They Hate Us For Our Freedom
Via a reader, a post on another blog:
This isn't an isolated incident for that area of New York; I've heard variations of it over the years. In addition to my full support of a woman's right to wear skimpy jogging attire, I wonder how many breathless updates and flashing sirens we'd see from the Titular Right if, instead of a Jewish community, this sort of overt intimidation took place in a Muslim one. "See? Paris and London appeased them, and now it's happening right here in New York City!"
Sunday, a Hasidic woman scolded me for inappropriate behavior in her neighborhood. I was running up Bedford toward Williamsburg, following a part of the marathon course I often branch from to go over the bridge into Manhattan for a longer run. That day I elected to just do a fairly mindless 35 minutes out and back, a route I don’t have to think about. |
This isn't an isolated incident for that area of New York; I've heard variations of it over the years. In addition to my full support of a woman's right to wear skimpy jogging attire, I wonder how many breathless updates and flashing sirens we'd see from the Titular Right if, instead of a Jewish community, this sort of overt intimidation took place in a Muslim one. "See? Paris and London appeased them, and now it's happening right here in New York City!"
posted by The Cunning Realist at Wednesday, July 09, 2008
13 Comments:
"I wonder how many breathless updates and flashing sirens the Titular Right would use if, instead of a Jewish community, this sort of overt intimidation took place in a Muslim one. "See? Paris and London appeased them, and now it's happening right here in New York City!"
Yeah, but that would require, perspective, consistency, and intellectual honesty. All of which are lacking on the Titular Right.
Yeah. Whatever. People scold people for all kinds of odd reasons . . . but that won't stop anyone who wants to cherrypick from cherrypicking.
What we consider freedom, some consider license. This is a distinction that is very familiar to the Christian right.
As a man, I think we need to organize a mass bare-navel jog by women thru that area to make a statement. I'm willing to donate my time to this cause. I'll require contact info of course.
What exactly does titular mean anyway?
From Yahoo Dictionary
Titular
ADJECTIVE:
1. Relating to, having the nature of, or constituting a title.
2.
1. Existing in name only; nominal: the titular head of the family.
2. Bearing the title of a church or monastery that is no longer active.
3. Bearing a title: titular dignitaries.
4. Derived from a title: the titular role in a play.
I think it terms of the phrase "Titular Right" we are referencing defintion 2.1 above, "Existing in name only," as in the Right is only "right" in name only.
Dude, you said 'titular'.
I wonder how many breathless updates and flashing sirens we'd see from the Titular Right if, instead of a Jewish community, this sort of overt intimidation took place in a Muslim one.
Michelle Malkin would wet herself over this had it happened in a Muslim community.
Now, maybe it's just me (potential conflict of interest, modern orthodox Jew speaking), but what exactly is the big deal? The hasidic woman didn't scream, didn't call the jogger any names, didn't throw stones... she
"shook her finger and said, with a disapproving frown, 'you can’t go like that through here,'"
in an area which is inhabited almost exclusively by those who would be offended by this display.
Since when is expressing disapproval an "act of overt intimidation?"
"This is not Jerusalem, it’s New York freakin’ City."
Efrex:
Not intimidation? Yes, you're wearing your conflict of interest on your sleeve.
You're passing through a Muslim area on your way to temple. You're approached by someone in traditional Islamic garb who warns you that "you can't go like that through here." Would you feel intimidated? And if not (are you male?) how do you think the average woman walking alone would feel?
The correct response was the one you were thinking:
"This is not Jerusalem, it’s New York freakin’ City, and to the best of my knowledge I can “go like that” anywhere I damn well please. "
It's America; if she can scold, so can you, right back, and she'd better learn it. :-)
To respond to that as advocatus diaboli, yet in good faith (the former b/c I am, if anything, a member of the untitled left; the latter b/c I largely take CR's point here):
The person who faced this outburst of Hasidism placidly, yet who would be outraged about the hypothetical Muslim variant on this incident, might respond to CR's taunt by noting that there are relatively few incidents like this reported where the antagonists are basing their actions on conservative Judaism.
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