A quick post before the day hits. November 9, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Weblogs, Religion , trackbackYes, I was hoping to get a quick post in before the day really hit me hard. But, oy! Start with the bus being EARLY and you get the picture of today. I make the girls leave the house at 8:25 (so we really leave around 8:28). We need to walk about 1/6 mile to the bus stop. It’s not far, but it is around the corner. We got to the bus stop at 8:33 and BOOM at 8:35 the bus was there. The boy at the corner house almost missed it. His mom ran him across the street and got him on the bus. Whew!
We had two meltdowns in the car; one because Soleil got the pretty pony tail holder and one because we’re three and who needs a reason to meltdown when you’re three? G-d, I hate three. There are so many great parts of this age, just to be blown out of the water by Toddler Insanity. Really, I think it’s been declared by the APA that children who are three are affected by Toddler Insanity. If I were Dave Barry, I would say that Toddler Insanity is a great name for a band.
Finally, we made it to daycare, when another meltdown occurred because Daddy was going to make it to the door first.(Note to self. Find copy of Alfie Kohn’s No Contest. Use this as a bedtime story.)
I’ve been avoiding the "post once a day in November" stuff because, well, I post every work day and occasionally on weekends. It is fun reading everyone else’s blogs, but really, I can’t keep up. I have a life somewhere in here.
But yesterday, one of my favorite bloggers*** who shall remain nameless, titled a post "Arbeit macht frei".
I couldn’t remember the translation, but the title was enough to unnerve me. In truth, the blogger was not trying to offend. She was upset over a topic. She later changed the title to the English and later changed it again.
It is amazing how little words can hurt. To me, this phrase brings hurt to my children. They don’t even know it. This weekend, our town is holding a memorial for Kristallnacht. Please take a moment to read that link. I’ll wait.
You back? Good. Think about this. I think about our temple. The beauty of the sanctuary. The handcarved ark that holds three Torot (Torah scrolls). I am not terribly religious, but I shudder at these thoughts… Imagine, people bursting in and destroying this all. Imagine being forced to a camp or beating to death just for being Jewish. My children would be accepted as Jews by the haters and probably not as Jews by the faithful (blood line goes through the mother). Could something like this happen today?
You think it can’t. You know it can’t, right? I mean it’s not like the United States would ever round up people based on their religion and torture them and force them to live in a camp? We’re tolerant now. Right? We respect all religions (unless you are atheist. Then you are scum of the earth(that’s SARCASM– I support atheists 100%))
Imagine this, one small title on a blog post. Having nothing to do with religion at all, brought on these strong feelings… Words hurt. Use them carefully.
***If you know this blogger, understand that I am NOT upset at her in any way. She is a wonderful person. I am not mad at her. She changed the title when people questioned her on it. And NO, I will not respond to questions of who it was. She does not deserve any bad press. This is a post about how words brought on such strong feelings….
Comments»
I understand what you mean about the power of words. Germans are very sensitive to some of these issues, even when not Jewish. I can remember an ugly argument with my DH when he crossed the line in his commanding German fashion and I turned on him and said “Jawohl, Mein Herr!” the blood drained out of his face and it stopped him in his tracks. we had a long discussion later about how he was acting and how what I said to stop it was so hurtful. Whoever said the “pen is mightier than the sword” was very wise!
Thank you-I missed the original title and certainly know it was not ill intended, but it is amazing how hard it is to communicate to most people (unlike the blogger, who responded immediately) how dangerous words are.
My partner and I both have Jewish ancestry-19th century immigrants who assimilated, so not “recognizable” to others, but still part of who we are, and our family traditions.
But of course, it’s not so much about being Jewish, as being mindful about how we use language, and it’s impact on others. Something for everyone to remember. ~lmc