OT: The Thread About Nothing CCVI: Sitting in the blind

[Nubmer6]

As long as you wear a pasta strainer on your head, I will acknowledge this.

R'amen.

 

[Ripshot 43]

My longtime ex-girlfriend was half Jewish. One of my clever lines on her early on when she told me she was half Jewish was ''I hope it's just the good half?'' which was Henry's line in Goodfellas when Karen's mom says ''My daughter tells me you're half Jewish'' and his reply was an awkward ''Just the good half!'' since he wasn't really Jewish and was just telling Karen's mother that, as she wouldn't approve of Karen being with a non-Jewish guy.

Of course, my line to her went over her head and she gave me a very hostile ''What's that supposed to mean? Are you a hater of Jews? Are you mocking me?'' and she was a real smartass and very sarcastic, she wasn't really hostile with me, but I thought she was and got very apologetic and told her it was a line from Goodfellas haha. She really gave me a ''You think I'm funny? Funny how? Like a clown? Like I'm here to amuse you?'' moment after that, before revealing she was just giving me a hard time. She had seen Goodfellas before this, but didn't memorize every line like I do.

Her dad was Jewish and her mom was Catholic, but she didn't really practice either, but they did celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. It was fun because we used to exchange gifts every night for Hanukkah. Mostly little stuff, then something big for Christmas. We were together for over 5 years and talked having a family, so we agreed that it may be in our best interest to not give gifts for the children every night for Hanukkah and then a bunch at Christmas, as it would get very expensive haha.

I love your stories Bleed. Can I have an autographed 1st print when the hardcover is released?

 

[Bleedred]

Very interesting read.

Religion = Cult I’ve always said.

Some are harmless, others require you to drink the koolaid and look at the flowers.

I kind of agree, although I do respect everyone's religions.

I was baptized Catholic, but I haven't attended a mass since I was in my early teens.

I'm definitely not an atheist, nor an agnostic. I believe in a god, but I don't like getting into or following aspects of almost any religion. I've always thought about things from every religion and thought ''Well why is this right? And why should I believe that is not the right way? Or that this is the right way?''. I definitely don't believe that salvation is pre-determined. I don't believe that god controls every thing that happens in the world. I think god puts people on earth and generally lets them do what they'll do. That's actually what I've always believed since I remember it being asked ''If there's a god, why is the world such a terrible place?''. My answer has always been that I don't think god controls everything that happens on earth. God creates you and people go on their own way. I'm not saying prayer is useless, as I've definitely partaken in prayers myself, sometimes fairly frequently, but I just don't believe god is in control of everything that happens on earth.

 

[Bleedred]

I love your stories Bleed. Can I have an autographed 1st print when the hardcover is released?

I wish I could publish a book! Like an autobiography haha. I'll probably just wind up publishing a book on stoppable goals, which Kevin Weekes will very likely be a vocal critic of.

This woman I speak of is someone that I was with back when I was 20-26. I bring her up a lot on here. If I talk about a woman from the past, it's absolutely her. Not because I've never been with anyone else, but only because she's the only one worth even bringing up after this long of a time. I'm very open about the fact that I regretted losing her. I took her for granted and thought she'd always be there. I never saw it coming, her leaving. I think it hurt her more than it hurt me. Most people will trash their ex's or someone that dumped them after 5 years, but I'd never say a bad word about this one.

And of course, while I regret losing her, I wouldn't want her back today, that would just be weird. That'll be 16 years in December.

 

[Nubmer6]

I wish I could publish a book! Like an autobiography haha. I'll probably just wind up publishing a book on stoppable goals, which Kevin Weekes will very likely be a vocal critic of.

This woman I speak of is someone that I was with back when I was 20-26. I bring her up a lot on here. If I talk about a woman from the past, it's absolutely her. Not because I've never been with anyone else, but only because she's the only one worth even bringing up after this long of a time. I'm very open about the fact that I regretted losing her. I took her for granted and thought she'd always be there. I never saw it coming, her leaving. I think it hurt her more than it hurt me. Most people will trash their ex's or someone that dumped them after 5 years, but I'd never say a bad word about this one.

