the Department of Agriculture’s nominee is Sonny Perdue and he’s pretty whatever, and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs pick is David Shulkin who is from the Obama Administration so...that’s cool. I know what I just laid out is a lot. If you want to know more about the good the bad and the (mostly) ugly, check out this article: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/trump-cabinet-tracker/510527/ - it’ll give you all the info you need. It’s important to note that there are two women vying for seat on the cabinet. Elaine Chao (who has already been confirmed as the Secretary of Transportation) and Betsy DeVos (who may not be confirmed for so so many reasons). There is one black man (Dr. Ben Carson...who’s special) and the rest of the guys are old, white, and rich #DrainTheSwamp.

#5. Presidential decorum. For those of you wondering, Trump has none. 0/10. Watch, I’ll put it on a scale against other presidents. Barack Obama was a 10. Bill Clinton was a 6. Reagan was a 7. Nixon was also a 0. See what I’m getting at here? Trump tweets. Oh does he tweet. SAD! He bullies people. He bullies DISABLED PEOPLE. He...can’t read? We don’t know. Our current presidents is...I don’t even know how to describe him. He believe Fox News. But he thinks CNN is fake news. No, wait, is all news fake news? The screenshot I took of his inauguration (which I watched on CNN.com) was that fake news? Did i imagine giant swaths of people missing? And then, after seeing that picture everywhere, why did Sean Spicer (ugh I’m not even going there) get up and lie to the entire press corp and country about it? We’re not all stupid. I have eyes. I’m college-educated. I know there were less people at Trump’s inauguration than there were at Obama’s. And both of those had less people than Reagan had! I wouldn’t really care if not for...alternative facts. Ah, alternative facts. The line spewed by the ever-terrible Kellyanne Conway. Alternative facts. Lies. They are the same thing. We cannot allow our government to dictate what is true and false. They will choose what makes them look good. And that will be detrimental for our country.

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I won’t lie to you guys. I got distracted a bunch of times while writing this. I’m at work, after all. But I got distracted because I had to stop to read articles that were coming out AS I WROTE about what’s going on. So I’d like to share what I read every day. Here are some of the things that distracted me:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/02/us/milo-yiannopoulos-ivory-tower/index.html?adkey=bn

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/30/politics/trump-travel-ban-live-blog/index.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-defends-troll-milo-yiannopoulos_us_589315e9e4b0af07cb6b992f?8mapjo6cymohia4i&

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/us/politics/donald-trump-islam.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=b-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/us/politics/trump-supreme-court-gorsuch-senate-democrats.html?ref=politics

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/02/tillerson-diplomats-must-be-team-despite-personal-beliefs.html

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TRUMP_IMMIGRATION_SANCTUARY_STATES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-02-02-10-52-37

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MOBILIZING_MUSLIMS_MAOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-02-02-09-49-14

Please read these (and others) and educate yourselves. You can have an opinion if you’re not educated, but your opinion will be thin (and possibly uninformed) if you don’t back it up with FACTS. ACTUAL FUCKING FACTS. I DON’T DO THIS ALTERNATIVE FACTS BULLSHIT.

Anyway I’ll probably have to write more eventually, but I hope this at least maybe made you think? Or laugh? IDK I’m pretty funny sometimes. Or if you now hate me, well that’s fine too I guess…? Actually no it’s not. I’m pretty cool.

Oh! My next rant will be on Anti-Semitism and Racism and the intersectionality of Racism and Sexism in our country! YAAAAYYYYY

Peace out bitches

Wait no I’m not done I forgot! Going all the way back to the ban on people coming to the country, there are exactly 0 people from any of those countries who have attacked up. Peeps who have attacked us come from countries we didn’t ban (but trump has business ties to so ). ALSO. WHITE SUPREMACIST MEN DO MOST OF THE TERROR ATTACKS IN THE COUNTRY GET IT THROUGH YOUR GODDAMN THICK SKULLS. IT’S NOT MUSLIMS. IT’S THE WHITE MALE RACISTS. Okay the end.

