Skip to main content

Kol Sarah

I'm going on record here: while I dislike her politics, values and philosophies as presented during her 2008 bid for Vice President, I dislike equally - if not more - the ugly language that's swirling around some parts of the liberal blogosphere in reaction to Sarah Palin's recent as-yet unexplained resignation as Governor of Alaska.

The language is very ugly and not worthy of repetition. Too many posters/commentators sound positively obscenely delighted to rip her - and her family - apart. Change Sarah to Barack, Bibi or Hillary and you end up with hideous and repulsive racism, anti-Semitic and misogynistic swill. It's sickening to read and does nothing more than sink to the level of the spewers of filth on the extreme right wing of American political media spectrum.

Last week we read about lashon hara and its consequences. In a little over a month we will observe tisha b'Av and note the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, brought about - the rabbis teach - by rampant sinat chinam, senseless and mindless hatred.

We teach and learn by example. Those of us who condemn ugly rhetoric from some parts must - out of simple menschlachkeit - condemn it from all parts.

You don't like what Sarah Palin represents? Then condemn her values and her positions and work to make sure she is not elected to public office, but leave her neshamah out of it.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dolls and Dolls

Dolls 1: There she is, smiling, sweet, happy, clutching her live cabbage patch doll to her graduation cap and gown. Bristol Palin has become the poster victim (or child, depending on your outlook) for a variety of strange-bedfellow policies and has been exploited by just about everyone who claims to love her. Her situation is an oxymoronic contradiction: the abstinence-only mentality colliding with “it doesn’t work;” teenagers needing real, solid and correct information on contraception colliding with “well, maybe we did it unprotected sometimes;” so-called “family values” colliding with a father from the wrong side of the tracks; the need for children to have both fathers and mothers in their lives colliding with the reality of a politician’s power to “negotiate” the rights of a father; and the sad reality of a teenager colliding with the perfect picture-bite on the cover of People magazine. So what is the message our teens are getting from this bizarre, contradictory media circus? Un...

Healing - midweek 2

Yeah, I know - pretty ridiculous posting this with my profile picture as it is - I just haven't had a chance to change the picture. One week and 4 days into "healing," and Stan and I saw the orthopedist this afternoon. Stan first: he is healing nicely (which, I have learned, is relative term - as in, "relative to not going off the bike..." or "relative to not having our insides ripped out ..." or relative to not getting on a motorcycle in the first place ...") and progressing exactly as the doctor wants. His knee, which had previously resembled something you'd see in one of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" or similar slice-and-dice movies, is actually looking much better. Prognosis is good - and he has about 4-6 weeks of absolutely NO weight-bearing on his left leg. The doctor says he can go back to work as long as he's comfortable and doesn't put any weight on the left leg. Stan's aiming for a shortened day on Monday so he ...

How Dare You Tell Me What To Do?????

No sooner had the weather turned decent than the local newspaper declared "Return of motorcycle season in Connecticut kickstarts old helmet law debate." And just as predictably, the online comments kickstarted the usual "evil nanny Government" responses. Here's how I responded: "You don't want to wear a helmet, jacket, whatever? Fine. But hear this: when you hit the road, your skin will be destroyed along with your limbs. Sound too dramatic? My husband and I were involved in an accident last week when a car turned left in front of us. My husband, the driver, "laid the bike down" and we - and the bike on top of us on its side - went skidding down the rode. My ankle is broken, his leg was badly broken (requiring surgery). The good news? Had we not been wearing helmets, reinforced jackets, heavy-weight pants and boots, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that we would have suffered much, much worse - trauma to our brains and internal organs, ...