And of course, while I regret losing her, I wouldn't want her back today, that would just be weird. That'll be 16 years in December.

Perhaps you should start a thread - OT: Bleedred's memoroirs.

 

[JimEIV]

Had an endoscopy and colonoscopy today. In fact my earlier post was from the recovery room.

Doctor came in to talk to me and said no driving or drinking for 24 hours but you can eat whatever you want. So I am eating some bourbon for dinner.

 

[njdevils1982]

Had an endoscopy and colonoscopy today. In fact my earlier post was from the recovery room.

Doctor came in to talk to me and said no driving or drinking for 24 hours but you can eat whatever you want. So I am eating some bourbon for dinner.

oh doctors! and their crazy ass suggestions…..

….cant always trust a doctor…..after all they practice medicine………who the f*** would want a doctor that still needs to practice their skills?

 

[Billdo]

Had an endoscopy and colonoscopy today. In fact my earlier post was from the recovery room.

Doctor came in to talk to me and said no driving or drinking for 24 hours but you can eat whatever you want. So I am eating some bourbon for dinner.

What was that like?

 

[BenedictGomez]

One of my good friends from college grew up orthodox, and it totally messed with his mind when he got to college and found out that a lot of the negative things he was told about non-Jews as a kid was a lie.

The orthodox Jews I find very weird, but not for the reasons that most people find them weird (black clothes, side hair, giant hats). I find how they interact, or more correctly "non interact" with anyone who isnt orthodox Jew to be bizarre. They act like you dont exist, almost like you're a ghost and they cant see you. If one accidentally does something rude, like cuts in front of you or bumps you in a store etc... they dont even say, "sorry" or "excuse me", they just carry on. The women wont even speak to you. I find it creepy.

Although, interestingly, my nephew, who goes to one of the top high schools in the country up in Boston, got into a debate with his teacher when we was taught that ONLY white people can be racist. The teacher was adamant about it.

Yeah, that sounds like Boston, that would have been my kid's last day at that school.

Had an endoscopy and colonoscopy today. In fact my earlier post was from the recovery room.

Both in the same day? I had to have both recently too, but the doctor didnt want me doing both in the same day. Did you come out for one and get put back under, or did they just move you when you were out?

Also different - I've had 2 endoscopy's and 1 colonoscopy and the doctor told me once it was done I could eat whatever I want.

 

[JimEIV]

What was that like?

The prep is tough. The actual procedure...you sleep through the whole thing.

 

[Nubmer6]

The orthodox Jews I find very weird, but not for the reasons that most people find them weird (black clothes, side hair, giant hats). I find how they interact, or more correctly "non interact" with anyone who isnt orthodox Jew to be bizarre. They act like you dont exist, almost like you're a ghost and they cant see you. If one accidentally does something rude, like cuts in front of you or bumps you in a store etc... they dont even say, "sorry" or "excuse me", they just carry on. The women wont even speak to you. I find it creepy.

That sounds more Hasidic than orthodox. There's a pretty big difference.

 

[JimEIV]

The orthodox Jews I find very weird, but not for the reasons that most people find them weird (black clothes, side hair, giant hats). I find how they interact, or more correctly "non interact" with anyone who isnt orthodox Jew to be bizarre. They act like you dont exist, almost like you're a ghost and they cant see you. If one accidentally does something rude, like cuts in front of you or bumps you in a store etc... they dont even say, "sorry" or "excuse me", they just carry on. The women wont even speak to you. I find it creepy.



Yeah, that sounds like Boston, that would have been my kid's last day at that school.



Both in the same day? I had to have both recently too, but the doctor didnt want me doing both in the same day. Did you come out for one and get put back under, or did they just move you when you were out?

Also different - I've had 2 endoscopy's and 1 colonoscopy and the doctor told me once it was done I could eat whatever I want.

They did both at the same time. I was put out around 2:15 and woke up in the recovery room around 3:30.

