Je Suis Charlie, Anti-Semitism and a Short Story from the Archives

                       
                                     

Je Suis Charlie

Western civilization, as practiced in most of Western Europe and North America, affords freedoms and opportunities not readily available in much of the rest of the world.  That’s why so many wish to emigrate from wherever they are to North America and alternatively to Western Europe.  An immigrant living in a slum in the United States or in Western Europe is guaranteed more freedoms and has more opportunity than they would have in less developed and less democratic countries.  

One of these freedoms is the freedom to express one’s ideas, however radical they may be.  Nazis are free to spout anti-Semitic ideas in Skokie, Illinois (although not in Germany today).  Media is free to expound ideas, however extreme they may be.  The line is placed where such freedom of expression creates a danger for the community.  An example of this might be shouting “fire” in a crowded theatre or auditorium, and creating a stampede for the exits.

Charlie Hebdo published extreme satire in its magazine, exercising its freedom to do so.   Its cartoon depictions of Mohammed were vulgar, nasty and obscene.  But that is what that publication is all about.  It has been equally vicious in satirizing other religions and institutions by words or by cartoons. Almost as often as it pokes fun at Islam and its Prophet, It frequently equates Israel with Nazi Germany.  But in Western society, it is permissible to do so.  Such freedoms should not be abridged because of the danger exercising that freedom brings about from those who are so offended by such media vulgarity that they feel they must personally take violent action against the offenders, since  a freedom-guaranteeing government will not.

They do not understand that accepting such vulgarity is the price they must pay to live in a country where personal freedom reigns.  Usually, this is because they feel that their loyalty to their religion or political goals overrides the freedom of others to express themselves in any manner they wish.   Such individuals do not deserve to live in a free country!  They should be meticulously screened out and not permitted entry into Western European and North American countries as students, immigrants, workers or tourists.  And if they are already citizens of a country and act that way, their behaviors should be harshly punished for the criminal deeds that they are. 

Nations which agree with the religious and political loyalties of such individuals in Western democracies, and in any way shape or form support them, should be considered enemies and treated accordingly by the civilized nations of Europe and North America, regardless of whatever economic or political reasons have justified our having relations with them up to now.  And this includes nations from whom we purchase petroleum!  If they support terrorism in any form, they are our enemies.

Although I may be offended by some of what Charlie Hebdo publishes, its right to do so must be protected along with my right to express myself however I may choose to do, and therefore, JE SUIS CHARLIE.

........

Here are a few of the gentler cartoons, including an anti-Semitic one, from Charlie Hebdo, accompanied by my translation. They are pretty nasty ... but worth killing for in civilized countries?  No way.
Jack Lippman

Love is stronger than hatred.                                 100 lashes if you don't die laughing first.




Slaughter in Egypt"  The Koran is made of shit and can't stop bullets.



Untouchables: You can't make fun of Muslims nor Jews



                                                         
Anti-Semitism is Not Dead
The terrorist who, in attempting to help the criminals who murdered much of the staff of Charlie Hebdo, chose to seize a kosher supermarket, killed four male customers and proceeded with a hostage-taking scenario.  A Muslim, he chose his target because as a Muslim, he had an antipathy toward Jews, primarily based on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and considered all Jews to be fair game.  This is despite the fact that Arabs in Israel have more freedoms than Arabs in Muslim nations and a Palestinian state, once it fully recognizes Israel and ceases attacking it, would probably also offer freedoms other Muslim nations do not.  Anti-Semitism has long existed in France (Dreyfus incident, cooperation with Nazi occupiers during WW2, tolerance of extreme right-wing anti-semitic political groups and a myopic readiness to condemn Israeli acts of self-defense as aggression) and unfortunately, there are Frenchmen today who were not unhappy with the terrorists choice of a target for his hostage-taking.  Therefore it is not surprising that despite the show of unity among all groups and nations in reaction to the events of last week, many French Jews are uncomfortable living there and are considering leaving the country, primarily for the State of Israel.  

 
Albert Dreyfus, accused of treason in the late 19th Century




    
Maimonides left Spain for North Africa when discrimination started there

It has been said that American Jews are fortunate in that they live in a country where their freedoms are strongly guaranteed.  But for centuries, Jews living in the Diaspora have felt that way about temporary homelands.  Eventually they were proven wrong.  This was true for Jews living in Spain, in North Africa (Moroccan Jews are satisfied with their status there at present) and in European countries.  It was inconceivable that the Holocaust could have occurred in a civilized European nation ... but it did.  The atmosphere in France cannot be ignored.

