And for those of you hard of hearing or bleary of eyesight, I will repeat it again. No. and no and no and no and no and no and no ... You may keep going if you wish or cut it off, but it will not change. It has never changed - not in the past and nor will it change in the present or future. The old adage which tells us "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" is quite applicable in the current status quo of the world today.
As humans among humanity, we are disappointed by the return of an overbearing negative air of intolerance and its exceptional attraction for so many. The world was never a perfect place, not in the past, certainly not in the present, and a long hard slog through hostile territory before we can look towards a much better future. There are too many places where even today hate rules the day, slaughter the ultimate goal. Slavery in all its ugly guises remains alive and unfortunately well in too many areas and nations of the globe. But at least we were making progress. At least and at last there were voices raised louder, more in numbers and frequency, against the ugliness of these practices. Progress was being made albeit too slow in speed.
However, almost overnight, voices of the better part of Humankind were vanquished, shouted over by ugly voices returned to the surface, a reinvigorated. hatred of old that never seemed to die. It was always there. Sometimes louder. More pervasive, more harmful; at other times. it remained as a dull roar in the background.
We knew this roar existed. We heard it on a minute. by minute-by-minute basis. But we thought with time we could quieten that roar. Perhaps never making it disappear, but to be almost negligible in decibel and certainly never to reappear openly, with actions accompanying the words. Certainly, we thought, we had progressed higher on the ladder of civilization. Surely, we were able and would be more able, enough so as to discard all these negativities. How deaf and blind we were and remain. How foolish we are even today. Too many continue to prefer to cling to a dangerous policy of denial of reality.
With hindsight always perfect, we can look back and see that it was not suddenly overnight but was rather, at first, a slow but steady buildup and then faster and faster and faster until the world seemed afire with the reimagined and fortified hatred which consumes all - the haters and the hated. It is often, too often now a challenge to walk down the street. It is a situation with people either hiding and/or denying their connection to Judaism, to being a Jew. Or, as I and many others do, we flaunt it, wear garments and accessories which highlight our status as Jew. In your face is the attitude. Screw you is the emotion prevalent within, along with the anger and defiance.
Along with that comes the inevitable Hate. Yes, I now hate where I did not Hate before. I hate those who have made me a Hater. They have squeezed something out of my soul, taken something from my heart. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and belittles the core of humanity, that core which impels us to be better, to strive for higher and purer thoughts and behavior. To care for others as we care for ourselves and for our own. To have pride in who and what we are without denigrating others and casting them aside, denying them their place in society. It intimidates those who would contribute much for the betterment of all.
Hate does not allow nor make room for the positive. It stomps on that. It sends people flying backwards in high reverse speeds. It is an ugly phenomenon which haunts our streets. It echoes in the canyons of the big cities. It taints the rivers and the waters of the land. It sinks into the earth and dyes the grains of the sand. It pollutes all that it touches, subtly and not so subtly.
The oldest most malignant hatred has returned invigorated, retrenched, soaked in pools of toxic thoughts and deeds and its toxicity drips loudly and endlessly. It strives to emulate the worst proponents and practitioners of Hatred through the millennia. It is a hatred which cannot be separated from that which is its target. It is JewHatred. One word. Unique.
It is the rampant ugliness of the streets today. It is the attempt to deny life not only Israeli Jews but all Jews along with their advocates. The right to live, to exist, to be free, to be safe. To dream, to raise families, to contribute. To be recognized as people. Why in 2024 are we still facing this ugliness? Why in 2024 has it assumed a more powerful guise and methodology. Why in 2024 are we now facing people who condemn us to death merely for who we are, for our history, for our survival against all odds. Not only survive but thrive. Blamed for being slain and brutalized. Blamed and cursed for all that has inevitably occurred as a result of a war forced upon us. A war for our very survival.
How does one explain to a child why he/she is hated? Why must we have to do so? How does one keep a family safe? These and many other questions are difficult and varied. The answers are even more difficult, but one thing is for sure. We will remain strong, determined, defiant and will outlast all who oppose us. We have been told in the Bible that those who curse us will be cursed in turn. Those who bless us will be blessed with the same blessings. So, world, make your choice.
For those of you who need a refresher course as to what and who people are, no matter the origin, the ethnicity, the skin color, the beliefs, that we are all the same - here are some words which might help. Feel the anger, the plea, the confusion.
We are all the same.
Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice Act III
He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies, and what’s his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.
WE ARE ALL THE SAME.
HATE SOMEONE AND YOU WILL BE HATED IN TURN.
WE. ARE. ALL.THE. SAME.
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