 

[My3Sons]

The orthodox Jews I find very weird, but not for the reasons that most people find them weird (black clothes, side hair, giant hats). I find how they interact, or more correctly "non interact" with anyone who isnt orthodox Jew to be bizarre. They act like you dont exist, almost like you're a ghost and they cant see you. If one accidentally does something rude, like cuts in front of you or bumps you in a store etc... they dont even say, "sorry" or "excuse me", they just carry on. The women wont even speak to you. I find it creepy.



Yeah, that sounds like Boston, that would have been my kid's last day at that school.



Both in the same day? I had to have both recently too, but the doctor didnt want me doing both in the same day. Did you come out for one and get put back under, or did they just move you when you were out?

Also different - I've had 2 endoscopy's and 1 colonoscopy and the doctor told me once it was done I could eat whatever I want.

On the school issue, a student at times can find similar sentiments at tippy top universities. There are some fairly extreme positions that have been reported in US colleges. I’m not sure that two wrongs make a right but what do I know I’m old and out of touch.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Down the hatch!

https://thetakeout-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/thetakeout.com/u-s-troops-drank-all-the-beer-in-iceland-s-capital-in-1830073292/amp?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1#referrer=https://www.google.com&amp_tf=From %1$s&ampshare=https://thetakeout.com/u-s-troops-drank-all-the-beer-in-iceland-s-capital-in-1830073292

 

[Bleedred]

Perhaps you should start a thread - OT: Bleedred's memoroirs.

I don't know. Whenever I wanna tell a story, I can't really think of one that's interesting. I only recall things as they come.

 

[None Shall Pass]

Had an endoscopy and colonoscopy today.

oh doctors! and their crazy ass suggestions…..

i c wat u did thar

 

[RangerDoggo]

That sounds more Hasidic than orthodox. There's a pretty big difference.

Not to my mom. She calls any Jew more religious than her a Hasid. That’s quite a lot of them.

I live the next neighborhood over from Borough Park in Brooklyn, where the narcissism of small differences is very real. While the Hasidic communities there do vote in a bloc politically, they all hate each other from a theological standpoint.

I had dinner with my girlfriend’s family last week and her aunt asked me straight up if I was Catholic (they’re a Haitian family). I responded that I was Jewish and she further asked if I observe the Sabbath. I said that’s very involved but I do occasionally go to services. The vibe I got was that as long as I was something, that’s fine.

 

[BenedictGomez]

That sounds more Hasidic than orthodox. There's a pretty big difference.

Well, Hasidic definitely falls into the bucket I'm talking about, but Hasidic Jews are a class of orthodox Jews. I dont know enough about the varies sects of orthodox Jews (I think there's a bunch) to know specifically which encompass all the ones I'm referring to. All I know is they greatly seek to minimize interaction with anyone who isnt one of them (on the street, in a store, at a Mets' game, at a rest stop in I-87, etc....), even more so the females for whatever reason(s).

 

[Davegarri]

The orthodox Jews I find very weird, but not for the reasons that most people find them weird (black clothes, side hair, giant hats). I find how they interact, or more correctly "non interact" with anyone who isnt orthodox Jew to be bizarre. They act like you dont exist, almost like you're a ghost and they cant see you. If one accidentally does something rude, like cuts in front of you or bumps you in a store etc... they dont even say, "sorry" or "excuse me", they just carry on. The women wont even speak to you. I find it creepy.

The only time I was ever acknowledged by a Hasidic Jewish person was when they knocked on my door to ask if I could shut off their lights on a Friday night because it was against their religion to actually shut them off themselves or whatever. I don't know all the details of their religion so I don't really know why they can't do it themselves, I just thought it was kind of funny.

 

[RangerDoggo]

The only time I was ever acknowledged by a Hasidic Jewish person was when they knocked on my door to ask if I could shut off their lights on a Friday night because it was against their religion to actually shut them off themselves or whatever. I don't know all the details of their religion so I don't really know why they can't do it themselves, I just thought it was kind of funny.

My girlfriend’s cousin and his wife live not far from the Chabad part of Crown Heights (they’re the people who ask if you’re Jewish) and they were once asked by a woman to get their mail on Saturday.

Sabbath-observant Jews have their own little industry for this. People who do things for Orthodox Jews during the Sabbath are casually called “Shabbos Goys.” I hear at the University of Maryland, Shabbos Goys are paid to go to a football or basketball game and report the results back.

