Once again the bullshit's here 'cause history moves in circles

[sovay]

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg has a really good thread on the history of the Star of David and its two-thousand-year use as a Jewish symbol, not merely a symbol of the modern State of Israel.

The explanation is necessary because of the D.C. Dyke March, which yesterday I heard had followed the 2017 Chicago Dyke March in banning Jewish pride flags under the defense of anti-Zionism. Currently they seem to be stating that what they have really banned are "nationalist symbols," a category which appears to fold the Star of David at any more visible scale than a necklace automatically into "pro-Israel paraphernalia." Which is historically ignorant and logically inconsistent, especially since pride variants of the Palestinian flag are explicitly welcome on the grounds that its limited recognition as a nation-state means Palestine by definition cannot express nationalism, but neither of these factors matters if the point is to strain only the right kind of Jews into your march, not just the ones who might be, you know, dykes.

I find this situation upsetting and also sheerly exhausting. It is not a distraction; it's not smoke and mirrors if people are getting hurt; but it's the same almost inarticulate fury I feel at things that are wrong. They are fighting from false premises. People are tearing themselves apart over lines drawn around strawmen. I don't see the Christian cross being called out as a symbol of historical oppression unfit for representation in a radically inclusive queer space even though the track record of Christianity on queerness is just about as dreadful as its history of crusade and genocide across any number of nations, including the one we're all embedded in right now. "Nationalist" symbols only, which filters the overlap of iconography and identity to one ethnic group handily. Hence the necessity of Ruttenberg's thread. I wish it didn't feel like arguing with shifting goalposts, premised on quicksand.

I had a terrible night already. I couldn't fall asleep until it was light out; then I couldn't fall asleep because it was light out. When I finally did manage to achieve unconsciousness, I had nightmares about being caught up in some contemporary suppression of dissidents (I should be that important) and was woken within the hour by two phone calls, one of which was a wrong number from a man who didn't appear to understand how wrong numbers work. (Him: "Can I speak to Lauren?" Me: "There's no Lauren at this number." Him: "Okay, I'll call back.") I have too much work to do before the week is over and not enough time to think and I can't help but wonder if I were more plugged in to Boston Pride, would I be hearing the same kind of one-of-the-good-ones gatekeeping from the city I live in? I'm thinking of a line written last week by Keith Kahn-Harris, which shouldn't be a radical suggestion: "Anti-racism should not be a reward for being culturally interesting or politically sympathetic; it should require no justification." More and more I feel there are people for whom it will never be justified and while I worry less about them shooting up synagogues or burning down rabbis' homes, I worry very much that they will stand with folded hands and look sorry and do nothing, nothing at all.

Comments

[muccamukk]

Oh jeez. I hope they reverse the decision, but harm is already done. If anything, banning religious symbols generally makes more sense than nationalist ones. I bet the Christian cross or fish is a lot more triggery to queer people than any national sign could ever be. Given, you know, the whole ex-gay movement, etc. (And not intending to be on one side or another re the middle east, but a symbol can be nationalist even if a nation doesn't exist. Just ask Quebec.)

[isis]

I don't see the Christian cross being called out as a symbol of historical oppression unfit for representation in a radically inclusive queer space even though the track record of Christianity on queerness is just about as dreadful as its history of crusade and genocide across any number of nations, including the one we're all embedded in right now.

Yeah. Ugh. My issues about Judaism and Israel and Palestine are dark and full of murk, and I instinctively yell "NO!" and run away every time they are raised.

I hope you solve your sleep issues, which sound really awful.

[selkie]

I am having a super angry fucking goddamn day.

[gwynnega]

That is really upsetting and wrong. Also, I'm sorry you had such a bad night, sleep-wise.

[cmcmck]

So some nationalist symbols aren't considered nationalist?

Interesting........

I wonder about how some of these types would think about the flag of one of my ancestral nations if they even knew what it was?



Sorry you aren't sleeping so well- dealing with hatred and haters can be so exhausting. :o(

[yhlee]

*support support*

[lauradi7dw]

Did you see this, in a comment to Rabbi Danya's thread?
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2019/06/06/we-dont-have-to-choose-between-dyke-and-jewish-identities/

It seems particularly odd to single out the Star of David as Israeli-specific on a day that we saw repeated images of it over USian graves in Normandy (mixed among all those crosses).

[batdina]

man, you'd think at least we could have Different fights this time every year.

sorry you're not sleeping. I'd say we insomniacs should meet up and use the time productively, but there's that whole 3k mile thing that gets in our way.

[thawrecka]

I have nothing deep to say, but that really sucks.

[aurumcalendula]

Ugh, that sucks.

[julian]

I hope that if I were connected to a Pride celebration in ways that meant organizing it, I would have the human decency not to fuck up like that. Because *sheesh*.

[kore]

Oh my fucking God do these people REALLY not get that equating nationalism with "being pro-Israeli" and "therefore" Judaism IS IN FACT PART OF ANTI-SEMITIC PROPAGANDA? LITERALLY? (I still have vertigo brain so I probably put that in a garbled way, but I think I got it basically right.) Like, imhoe the Oh Yeah What About Israel Hunh? thing is almost never brought up in good faith (sad LOL), it's almost always used as a gateway to bigotry and it's so fucking infuriating. Also now I love that Rabbi and this thread https://twitter.com/TheRaDR/status/988053113214062593

I find this situation upsetting and also sheerly exhausting. It is not a distraction; it's not smoke and mirrors if people are getting hurt; but it's the same almost inarticulate fury I feel at things that are wrong. They are fighting from false premises. People are tearing themselves apart over lines drawn around strawmen

Yeah, the whole 21st century fight is so exhausting and crazymaking. Not that the 20th century didn't have its propaganda and show trials, but it feels like everything has been dialled up to 11.

[heron61]

I expect conservatives to be racist anti-Semitic scum, but anti-Semitism and racism on the left utterly infuriates me. Palestinian rights are important, but so is not being someone who buys into the crap the fash are selling.

[thisbluespirit]

As everyone else has said, that sucks. A lot. <3

[kore]

OT but a little cheering?

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/04/athens-buried-rivers-stream-favoured-by-plato-could-see-light-of-day

[selkie]

*points little pile vertebrae*
Ate it. Ate a... Bone?

[rinue]

This is so enraging and sad. I have always had Jewish-American friends and I have often had Israeli friends, and not only is it clear that these are different populations, but a citizen is not their government? As should be obvious to queer folks living in Trump's U.S.?

Part of queerness, and of pride, has always been about the ways our multiple identities overlap - being gay and a teacher, being a lesbian and into Star Trek, being bisexual and a Cuban immigrant - being a whole person.

I don't find this absurd trend is made any better by saying "oh pretend you don't have any country or any ethnicity, it's not anti Semitic!" But also it is anti Semitic; it is clear people get more righteous about Israel than they do about China, or Venezuela, or anti-migrant violence in Italy. I feel like I'm watching a lot of sports team signaling, where a segment of the left is beating up on Jewish symbols to show stick it to Fundamentalist Christians, and forgetting about Jewish people, who are not imaginary unicorns? It's weird and sad.

[asakiyume]

People really can suck sometimes.

[sholio]

I've got nothing here except *hugs* and anger at this kind of bigoted schismatic stupidity.