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ALPERN AT LARGE - It’s amazing how what we’re supposed to swallow as okey-dokey, depending on how we’re supposed to look at it. Free speech is one thing, but promoting violence in speech will, sooner or later, lead to real violence. Ask the Jews who survived Nazi Germany, and ditto for our recent blatant antisemitism become a “new normal”.
So ask GOP House Representatives Elise Stefanik or Virginia Foxx, or Democratic Senator John Fetterman, promoting antisemitism is a nonstarter—and while NO ONE has a problem with a Palestine which won’t be a terrorist state, throwing out the “from the River to the Sea” means another Holocaust in Israel.
And there ARE more reports of Jews feeling unsafe on campus and abroad, and those of us being asked to consider taking down the mezuzahs from our doors for our own safety are definitely confronting how “free speech” leads to more and more and more threats that turn into terrible actions.
It’s that “Never Again” thing, but I guess it all depends on the context…
Because everything, no matter how terrible or awful the statement or action is, is just fine, okay, no biggie…because it all depends on the context…
Like the Electeds of Color party held by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. No whites allowed, and the e-mail that accidentally was sent out to everyone—including the whites who were NOT invited was declared the problem instead of the party itself being the problem.
You see, blatant racism is, in theory, supposed to be BAD…but I guess it all depends on the context…
Like the upcoming satirical film (or IS it satire?) named “The American Society of Magical Negroes” about a “secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to…making [W]hite people’s lives easier” as stated on its website, because “white people are the most dangerous animal on the planet”.
You see, divisive and cruel racism promoted in our culture is, in theory, supposed to be BAD…but I guess it all depends on the context…
Like the filming of a lewd sex act in an important Senate hearing room (used for vital meetings and functions) by a staffer of Senator Ben Cardin, who was immediately let go, but yet NBC news raising the issue of it being promoted by conservative outlets because the sex act was gay, and despite the fact that it was first thrown out for public consumption on X (formerly known as Twitter).
You see, even though the former staffer is screaming he’s a victim for being homosexual, he did, in theory, perform public lewd behavior (gay or straight or anything else) that is BAD…but I guess it all depends on the context…
Like the blockage of the 110 freeway that prevented people from getting to work, seeing their relatives, or even accessing food, their groceries, or their children’s needs by “pro-Palestinian protestors”, and which is becoming more and more frequent.
You see, holding others hostage for your own needs (either with violence or disruption of others civil rights, be it here or in the Middle East) is, in theory, BAD…but I guess it all depends on the context.
Like the “rape is OK” “theft is OK”, “threatening others is OK”, etc.
I suppose that in bygone, ancient times, all that was BAD.
But it all is supposed to depend on the context…
Unless those promoting that “depending on the context” need to change THEIR context.
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
