I find slavery abhorrent but who cares about my feelings. I get my values from Judaism. The Torah (both in its written and oral forms) allowed slavery. From the Orthodox Jewish perspective, the Torah comes from God. So if I want to proclaim slavery abhorrent, then I am saying I am more moral than the Torah, the Bible, than Aristotle, than God?
Torah also makes allowances for raping women in war time. Isn’t that horrible?
I think that’s easy to say if you are like me and have never fought in a war. I suspect that one you have gone to war, it is much more understandable how in the heat of battle, men take women.
“But isn’t that contrary to the spirit of hasidus (Hasidic thought)?” I was challenged by a hasid the other day.
I replied: “If there had been a Jewish state, hasidus would have been different. Jewish law would have been different. By not having a state for almost 2000 years, Jews and Judaism had many luxuries not possible with a state. When you have a land to defend and maintain, you can’t spend as much time in mystical contemplation and minute ritual. You have work to do. You might very well have thousands of people to kill. You might be called to defend your land and your people and your family with your life. When you’re fighting for your life, I suspect your concerns become much more immediate and practical and less philosophical and mystical.”
Hasidim and democracy are often at odds because so many Hasidim abuse welfare, try to corrupt the government, run scams on outsiders, and often contribute little to the wider society. The Hasidim and Haredim in Israel, by and large, are as much of a drag on that country as the American Haredim are on their country. If people such as the Hasidim (outside of Chabad) want to turn their backs on the wider society, then wider society has the right and obligation to turn their backs on them. If I ran America, I would mandate no welfare and government assistance for minority groups who don’t contribute at least as much as they take from the wider society. They have to support their own. Why should America subsidize people who don’t follow the law, and don’t learn proper English and job skills?
Is it any different for those left behind if the black sheep had become Catholic or Buddhist or Muslim? Does it feel like a diss of the family? I meet a lot of people who convert to Judaism, but I don’t often get to ask their family what it is like for them.
I imagine it was a nasty shock for my mother and father’s families when they become Seventh-Day Adventists circa age 16.
I always felt distant from my relatives when I was growing up because of our Adventism (the rest of the family was nominally Anglican).
I notice some people carry their religion lightly and other people wave it as a bloody flag.
For many perhaps most of the people I grew up with, when they heard the news, they experienced my conversion as a rebuff to what they held dear. By converting, they felt I was saying they were wrong.
If I lived in Australia during my 20s, I doubt I would have converted to Judaism. Australia by and large has one culture and orthodox Judaism is outside of that.
In the United States, by contrast, there’s an ethos that you can become anything.
It wasn’t a great trauma for my family when I converted to Judaism in 1993. It was just a continuation of my general weirdness.
Posted inConversion, Judaism, Personal|Comments Off on What’s It Like When A Family Member Converts To Judaism?
I’ve never earned over $50,000 in a year and I usually choose freedom of expression over conventional employment paths. As a result, I’ve never developed expensive tastes. I’ve never gotten into clothes.
My sister came through town a few weeks ago and bought me a bunch of nice new clothes. When I wore them, I was stunned by how many compliments I received. Inspired, I went to Amazon.com and spent $22.50 on a black Van Heusen Men’s Poplin Fitted Solid Point Collar Dress Shirt.
Five hours into wearing it, I have received zero compliments. My friend says: “I really like the brand of that shirt – I think the colour might be the issue as to why no compliments – maybe you don’t look friendly in black – mafia?? – whereas blue is a colour that looks great on you! I am happy to be your fashion consultant until such time as you get a wife!”
Posted inPersonal|Comments Off on Clothes Make The Man
I grew up a Seventh-Day Adventist, but in 1993, I converted to Judaism. I find that, by and large, Jews are more brash, direct, and blunt than Protestants (just as Australians are more blunt than Americans). Jews are more passionate. I sometimes enjoy that and sometimes not. For instance, I get jarred when Jews go off because of what seem to me trivial things, such as a hiccup in customer service.
For about six months, I’ve been starting my day with an inspiring 12-step phone meeting (not a meeting devoted to sex addiction) and the other day, one of the more frequent speakers started talking about how a guy on Grindr was offering him money for a blowjob. It was the first mention of a blowjob I’ve heard in my hundreds of hours in this program. It was the first mention of Grindr. It was jarring. Of course the speaker had a distinctive Jewish name and an Israeli accent.
New York Times: “New York Times reporters have covered Donald J. Trump’s rallies for more than a year. His supporters at these events often express their views in angry and provocative ways. Here are some examples.”
I look forward to the New York Times presenting unfiltered voices from Hillary Clinton rallies, from Black Lives Matters rallies, and from inside mosques and synagogues and churches. This could be a great series! How about some unfiltered voices supporting more immigration? Those rallies look vibrant. How about some unfiltered voices from gay rallies? How about some unfiltered voices from those opposing Trump?
