Oh Wow. This Is Really Antisemitic, @iblewrichardspeck

Oh wow. This is really antisemitic, @iblewrichardspeck

You are deeply antisemitic person.

And guess what? Having a Jewish grandfather doesn’t change that.

Your knowledge of Jewish history and culture is nonexistent to the point that I won’t even bother to confront most of it.

I encourage my allies to step in and address your nonsense with reason and links to credible sources.

Two huge standout points of your lack of knowledge that I want to point out though:

Most Jews in Israel are NOT in fact European or Ashkenazi. Do literally one Google search.

“Jews have always had a right to safety in their homeland.” I want you to know that I am pretty well regarded as a person who keeps their cool in situations like this. So I want to be explicit that my ability to stay calm right now is an act of superhuman will. I want to scream at you and cry because of the amount of death and pain you are erasing with this outright, easily disproven lie. Jews do not and have not ever had safety in their homeland of ISRAEL. Nor have Jews ever had safety in any of the locations where we have made a home. Judaism and jewish life has never “thrived” anywhere, at least not for the last 2000+ years. We have always been a target of attack and displacement and genocide. Always. Without exception. The idea that Israel somehow took all the Jews of the Middle East away from their homes where they were peacefully chilling out is nonsense. The middle eastern (who are the majority btw) Jews in Israel came to Israel after being expelled from their nations of origin or murdered for refusing to leave. Poland? Yeah. It had a swell Jewish community about 1200 years ago. It’s a shame about the centuries of ghettoization and you know that pesky genocide you might have heard about. Ethiopia? You mean the place where Jews had to be smuggled out of by Israeli covert forces because of the danger they were in there?

I don’t know if I believe that your grandfather was Jewish. Maybe he was. Maybe you made him up to legitimize your own antisemitic views.

But if he was really Jewish, I’m sure he’s wildly disappointed in you.

I won’t be blocking you because I want you to see this and change your views in a deeply fundamental way. And I want you to apologize. I’m 99.99999999% sure you won’t. You’re too steeped in your hatred. But who knows. People can change. I hope you do. Because right now, your attitude, beliefs, and behavior are rancid. I will not be responding to further messages from you.

Allies or fellow Jews with bandwidth can take it from here. Adios. Shalom.

Of course you don’t. Free college might hinder the school-to-prison pipeline your  prison owning donors depend on

Hello friends who are better at the specific kind of research than me:

Is the PCRF a good charity or is it one of the ones that gets looted by Hamas or actually teaches kids to hate Jews? If it’s any good I wanna reblog something with some commentary. But if it’s a hate group masquerading as a reasonable charity then my commentary will be…vastly different.

As always, if you want to provide aid that actually reaches Palestine, I trust https://www.anera.org/

Anera

Help Refugees In Palestine, Jordan & Lebanon | Anera

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If you want to support actual Israelis and Palestinians working toward peace together, please find an organization that works for you at AllMEP and get to work.

Hello, you have shared previously that you use mb/fc for how factual/biased media sources are, and charity navigator for rating charities. These are very helpful (thanks!), and I was wondering if you have any other resources for finding out the reliability of organizations (like BDS and Standing Together) or information sites (like the Jewish Virtual Library). I understand that at some point I need to be able to figure out the trustworthiness of organizations/sites on my own (do you have additional advice for that, the “Consuming News and Media, Avoid Misinformation” ALLMEP post was helpful!). For now it is still a struggle though, so I wanted to ask if you knew of any resources that rates organization/sites such as these.

It's gonna be a little bit of a struggle always, unfortunately. But it gets easier with practice. I think most of my thoughts and resources can be found under my #media literacy tag. But I also super encourage my followers to add resources of their own. Personally I'm inclined to trust resources from goyische and Jewish allies for peace from whom I reblog frequently and who have demonstrated excellent media literacy in the past. In particular, @faggotry-enjoyer @arandomshotinthedark @comradevo @wyf-of-bathe and @gehe-lihiyot-androgynos-varda spring to mind first, but I know I'm forgetting at least one vital friend and contributor (please forgive me). If they or anyone else wishes to provide their recommendations on this post, please feel free to do so. If you, @jellymarbles, wish to ask my opinion on a source you're unsure about, I'll do my best to provide an honest and balanced answer. I'll also tell you if I simply don't have the knowledge or ability to determine if that source is trustworthy and will attempt to find someone who is.