#rant #politics #i'm with her #dear my sister's friends #here we go

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fatimakhans12345 · 8 years ago

Text

Speech by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the presentation of the Ignatz Bubis Prize

-- Check against delivery --

Mayor Feldmann, Peter, Ida Bubis, Tom Koenigs, Salomon Korn, Members of Frankfurt City Council, Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this prize that bears the name of the great citizen of Frankfurt, Ignatz Bubis. The very fact that a prize for reconciliation is awarded today bearing his name, bearing the name of man who himself suffered so much exclusion, violence and injustice, is an impressive reflection of the life’s work of Ignatz Bubis. For me, it is a great honour to be associated with him by receiving this award.

My friend Tom Koenigs, in your speech you described the City of Frankfurt’s open approach to foreigners and how it welcomes them. There were however some rare exceptions to Frankfurt's welcoming culture. Historically, people here in the Paulskirche were anything but keen on those holding office in Prussian Berlin. That makes me all the more grateful for your kind words!

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let’s stroll together back through history. We can do that right here, here in the Paulskirche. But in a different Paulskirche. The Paulskirche of 1848 and 1849. Back then, it wasn’t so bright and airy. Not just where you are sitting today, but also up on the gallery, between the pillars which were yet to be built, people were squeezing in. Parliamentarians, spectators ‑ at times more than 2000 onlookers ‑ were shoulder to shoulder with newspaper staff, diplomats and with belligerent, sceptical and passionate Germans. Just imagine for a second, ladies and gentlemen, the vibrancy of the place! A cradle of discussion and dispute, a cradle of democracy. The minutes of the very first meeting get straight to the point noting “general disorder and confusion”. This democratic space in the Paulskirche did not appear by magic here in Hesse. It was fought for courageously and had to be defended from the very outset. In its inner confusion but also from outside. After all, beyond these walls, the Assembly was heavily criticised, both by the Left and the Right. Marx and Engels called the Paulskirche an ��assembly of old women”, the Neue Rheinische Zeitung newspaper described it as a “gossip club”. But even back then, many parliamentarians knew that to make their democratic space more stable, it had to be open. Those standing outside should come in and be part of the debate. One of the first to speak in the Paulskirche emphasised that they had come together in spirit through the press, and that railways made it possible for people to come together quickly.

***

Today it is not the press and railways but the Internet which is increasingly changing the way in which we communicate and access information, penetrating our daily lives. The diagnosis is paradoxical. The more networked and seemingly borderless the global village becomes, the more society is split into small groups and sections. Public space is fragmented, people hide away in echo chambers and filter bubbles meaning they develop categorical views and feel permanently confirmed therein. An opinion retweeted often enough becomes the “subjective truth”. This withdrawal into supposedly familiar spaces ‑ whether online or offline ‑ goes hand in hand with a dwindling readiness to even register other opinions and facts, never mind recognise these as valid.

In foreign policy, one experience made a major impression on me. Only if we are prepared to understand the positions of our interlocutors and not to dismiss their argumentation immediately, can a real conversation take place. In diplomacy and elsewhere, to understand does not mean the same thing as understanding. And certainly not the same as acceptance. And if wanting to understand has become a dirty word, then foreign policy is rendered incapable of reaching agreement and resolving conflict.

Ignatz Bubis, ladies and gentlemen, worked relentlessly to break through the walls that separate us from one another. After the crimes of the war and the Holocaust, which for Bubis himself meant expulsion, ghetto and murder of his father and two siblings in the Treblinka concentration camp, was this Germany ever going to become a place of living, pluralist democracy once more? His answer was yes. And as a Jew in Frankfurt, Ignatz Bubis helped build this new, more resilient German democratic space.

It was not to be a monotone, monochromatic space but a place for debate. Not any old space, but a place with walls to bear the weight of what was happening there. This includes tolerance, responsibility for our community and its history, and the clear rejection of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia. In democracy, unlike the Internet at the minute, it isn’t a matter of “anything goes”. To my mind, we need more than ever to create a democratic space today in which we can argue in a respectful manner, a space where many can voice their opinion but just as many are listening, a space where differing interests and views can be expressed but where we can differentiate between fact and fiction. And for this, we need to be ready to recognise that for democracy this ability is a matter of survival.

Despite all the resentment and prejudice, Bubis overcame divides and sought out dialogue particularly with those who did not share his convictions, not to mention the existential, life-changing experience that the Shoah and expulsion represented. For him, dialogue also meant talking directly, one person with another. He had an extraordinary connection with young Germans. At the end of his life, his notes revealed that he had met half a million school pupils and students to talk to them in person. Ignatz Bubis, I am told, was so open to direct conversation that his home telephone number was even in Frankfurt’s telephone directory. But, of course, I ought to explain to the young people with us today, we once had big yellow books where you could google telephone numbers by hand.

