tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post6696290162486061901..comments2024-03-28T04:49:59.527-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/28/24: Black Lives MatterNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-50118808241462255892020-08-29T01:37:22.001-05:002020-08-29T01:37:22.001-05:00There are also baptized Catholics who grow up in t...There are also baptized Catholics who grow up in the faith who do not practice it as adults. Same goes for many other religions. Jews are not alone in this.<br />As far as Black Lives Matter, of course they do. Unfortunately, it’s the haters who make the headlines, not the good deed doers. It may not have been said like this before, but there are many cops who hate Blacks. I know this for a fact directly from a cop I know. Of, course that doesn’t mean there aren’t other cops who don’t feel that way. But it just takes one bad apple to ruin the whole barrel. Or one (or two or three . . . ) bad police departments to ruin it for all police departments.<br />Change is definitely necessary, whether through police candidate selection — similar to jury selection — where potentially bad cops are weeded out or through diversity training or through better training. Teach an up-and-coming cop never to shoot anyone in the back or kneel on a neck, etc. Why can’t they figure it out? Makes ya think they don’t want to!Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15373960140777556685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-83334185855675752512020-08-28T11:38:15.331-05:002020-08-28T11:38:15.331-05:00It also insures that nobody and everybody can spea...It also insures that nobody and everybody can speak for the group.<br /><br />john<br /><br />tatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06215684866966011198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-30150015381894801332020-08-27T22:00:21.916-05:002020-08-27T22:00:21.916-05:00I don’t really have a comment to make here, other ...I don’t really have a comment to make here, other than to say these are some of the most thoughtful comments to an article I’ve seen on the internet. I think it says a lot about the depth and thoughtfulness of Neil Steinberg’s writing and the people who follow it. So Kudos to you and to Neil! Wish the rest of the internet could be this civil. msullivan912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-44488356864167548652020-08-27T20:00:43.136-05:002020-08-27T20:00:43.136-05:00If you're a Jew, then Jews are the home team.....If you're a Jew, then Jews are the home team....and it's hard not to root for the home team. White yarmulkes for the home games, black ones on the road. It doesn't matter if the owner is a jerk and the manager stinks, or if the current roster is pathetic. They're the colors and the team you grew up with. I like to say I was born a Democrat, a Jew, and a Cub fan. I'm still a Democrat by choice and and a Cub fan by choice. That third one? It's like choosing brown eyes or the color of your skin. You are what you are.<br /><br />My origins are as Jewish as lox or gefilte fish. One grandmother was a Bolshevik who fled Russia because she ran with the terrorists and there was a price on her teen-aged head...the Bernadine Dohrn of 1905. The other grandmother emigrated at 17, from the town where "Fiddler on the Roof" was set. Twenty-five years later, all the ones who stayed behind went up the chimney. The family letters stopped coming to East Garfield Park. My mom was religious, and only spoke Yiddish until she started school. But my father had no use for all the mumbo-jumbo. I don't think he even learned any Hebrew. <br /><br />Me? I was shorted a few parts before I left the factory. The engine sputters and misses. Never wanted any kids. Grew up in a town that was Jewish and Italian...so naturally I wanted to be an Italian greaser. Two years of Hebrew school, then I quit. Loved the language and was good at it, and loved learning the history of the Jewish people, but hated the circus...the fights and the screwing around. <br /><br />To read that 71 percent of non-Orthodox Jews marry non-Jews is to realize how much that figure has skyrocketed...it was a fraction of that figure when I was growing up. But I'm one of them. Not once, but twice over.<br /><br /><br />Nu? So what does it all mean, boychik? That I'm a Jew, and always will be, but I'm not really Jew-ISH. One of the tribe, but non-observant. I come for the food and stay for the music...I happen to love matzo. And I eat it with Spam. Go figure, huh? And I love klezmer bands. It's all about ethnicity with me, and not the religion, even though I still say the Hanukkah blessings over the same menorah I've been lighting for sixty years. And the politics, natch. Took a left turn at twenty, never looked back. Third-generation pinko, and proud of it.<br /><br />The Jewish faith doesn't really agonize over an afterlife. We're just light bulbs. There's no light bulb heaven or light bulb hell. The light within goes out when the brain ceases to function, and the bulb begins to decompose and has to be disposed of.<br /><br />Religious belief appears to be merely a mental construct that people use to stave off the fear of nothingness, which gets more real as one ages. And a way of keeping at bay the realization that life will continue to proceed, just as it always has, only without you. No snow. No summer. No baseball. No beaches. In heaven, there is no beer. <br /><br />You walk through your wife's family cemetery, on a beautiful summer's day, and you realize that all who rest here were once so full of life, and had thoughts like your own. And you are all too aware that a summer will come that you will not be here to see. That's the saddest and hardest and scariest thought of all. <br /><br />If religion helps someone to deal with all that, then mazel tov. Good for you. Whatever gets you through the night. But it's definitely not everyone's glass of tea. Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-79310941987822447002020-08-27T18:24:34.113-05:002020-08-27T18:24:34.113-05:00BLM functions as a decentralized organization with...BLM functions as a decentralized organization with a collaborative leadership model rejecting a traditional top down organizational structure .