I'm so proud of you and all the work you have done to grow as a person for the benefit of so many groups (Muslim, Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, and Arab) of which you are not a part. It makes so much of a difference. If everyone was more like you, the world would be a much better and more peaceful place. Bless you and thank you.

Twitter thread by Melissa Caruso about a labyrinthine magical bookstore in Syracuse, NY. Link to the first tweet in the thread; most pictures have image descriptions! Now here are the screenshots of that thread:

And then a hero of the labyrinthine magical bookstores of the world put all the bookstores that people listed in the replies on a map! (Google Maps link)

Writing Tips: The School Setting

The school setting trope is a narrative device that places the story's events within an educational institution. This trope capitalizes on the nostalgia of school life, leveraging the structured environment to explore a variety of themes, character dynamics, and conflicts.

Pros:

Familiarity: Readers easily grasp the setting, streamlining the introduction of complex plots.

Diverse Characters: Abundance of character types, from supportive friends to minor/major bullies to wizened mentors.

Natural Conflicts: Built-in elements like coming-of-age growth, exams, social dynamics, and extracurricular activities provide ample conflict.

Cons:

Formulaic: Due to the commonality of this setting, there's a potential for the narrative to become predictable.

Classroom Limitations: Often, the most interesting events occur outside the classroom during field trips or special events.

Contrived Stakes: The school, being a structured and safe environment, may struggle to convey a real sense of danger to the students.

Common School Tropes:

Late!: Scenarios involving characters running late.

Group Project: The teamwork and exploration of relationships through collaborative challenges.

Social Conformity: Exploring themes of individuality versus societal norms.

Prom Night: The buildup to and climax of a social event such as prom, as a backdrop for drama.

Academic Struggles: Plot points related to bad grades and their consequences.

Bullies: Delving into the complexities of bullying, from both students and teachers.

Sports and Games: The buildup to and climax of high-stakes events, as a backdrop for drama.

Vacation Time: Navigating challenges and relationships during vacation periods.

Detention: The conflicts and breaking of rules, leading up to detention.

Field Trips: Exploring the wider world and lore, while encountering conflict.

Tests: Showcasing the skill and growth of characters, while tackling the anxiety surrounding tests.

Social Structures: Examining the dynamics of school groups and hierarchies.

Graduation: Feel-good denouement, when the characters celebrate their successes and reflect on their journey together

Types of Bullies:

Goons: Unpleasant, hostile characters functioning as easy obstacles, typically following a Bigger Badder Bully.

Reasonable Bullies: Characters with legitimate reasons for their dislike of the protagonist, such as family rivalries or personal ambitions.

Villainous Bullies: Truly evil individuals collaborating with external threats or evil organizations for nefarious purposes.

Magic School Subgenre:

Adventure Within the Walls: The school itself becomes the focal point of the adventure.

Specialization in the Supercool: Schools where the subjects are about magic, monsters, superheroes, or even robots.

Wish Fulfillment: The reader is projected into a world beyond the mundane.

Trials and Tests: Incorporating trials, duels, and fights as rites of passage.

Secrecy and Intrigue: The school and its knowledge are usually secluded and hidden from the world.

Building an Alliance: The protagonist has to win over a diverse cast of characters to aid them in their fight against a great threat.

Rival from Nobility: One of the main antagonists is usually a scion of a high-status, wealthy family.

Outside Threat: The school is usually a focal point for a greater conflict taking place in the wider world. And comes under attack later in the story.

Outside Adventures: Characters sometimes leave the safety of the school for adventures in the wider world.

This is part of my Writing Tips series. Everyday I publish a writing tip to this blog.