Therefore, beyond proclaiming support for freedom of expression (Je Suis Charlie), Jews throughout the world should take the events of last week as further reason to support the State of Israel, as a place where all Jews will always be welcome.  
JL

                                                                  
A Short Story                                                           

(from my archives)

Circus  

Jack Lippman 

“Yeah, Charlie, it’ll be real fun.  It isn’t Barnum and Bailey but it’s still a real circus and it’s free for kids tomorrow.  There’s no school so we can take a bus over to the stadium about noon.  Tell you what!  I’ll meet you in front of the candy store on Bergen Street across from the Esso Station at a quarter to twelve.  Okay?”

I didn’t know Charlie very well, but he did go to the same school as I went to and he seemed to be a nice kid, even though he was sort of a loner without any real buddies.  And I certainly didn’t want to go to the circus alone.  Charlie looked at me, somewhat surprised, but readily agreed, “That’ll be great. I don’t think my Ma would mind.  I’ll be there!”

That night Jerry called me.  Seventh graders, still not really free from parental controls, made a lot of their social arrangements on the phone. 

“Wanna go to the circus at City Stadium tomorrow?” Jerry asked.  “Herbie and Harvey are going too.  We decided we’re all meeting in the schoolyard at eleven-thirty and we’ll catch the bus on Bergen Street.  Okay, Jack?

“Yeah, sure,” I said into the phone, a little annoyed that I was being asked belatedly to join in something three of my friends had decided to do without even letting me in on it beforehand.  I knew that if they had, I never would have arranged to go to the circus with Charlie. “I was going anyhow, Jer, but we’ll have a ball, all four of us going together!  See ya in the schoolyard tomorrow!”

The next morning, as I gulped down my cornflakes, my mother asked me if anything was wrong.  She thought I looked a little down.  I guess it showed that I was worried about what I had said to Charlie about meeting him.  An hour later, as the four of us left the schoolyard, I was still trying to figure out how I could go to the circus with Jerry, Herbie and Harvey without abandoning Charlie.

“Hey, guys,’ I called out. “Let’s walk down and catch the bus by the candy store across from the gas station. We got time to get some candy for the ride.”  I hoped that Charlie wasn’t going to be there.  Maybe his mother had said he couldn’t go to the circus.  But if she said that to him, why didn’t he call me up last night?  Maybe he couldn’t find my number.  But if I could get the guys to walk the few blocks, and if Charlie were there waiting by the candy store, we could all get on the bus together and I could handle that.

“Nah,” Jerry blurted out. “I can see a bus coming now.  We’ll never make it if we walk down there.  And there won’t be another one for half an hour.”

We all got on the bus together and as it passed the candy store, I saw Charlie standing there, looking around in vain for me, and holding the hand of his six year old kid brother. 

For the rest of the term, I avoided Charlie and because his family moved away over the summer, I never did find out whether or not he and his brother made it to the circus that day.   I have no recollection whatsoever of that circus performance but, in my mind’s eye, I can still clearly bring back the painful image of Charlie and his brother, abandoned by me, hurt, standing in front of the candy store.  

(This story was written about ten years ago as part of the writing projects carried out by the Cascade Lakes Writers' Group.  That organization is being resurrected and it is possible that some of the work it produces will appear on this blog.)

JL

                                                       

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Jack Lippman 

Bowl Games and the Sad State of Presidential Politics

Best Wishes For a Happy, Healthy and Successful 2015 !                                                                         
                   
                            
Bowl Game Thoughts
This year, there were 39 post-season bowl games scheduled, involving 76 college football teams. There are only about 125 FBS (1A) major college football teams from which the bowls pick their teams.  They are eligible for selection if they have won six games during the season.  If FBS teams played only FBS teams, this would be a mathematical impossibility, but many FBS teams include games with a “lower level” FCS (1AA) team, which usually is an automatic victory counted toward the six needed for bowl eligibility. 

For example, Western Carolina University, a FCS (1AA) school, was included on the schedules of two FBS teams this year, South Florida University and the University of Alabama.  Of course, they lost both games. FCS Howard University similarly appears on the FBS Rutgers schedule each year and gets trounced.  Michigan, a few years ago actually lost to FCS Appalachin State in an astounding upset.

Attendance at most of these 39 bowl games is sparse. Of course, the major bowls like the Rose, Sugar, Cotton and Orange, and perhaps half a dozen others sell out, but most do not. Usually, there are rows upon rows of empty seats shown on TV every time a punt or kickoff is followed through the air by the camera. Unless a local team is involved, fans do not travel, no matter how interesting the match-up may be.  The Boca Raton Bowl, pitting ConferenceUSA champion Marshall against the MAC champion, Northern Illinois, only half-way filled 30,000 seat FAU Stadium.  And similarly, Miami and South Carolina played to a half-empty house in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA.    Their bulk of the revenue from bowl games comes from television rights, which usually cover the teams’ expenses, the cost of running the event and little more.  Whatever hotel rooms and restaurant patronage comes from the games is a bonus for the sponsoring community.

