I Thought I Had Felt All The Disappointment There Was To Feel Since October 7. That The Indifference

Tomorrow, October 27th, marks the 5th anniversary of the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting. For any of those who may not remember or forgot a few details, especially outside of the US: in 2018, a man named Robert Bowers went into the Tree of Life Synagogue during their Shabbat morning services and opened fire. 11 Jews lost their lives. On August 3, 2023, Robert Bowers was sentenced to death for this antisemitic crime. This was the worst mass shooting of Jews in the US to date.

Yesterday, October 25th, Jewish students at Cooper Union, a college in New York had to barricade themselves in the library while 'protestors' banged on the doors and shouted 'Free Palestine'. Note that the students had done absolutely nothing to cause this and have absolutely no power to do anything about the situation in the Middle East. This was an antisemitic attack, not a protest. You don't trap people for a protest. That's basic protesting rules. Disrupting is NOT the same as trapping. Peaceful protesting is defined as not blocking doors. Even if the students had opened the doors the demonstrators were right there and threatening. Not peaceful. It took over 40 minutes for the students to be safely escorted out of the building.

Also yesterday, a 6-person family in LA was woken up at approximately 520am by a man who kicked in their door and was wielding a knife. Blessedly (somewhat) he had entered the master bedroom first where he confronted the husband and his pregnant wife (at 9 months which means any amount of stress could put her into labor and put her baby at risk). All four children were also at home. Luckily the husband was able to fend off the knife-wielding antisemite. Multiple reasons he knew they were Jewish range from the mezuzah on their door to the fact he is apparently a neighbor and had talked to them before a few months previous where he found out they are Israeli. He apparently was drunk but had the wherewithal to state his intentions: he was going to kill them because they are Jews.

October has not been kind to Jews in the past few years and especially not this week in particular. Please, we are not okay. We are very tired and hurt and scared.

I've been trying and trying and trying to get back into fandom shitposting and metas and writing—escaping and finding some enjoyment in being here, but I just… can't. Fandom seems so unimportant now. What's the point of getting invested in any it? None of it's real, none of it truly affects our lives. And it doesn't change the real world; it doesn't change that so many people have died and are dying still—or that those I thought would protect Jews are engaging in the very tactics the Nazis and so many before them used to justify their genocides against us. I'm struggling to find the motivation to do anything besides wallow in the pain of losing family members, the slaughter of my people, and the danger posed to me, personally, within the diaspora. To be honest, finding any joy in life feels futile and wrong.

And this is why I'm so angry at all the random goyishe fandom blogs posting about how evil white Israeli colonizers control the world and are lying about what happened to them (but also how it would totally okay if had happened, since they deserve it). Because these supposed progressives? It's all performative bullshit for them. It doesn't affect their lives in any actual way. They can post about how (((Israelis))) are the real baby killers; they can deny the murder of Jewish children and rape while in the same breath claiming it would be justified if it was true. They can parrot every Nazi talking point in all but name, from Blood Libel to Holocaust Denial to the Elders of Zion, and still believe they are on the side of social justice. Then they can go back to their petty fandom drama feeling good about themselves and forget all about it, while everyone I love and everyone like us suffers the consequences of their actions for years to come. We'll live with the trauma and the pain and the loss—and they'll go on with their lives feeling morally superior to the people they intentionally, callously hurt.

Just... fuck them.

fellow westerners, particularly gentiles, if you think, “this is only about (insert infographic reason) (the land) (fighting oppression) (the war)” or “this is the Middle East and Russia, not here,” you’re wrong. if you think, “I’m not causing this simply by using incendiary language on the internet,” you’re wrong. if you think, “well, I don’t have a problem with (((Jews))), but…,” you’re wrong. if you think, “tbh (((they))) deserve this,” you’re helping it spread. do you see why this is terrifying? do you see how this is not helping liberation or a plan for a ceasefire or humanitarian interests? the blood libel and the dual loyalty and the Holocaust inversion and the atrocity denial and the accusations of greed and the dehumanization and the misuse of terms and the misinformation, this is the direct consequence. this has always been the exact consequence. if you think, “it can’t happen here,” look at the college campuses having to tell their Jewish students to hide and the people assaulted verbally and physically on the streets and the graffiti and the break-ins and the chants to eradicate the Jews and the waved swastikas, and the number of people online saying that this is justice, and then attacking any Jewish person they can find, or anyone who expresses sympathy. the ones who say that this is what fighting for freedom looks like. it can’t happen here? it already is. this is the most recent incident to instill fear. it probably won’t be the last. this is not aiding liberation, this is not championing human rights or peace. call it what it is.

A pro Palestine mob has just taken over a Russian Airport because a plane landed from Tel Aviv. They are stopping every car and checking passports to tell who is Jewish. They are going door to door in nearby hotels to look for Jews. They burned down a Jewish community center. They are surrounding random people on the street who look jewish and stealing their belongings to see if they can tell if they're jewish and therefore whether they should beat them. This is happening right now.

Open your fucking eyes. This was never about Palestine. This was about killing Jews. Quit being so fucking daft.

Kindness, Naomi Shihab Nye

Marilyn Monroe at the Plaza Hotel Fountain in New York City (1957). Photo by Sam Shaw.

growing my garden

DEAN WINCHESTER in one random episode per day ‣ 221/327 2.20 WHAT IS AND WHAT SHOULD NEVER BE

Edward Robert Hughes

British, 1851-1914

Hand details

Remembering Fanny Brice born on October 29, 1891 #botd

hey siri, how much more mask off can you get without tearing off your skin