I’ve seen several of the ads on MSNBC, which seems like it’s preaching to the choir, but then education is always good. I wonder if there are blue square ads on Fox?
It came on my YouTube yesterday for the first time and it was very short version. I hope we see more of this
That is disappointing. All televisions news shows attract an older demographic; I was hoping perhaps this campaign would be targeted towards younger people. Perhaps the youtube and similar channels will be effective.
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The ads could be aired on those outlets–I don’t know because I don’t usually watch them.
I’ve started to see people posting on their Facebook pages and changing their home page photos to a blue square.
I suppose it is frightfully expensive, but lots of people seem to be watching those basketball finals now. Not sure what station that is. An ad there might be very helpful.
Only time I’ve seen anything involving the blue square campaign is when I actively searched it out on YouTube, just to see what everyone here is talking about. The only TV I tend to watch is local news and sporting events.
Several weeks ago some white nationalist group (funded by god knows whom) declared a particular Saturday “Take Back Our Country Day”, and our synagogue- as well as every other identifiably Jewish institution and building in the city – was told that the threat was credible, although it seemed to be led by some teenage lunatics, and not a well armed militia type organization.
You want to tell congregants that law enforcement believes the threats are credible and yet based on the statistics and since our risk tolerance is high, we are going to ignore law enforcement? 11 people gunned down- including a 97 year old woman- who were peacefully praying in a synagogue in Pittsburgh --a city not known for Aryan Nation type violence or threats. Can you at least empathize with people who might feel the slightest bit uneasy that even though YOU think the threat is minimal, they identify MORE with the folks who left their houses to pray that morning and never returned?
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Our congregation has an added security fee beyond dues and has protection during services. It’s needed today - no matter where you are.
What worries me though is what if that security person is attacked first?
Agree with your concern 100%. We have all grown very fond of the armed security guards- they become like family. And the reality that they’d be engaged first is very distressing. But then we have “the second ring” which are congregants trained in threat assessment and evacuation and all that stuff- and what happens to them during an attack? Painful to think about.
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We had a longstanding police officer who worked at our synagogue for years. Sadly, he died of cancer last year.We were out of town so couldnt attend the funeral but it sounds like it was hugely attended at his church by many congregants from our synagogue. He was wonderful and is sorely missed.
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I can empathize with the congregants in the situation you describe. If I were alongside them, I would lend a calming and reassuring hand to hold, and respect where their fear is coming from.
These tropes are so broadly defined that anything can be classified as antisemitic. If the blue square goes down the path of censorship, it will backfire. People can’t just say that we must call out antisemitism, without saying that we must also fight back when antisemitic accusations are made when there was no antisemitic intent. Right here on CC:
- Use of the term “global media”…antisemitic!
- “I think Covid was a lab accident”…antisemitic!
- “Jewlane! Wohoo!”…opposite of antisemitic?
Global media is a known antisemitic trope, as is the term “globalist”. It depends on the context, but these are known dog whistles. The more people say these things that seem like nothing, the more risk at a synagogue.
Fighting against hate speech in general or antisemitism isn’t censorship. People are free to say whatever they want, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences for doing so, particularly in the corporate, private world.
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Known by who? The people that arbitrarily and selfishly define these tropes?
How does a trope get to be a trope?
Ask any Jewish person who has been threatened-- online, at the work place, at their place of worship, standing in their own driveway and they would be happy to educate you on when something becomes a trope.
Do you understand why Blackface is offensive to Black people even though to you it might just be a halloween costume? Do you understand why referring to Black people as apes and monkeys is offensive even though to you it’s a harmless joke? Do you understand why putting a rope tied as a noose in the locker of a Black colleague could be perceived as threatening (as in lynching a la KKK) even though to your co-workers it might be “harmless razzing”?
If not, you might want to do a deeper dive. I have NEVER seen “Global Banking System” or “Global Media” in campaign literature where the politician in question was NOT giving a dog whistle to white supremacists, or in fact, was not an active member of a white supremacy group.
You are sad that you can no longer use “harmless terms” without being called out? Imagine being heckled as you drop your kid off at nursery school (located in a Jewish Community Center, where half the kids and staff are not even Jewish). Those people aren’t sad, they are terrified.
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Unfortunately, and I imagine due to the less dominant population of the ango white male, this trend has gotten worse.
Before people dismissed it as nonsense - but Trump was an entertainer. Everyone knew him - and he made it “ok”.
I mean - all the things that happen - from Charlottesville - there’s good people on all sides - to undermining his own government with praise of Putin - and a large portion of the country cheers.
Sad to say but as a society we now find the previously outrageous acceptable.
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Thank you for bringing up Charlottesville. While folks like to tout the “both sides” argument, the fact remains that one woman (Heather Heyer) was killed by one man- -who deliberately rammed his car into her. So the both sides argument rings a little hollow here. There were no casualties on the “White Supremacist/Nazi sympathizer” side, and there is a dead woman on the other side. Facts are troublesome, aren’t they?
I’m not looking to censor. But when you are faced with an angry, armed mob chanting “Jews will not replace us”, is there NO mechanism in our society to at least admit that someone wasn’t using their constitutional right to free speech?
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@tsbna44 - did you mean to tag me? Or (I think) that was a general response to the thread?
Just was responding to the article you put out but I know you provided no context to it.
Sorry about that.
I hate this is all normalized - and btw - many Jews are voting for these people so in some ways indirectly condone it. Maybe that’s not fair to say.
The issue becomes - like in TN - now everyone wants red flag laws (politicians, etc.) - but where were you before this happened?
So if a synagogue shooting happens or any school, church, what have you - and people were incited to it because of past stands - then disowning something after the fact is crap - and that’s what politicians do.
On the flip side, the gentleman in Buffalo (congressman) changed his stance after the super market shooting - and quickly lost re election.
Not here to be political - but people say what they say because it gets them votes and that’s a sad reason vs. truly doing what you think is right. I can’t possibly think these folks believe this is right.