<br /><br />Many of the groups and organizations in todays social justice movement operate this way . Working to insure that many disparate voices are heard. FMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06829632906445535928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-86135210615268108762020-08-27T18:15:53.896-05:002020-08-27T18:15:53.896-05:00Is that on the so-called "internets?"Is that on the so-called "internets?"J. Pabsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11566801024154623288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-53563922282633378352020-08-27T15:12:53.055-05:002020-08-27T15:12:53.055-05:00I only use salt in matzo brei. Never heard of sug...I only use salt in matzo brei. Never heard of sugar in it. That's how my mom made it I just do the same.Clark St.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09634234069783123180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-73668324227377866252020-08-27T14:53:38.879-05:002020-08-27T14:53:38.879-05:00The big elephant in the room is what is not in the...The big elephant in the room is what is not in the room. Just as our country suffers from a lack of leadership, a voice that speaks to all of us, BLM too lacks a leader.<br />The demonstrators in Portland have been at it for months yet we have yet to meet the face of that group. Let all of America know why they are there.<br />MLK Jr. is not around any more. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are not taken seriously enough. <br />I believe strides could be taken if there was someone who could come to the table and work with other leaders to create a path for change.<br />BLM needs a voice. We need to listen.Leshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16679840606511726447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-27199333265404916222020-08-27T12:52:05.201-05:002020-08-27T12:52:05.201-05:00of course its not too hard to find out : https://b...of course its not too hard to find out : https://blacklivesmatter.comFMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06829632906445535928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-22971600005379603382020-08-27T12:34:10.212-05:002020-08-27T12:34:10.212-05:00I agree that it's foolish to pick out statemen...I agree that it's foolish to pick out statements, tweets, etc., by individuals and assert that they represent the views of everyone who shares that individual's race, religion or politics. It's only fair to do that with statements or actions that are unmistakably attributable to a group as a whole.<br /><br />Such as marching down a street chanting "Jews will not replace us." Or electing an utterly unqualified racist buffoon as President of the United States.Bitter Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04645909858616987997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-85089447120573033472020-08-27T10:38:47.218-05:002020-08-27T10:38:47.218-05:00Great commentary - thank you for posting!Great commentary - thank you for posting!Jack of All Tiradeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00793541460471870149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-14287602031404817892020-08-27T09:29:06.462-05:002020-08-27T09:29:06.462-05:00I agree. As a slogan, or belief, or rallying cry B...I agree. As a slogan, or belief, or rallying cry BLM is good. As an organization, though, I don’t understand what the structure is and who speaks for them, who they are or what they’re doing. I worry that this plays into the idiot conspiracy theorists’ hands since they see nebulous threats everywhere. Biden will lead the BLM ninja army to destroy your suburb, you know.J. Pabsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11566801024154623288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-24054121336228229742020-08-27T08:42:02.486-05:002020-08-27T08:42:02.486-05:00While we mostly like to think of ourselves as incr...While we mostly like to think of ourselves as incredibly unique truth is within groups , there are types. And because there really aren't that many traits and an enormous number of people , many people are very similar.<br /><br />While it is a bit of a stretch to try and speak even for a type it's possible to imagine that there are those subsets of a group that share some outlooks or opinions that can be expressed as representative of a common thread. <br /><br />There are those both in the BLM organization and outside of it that feel looting is warranted. Even necessary. Peaceful protest is going on throughout the country on a dailey basis. And being ignored. Yesterday athletes caused millions of dollars in damage. Everybody noticed. It's an effective strategy. There was no violence same as with the vast majority of looting. Why do people insist there is so much violence occuring? It's not accurate narrative. If anything most of the time it's the police being violent towards peaceful protesters and looters.<br /><br />The movement started on a knee. People decided to stand . Sorry if y'all don't like it. Things have to change. Peaceful protest isn't working. Watch out for violent revolution. And I'm NOT speaking for just one 60 year old white guy. FMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06829632906445535928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-35275106306361977632020-08-27T08:23:49.982-05:002020-08-27T08:23:49.982-05:00Well said!Well said!privatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18413982311699012802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-49488990431656550882020-08-27T08:22:35.221-05:002020-08-27T08:22:35.221-05:00And I'm not speaking for all 78-year-old white...And I'm not speaking for all 78-year-old white Roman Catholics (probably not even for half of them), but I can't agree more with Neil's commonsensical remarks, although I do appreciate the rhetorical power of "they've looted us for hundreds of years, it's time to get even," which about matches the white mantra of "slavery has been over for 150 years and it's not my fault that Blacks are impoverished."<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06215684866966011198noreply@blogger.com