***

“We are the people!” The first German democrats, also here in the Paulskirche, chanted this, as did the peaceful revolutionaries in the GDR. Ever since the powerful line of Freiligrath’s poem started echoing through German history, it raised a difficult question that is constantly in flux: who is this “we”?

Recently populists transformed Freiligrath’s ode to revolution into a rejection of diversity, into a battle cry for building barriers. When Pegida demonstrators chanted “We are the people” in Dresden, a fantastic placard was held high at one of the protest demonstrations. All it said was, “Nope, we are the people”. That is precisely it. The democratic “we” is not a homogeneous “we”, the democratic “we” has many faces and voices, and this phenomenon is going to become more pronounced in the 21st century. As Jürgen Habermas pointed out, the people only appear in the plural. The recent repeated attempt to revive ethnocentric thinking is much more than an intentional breaching of a taboo and a leaning towards elements of National Socialist ideology. It betrays the legacy of the European Enlightenment and disavows the very substance of pluralist democracy! The nationalist thinking, which our historical memory still recalls, prides itself on the end of dialogue. Critics were simply rejected as representatives of hostile system. Then, there is only one’s own truth and other people ‘s lies. In a uniquely perceptive way, the great historian Fritz Stern, who like Bubis came from Breslau (now Wrocław), laid bare the fateful connection between contempt for reason, indeed a deliberate irrationality that many downright celebrated, and the collapse of German democracy in the 1930s. Only those who know nothing about the catastrophe of wrong turns taken in our authoritarian past can think that such paths might work in the future. But does our cultural memory last longer than three generations?

Ignaz Bubis recognised early on that our knowledge of history fades or can be blanked out. And even today we are seeing that contempt for facts and reason seems to be becoming socially acceptable again. With this, one decisive point of reference in political dialogue threatens to evaporate. Politics is, of course, not guided solely by reason, but by passion, by conflict over ideas and by the fight to gain majorities. But these struggles which are so important for our democracy, the struggles to find the best way forward must not sacrifice reason as its yardstick. Such struggles need the willingness to doubt, verify and question. And they need the willingness to recognise facts as facts, to distinguish them from moods and opinions. After all, post‑factual is not only a catchy name for the latest form the post‑modern world is taking. The post‑factual era entails a deadly threat to our pluralist, democratic society. That is why we need to put a stop to populists when they want to undermine democratic diversity. When their views are presented as categorical, when criticism is blanked out, when doubts are defamed as betrayal. When populists say “We are the people”, they are actually saying: “We ‑ and only we ‑ are the people”. But, ladies and gentlemen, democrats must never let them get away with this populist knee-jerk approach. In this democracy, thankfully, no-one can claim the sole right of representation.

***

Honoured Board,

I would like to thank you for the great honour bestowed upon me today with the Ignatz Bubis Prize. The Prize is, of course, a great accolade but it above all serves as an entreaty. After all, this was Bubis’ approach, “When Ignatz Bubis remembered the horrors of the past, he focused on looking forward. He meant the future.” That is what Roman Herzog wrote in his obituary for his friend Bubis. Now Roman Herzog himself has passed away, a great constitutional lawyer, statesman and politician. I knew him as a wise and straightforward man. I met him time and again also in the years after his time as Federal President and greatly valued his considered opinion. Roman Herzog rendered great service to our country.

For me, therefore, this Prize is not so much recognition of what we have achieved but more of an appeal for our future. After all, we all face the task of bringing our democratic space into this new era, charged as it is with tension. We can learn from those who created the first German democratic space, from their successes and their shortfalls. And we can learn from Ignatz Bubis, who helped build a new German democratic space and at the same time always reminded us of its fragility. I am happy to take on the entreaty that this Prize represents and I hope that we will together fight for this democratic space ‑ with respect, but determined not despondent. Just like the Jewish saying teaches us, “A cat in gloves catches no mice”.

Thank you very much.

from UK & Germany http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Infoservice/Presse/Reden/2017/170110-BM-Ignatz-Bubis-Preis.html?nn=479796

#UK & Germany

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