Note the empty seats as the Marshall quarterback passes in the Boca Raton Bowl 

It would be far simpler if ESPN (which broadcasts most of these minor bowl games) built a “studio” stadium conveniently located somewhere in the middle of the country near a major airport and all of these under-attended games were played there, with a modest amount of tickets being sold or given to the locals, so that there might be some crowd noises, rather than stage bowl games in places like the Miami Marlins' baseball stadium (Memphis versus BYU) before a crowd that might fit into a typical Texas high school’s field.         
                                        
Political Commentary
It’s a sad commentary that the candidates for the 2016 Presidential election have already been narrowed down to Hillary Clinton (and no one else) on the Democratic side and either Jeb Bush or George Romney (again) or just possibly, Chris Christie on the Republican side.

The determining criterion in determining who gets the nomination is money.  It will take billions of dollars to run for President in 2016 and only the candidates named above are in the process of lining up sufficient financial resources to do so.  Any other candidates, relatively speaking, will remain poverty-stricken insofar as campaigning money is involved.  However appealing they might be to some, they cannot command the resources necessary to run a successful (or unsuccessful for that matter) campaign.
                                                          

Isn’t this a sad state of affairs!  The Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United decision, which will go down in history as one of the Court’s worst (equaling the Dred Scott decision whereby an escaped slave captured in a free state had to be returned to slavery and Plessy vs.Ferguson wherby racially separate but equal schools are were considered okay) in that they were made by tired Justices who were oblivious to the changes the nation was undergoing.  Treating corporations and other groups as having the same rights as individuals in making political contributions, which is what Citizens United was all about, enabled candidates to amass vast treasuries with which to run campaigns.

It doesn’t matter how qualified or competent other candidates are.  Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren may have their supporters, but they really have no chance of winning their party’s nomination.  Except for determining who will get the G.O.P nomination (my bet is Jeb Bush), it’s all over right now.

We need legislation banning all contributions for Presidential and Congressional campaigns.  The media should provide free TV time for debates and limited government stipends should be given to both major parties and other candidates who qualify to be on the ballot to pay for TV advertisements and signage.

Campaigning should be limited to a short, two month period before the election, and negative campaigning in which an opponent is attacked would not be permitted. Financing by outside organizations, such as unions, chambers of commerce and political action committees should be banned.  These rules should apply to primary elections as well. Claiming this to be a violation of the First Amendment is hypocritical despite the Supreme Court's ruling to the contrary.  The First Amendment protects individual rights and should not be extended to protect the rights of financial sponsors with an agenda.

But here's news!   It ain't going to happen that way automatically.  The real challenge to our electoral process is for all Americans to make it happen that way.  And that process will not start with anyone who depends on the present way elections are funded for the office they hold.  It starts with individual voters.  They must pressure all elected officials to stop ignoring this problem.  Sooner or later, our political leaders will catch on.  Or they won't remain our leaders for very long.  Vox populi, vox dei, as they say in Latin.


                                            
                                                 

                      

HOW TO BE ALERTED TO FUTURE BLOG POSTINGS.

Many readers of this blog are alerted by Email every time a new posting appears.  If you wish to be added to that Email list, just let me know by clicking on Riart1@aol.com and sending me an Email.  

HOW TO CONTACT ME or CONTRIBUTE MATERIAL TO JACK'S POTPOURRI. 

BY CLICKING ON THAT SAME ADDRESS, Riart1@aol.com   YOU ALSO CAN SEND ME YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO BE PUBLISHED IN THIS BLOG AS WELL AS YOUR COMMENTS.  (Comments can also be made by clicking on the "Post a Comment" link at the blog's end.)

MOBILE DEVICE ACCESS.

DID YOU KNOW THAT www.jackspotpourri.com IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICES IN A MODIFIED, EASY-TO-READ, FORMAT?   

HOW TO VIEW OLDER POSTINGS.                                                

To view older postings on this blog, just click on the appropriate date in the “Blog Archive” midway down the column off to the right, or scroll down until you see the “Older Posts” notation at the very bottom of this posting.  The “Search Box” in the right side of the posting also may be helpful in locating a posting topic for which you are looking.

HOW TO FORWARD POSTINGS.

To send this posting to a friend, or enemy for that matter, whom you think might be interested in it, just click on the envelope with the arrow on the "Comments" line directly below, enabling you to send them an Email providing a link directly to this posting.  You might also want to let me know their Email address so that they may be alerted to future postings.

Jack Lippman