Any time you have people gathered together, they will say things that are politically incorrect. Even left-wing scientists and journalists will at times say hateful words. How about a segment on unfiltered voices from the New York Times newsroom?
Posted inAmerica|Comments Off on Unfiltered Voices From Donald Trump’s Crowds
Steve Sailer writes: The first woman president of Nicaragua was Violetta Chamorro, who defeated Ortega in 1990. Although she was the first woman to be president of Nicaragua, she was the 6th Chamorro to be president, going back to Presidente Fruto Chamorro in 1853.
It’s funny how feminism makes dynasticism more feasible. Lack any sons to carry on your dynasty? No problem, just patch in a wife or daughter and your dynasty rolls on!
But that’s not the point, the point is that there are all these highly oppressed women like Mrs. Ortega, Mrs. Chamorro, and Mrs. Clinton who need power now rather than letting some upstart from some family that nobody has ever heard of try it for awhile. Upstarts represent sexism, which is bad. Plugging in Senora El Guapo, on the other hand, is dynasticism, which used to be considered bad, but now is good again because it fights sexism.
COMMENTS:
* Scary pic. But there may be a method to “her” madness. The choker necklace serves to obscure the view of “her” Adam’s apple.
* The Vice Presidency of Nicaragua is primarily ceremonial though. She will mostly just give speeches, perform in donkey shows, and the like.
* She looks like she runs a second rate art gallery in Tuscon.
* There has been a long historic precedent of women rulers holding up dynasties, stretching back thousands of years to the world’s first civilizations.
But I guess we haven’t had a supreme woman overlord yet here in the USA, so wow, a historic moment!
* Steve, that’s the whole point of feminism. Its the revolt of rich, aristocratic women over the tendency of societies to consider in the least the mass of ordinary men who go off to die in wars in hideous ways and great numbers. After all, who matters more, the Unknown Soldier or some rich diva who would really, really like to boss around the nation?
And its why there is a real war of the sexes, without much real fraternization. Oh sure women like Hillary! will put up with a philandering Bill, but Executive Order 666 calling for the immediate and compulsory castration of all Straight White Men is surely in the works.
I can see Cacklepants now, the cankles of death looming over the White House as she and her feminist harpies (are there any other kind) inflict the Reign of Queen Leona Helmsley XVI upon us all.
And that’s why the GOPe is oh so obviously plotting to Dump Trump and put in Paul Ryan. The feminist “I can’t even, Wow Just Wow,” method of making something randomly socially unacceptable by Straight White Males only, in favor of ultra-foreigners, is pulling in huge and predictable numbers of White women who live for what is socially unacceptable (White men who they HATE HATE HATE for not being ultra-dominant Masters of the Universe) and what is in fashion (Third World minor aristocrats who can barely bathe themselves).
Yeah of course Newt, Pence, and the rest of the cucks are cackling along with the feminists. Everyone knows White Men must “know their place” and most of that is an outright war by feminists/women who just can’t stand that they didn’t get the Romance Novel husband of their dreams. And are out for revenge.
* Is it true that sharks die if they stop moving? Because that seems a bit like how it must be for dyansticism: lose influence or power for very long and your patrons will find other powerful people who may serve them better. That’s why the two “great” dynasties of our era – the Bush and Clinton families – seem to pretty much never let up. Feminism helps to fill that generation gap by increasing the number of family members who can run.
Jeb and George ran for governorships the very election after their father lost his re-election bid. After W left the White House they began positioning Jeb to run for president and Jeb’s son to run for governor or senator in Texas. I’d imagine that the effort to get P. elected to even higher office is in overdrive now that Jeb’s presidential bid has fallen flat on its face.
The Clintons are even more obsessed than the Bush family. Hillary’s senate term began even before Bill was out of the White House, and the Clintons have used their “charitable” foundation to keep all sorts of associates flush with cash and ready for the Clintons to make their next move. If Hillary loses her bid for the White House Chelsea will be running for office in 2018, or at least by 2020. If Hillary wins Chelsea may jump into politics even while her mother is in office. Look for Hillary to appoint a New York senator and/or Chelsea’s House representative – my, what a coincidence! – to her cabinet to clear the path for Chelsea to run. Chelsea will have no problems raising money, and New Yorkers are cynical and corrupt enough not to care about the very brazen attempt to perpetuate the dynasty. They’d think it was cool, and they’d be more than happy to have a congressthing who has so much pull with the president.
Importantly, these dynastic families know how to pick their states: big, rich states (Florida, Texas, New York) with lots of media attention and enough billionaires to finance national campaigns – and to fill your pockets in other ways.
Posted inFeminism, Nicaragua|Comments Off on A Triumph For Feminism In Nicaragua
