Rumor has it this is an old Fleetwood Mac song that Skyler is covering below and I certainly believe it, even though I can’t believe we’re in a place where the history of the past is ignored.
I shouldn’t be surprised that so many would make excuses for the antisemitic words and actions of Ilhan Omar who paints herself as a victim while pretending that she didn’t create the situation that brought so much attention to herself.
When you pretend not to be well versed in the classic antisemitc tropes you repeat more than once it is hard not to question whether it is strategic and not ignorance.
I suppose when you go looking for cover for your actions and you find your a group of modern Neville Chamberlains who tell you they are Jewish and don’t have a problem with what you said it is refreshing.
Because you probably don’t bother to take the time to learn you are listening to the words of a small fringe group who falsely claim to speak on behalf of most Jews because there is no need to do anything that might impact your narrative.
When I have encountered the fringe group folk I have always pushed back and reminded them that feeding the crocodile doesn’t mean that croc won’t eat you too, even if he eats you last.
Sometimes they cry and accuse me of being that which I am not because it is better not to have the narrative questioned.
I never accept the label and ask them to look at history and to remember that our blood is just as red as the every other but that is considered cheap by too many.
Justice For All & Not Just Some
The fine folks who tried to block a resolution against antisemitism did so supposedly because they believe in justice for all and not just for some or so they will tell you.
But it only comes after they try to dictate what you are allowed to feel or be angry about because they have decided we aren’t a real minority group in their eyes.
Sure, we are a minority but we have too much influence and too much power to be a real a minority that deserves protection. Doesn’t matter that they come to this conclusion via opinion and feeling and not by fact either.
Doesn’t matter that we can provide data that shows an increase in antisemitism because telling the left it has a problem with Jew hate creates an opening for the right and they fear having it exploited. They fear being exposed as less noble than they want to think of themselves.
So they’ll drag their feet, cough and make excuses about how and why they can’t do this. They’ll tell you the other side is worse and say that not enough attention has been paid to them so it is unfair to focus on it.
Better to let us take another shot to the nose or another kick in the mouth than to give the other side a chance to call them out. The saddest thing about it is the lack of action doesn’t protect them, it is still used by the right.
They still point out the lack of action and rightly so.
The net result for me is I trust neither side. Too many would watch us get marched into camps while crying crocodile tears because we live in a ‘not in my backyard” world where problems are pushed off and foisted on others to deal with.
But the days of the Shtetl Jew are long past and I for one will not ever sit back and watch them return.
Remember, I am the great-grandson of Benjamin the Tailor, who fought with the police to try and create unions to provide protection for the workers as well as the owners.
I am the son of Peace Corps volunteers and the relative of more than a few members of the US Armed Forces.
We served our country and tried to help the world and if I am required to do more to protect my people well than more shall be done.
Conversations
There are conversations I want to have with some people that aren’t the sort of short, five minute, no thought required type. The kind I am thinking of aren’t superficial or short.
They have depth and meat upon their bones. Some avoid that type of thing because they think it is too hard and or too painful, but not me, not if I am really interested.
It is one of the benefits of being able to dance in the fire. Some of us are built for the long haul.
The thing is, I haven’t any idea if any of these conversations will take place. I suspect and think they might, but I could be wrong
I suppose the good thing about them is there is no time restriction upon them, they don’t have to take place within a given time frame. The carriage won’t turn into a pumpkin and the beast won’t lose his chance to become a man again.
Be Like Cher
I took two Ibuprofen 30 minutes ago because I went to the gym and tried to turn back time.
I put up 100 pounds in each arm on the overhead press and smiled because I could have gone up another 20 pounds, maybe more on each side. I don’t look like I want to and my clothes don’t fit as I want, but dammit, the strength is still there.
And if you haven’t figured it out yet, I am like a little boy when it comes to strength. I always want to know how much weight I can lift. I always want to be able to lift the heavy stuff.
Maybe it is because I have so many memories of helping dad with stuff around the house and being told to step back so that he could move things.
It wasn’t like that didn’t change when I got a little bit older. By the time I was around 12 or 13 he had me help lift more stuff, but the five, six, seven yea-old kid remembers.
And now the almost 50 year-old feels the effects of lifting in a different way, so comes the Ibuprofen.
I have read too many stories that talk about the benefit of regular strength training and its positive impact upon us as we age to not lift. One the very few fears I have is reaching a place where I’m not physically able to move things as I wish and want to.
Doesn’t mean I expect to be able to do this at a 100, but it doesn’t mean I don’t either.
Given the nonsense coming from Omar and her friends it seems important for me to do what I can to keep my physical performance up, got too many people to watch out for.