 

[EliasFTW]

This thread

 

[JimEIV]

Whenever anyone asks me about my religion, I say out loud *let me show you" then make as if I am unzippering my pants and they quickly change the topic...try it, it definitely works.

 

[RangerDoggo]

Personally my favorite comedy bit about being Jewish was the old David Cross standup bit, where he says you technically can’t be an atheist as a Jew, and ends with a rabbi asking if his mother’s vagina is Jewish. Also the whole part of suburban Atlanta moms being completely ignorant about it.

Whenever anyone asks me about my religion, I say out loud *let me show you" then make as if I am unzippering my pants and they quickly change the topic...try it, it definitely works.

Next time those Chabad people ask me if I’m Jewish, I may think about doing this. But I’ll stick with my normal strategy of “cross the street as they approach” to avoid such a situation.

 

[billingtons ghost]

As a Jew myself, it's an interesting topic because Jewish people tend to have a biased, more negative view of non-Jews. This outlook on "goys", the Jewish term for non-Jews (tells you something that there is this term), tends to be more extreme concurrently with how strongly religious a Jewish person is. The orthodox are terrible about this, and it rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Even in the US, they live in their own communities and have a very negative opinion of non-Jews and even the less religious Jews like myself . Some of them would say I'm not even a Jew because I don't practice the orthodox rituals. It's a very elitist view of themselves. Heck, Jewish people refer to ourselves as "the chosen people". No one likes a person who views themselves as better than everyone. Couple that with some conspiracy theories - like that Jews control the world's financial system - and you'll get people who want to fight it.

One of my good friends from college grew up orthodox, and it totally messed with his mind when he got to college and found out that a lot of the negative things he was told about non-Jews as a kid was a lie. Growing up he only went to Jewish schools, shopped at Jewish owned businesses, and basically never interacted with a non-Jew for the first 18 years of his life. He almost acts like he was raised in a cult. But this is how it's done because in part they view themselves as a better breed of human than non-Jews (though again, this strong line of thinking is basically just among the orthodox). I have other stories as well... Or just look into the school board situation in Lakewood, NJ.

So it's very interesting to me how people hate Jews, but some Jews also completely look down upon other Jews as well. Likewise, the less religious Jews tend to really dislike the orthodox because of this. Negative feelings all around.

This is really interesting and well thought out. Thanks for writing it. - as someone who grew up in north Jersey as an Italian-Croatian Catholic and 1/2 German - who's best friend (maybe 5 of my 10 best friends, really) and best man in my wedding are Jewish, who's first girlfriend was Jewish (who's immediate family was Orthodox) - I get it.

I remember installing gutters with her Dad in Monroe, NY on a Friday afternoon - when he told me "we need to get this done soon and get out of town, otherwise they will stone our truck."... and he was serious.

I think any group of people, regardless of religion/race etc - if they organize in such a way as to hold some power - or are so exclusionary as to be anti-social or just 'outside' of society at large - or even regarded as such - they immediately become a target. People go on about the Nazis as the ultimate evil - but forget that the reason there were so many Jews in Germany at the time was because it was the only safe place that really hadn't chased them out or had vicious pogroms. It's always been a case of standing up and saying "I'm different from you" ... is quickly remembered by those who hear it when conditions go sour.

Sad for the folks in Pittsburgh.

 

[billingtons ghost]

The problem I have with folks denigrating religion and saying atheism is better is that they are inherently giving into and propagating the same PREJUDICE (assuming that all religious people "are that way") and HATE that they claim as ills fostered by religion.

Honestly - if you scraped away the dogma - and said: Here's a group of people, who meet once a week to do nothing but 'commune' with each other, remind each other to do good towards each other, meditate on 'something bigger than themselves' and teach from the greatest book of western philosophy ever written on how to live in harmony with other human beings...

err. that actually sounds like something the world could use right about now.

I get it - all hypocrites- and we're all flawed - priests do nasty things - religion can be wielded as a way to galvanize support for terrible people doing terrible things.... but throwing away religion is definitely throwing away 9-parts baby to 1-part bathwater.