Another aspect of the Gaza Genocide that I want to talk about is the complicity of Internet banking and crowdfunding websites like GoFundMe.

I have seen multiple Gazans raise enough money to leave for Egypt, but the banks and the crowdfunding websites freeze their money or cancel their funds for "suspicious activity" or whatever. Every day that passes in Gaza supplies get more scarce, conditions get more deadly, and the price to cross into Egypt gets more expensive. I've seen people, like ghost-90 here on Tumblr, raise the full amount to get their entire family out of Gaza, but their money gets frozen for so long that the original goal is only a fraction of the price now needed to cross the boarder.

These financial institutions should not be allowed to get away with contributing to the death toll in Gaza. They are intentionally keeping people trapped in a kill zone by withholding money that is rightfully theirs.

I'm so pissed and angry that every avenue for relief for Palestinians is being cut of left and right. It is vile that Gazans are being extorted for 10s of thousands of dollars by the Egyptian gov just to save their family's lives, but even when they play by this corrupt game, the world still finds a way to make them suffer.

My heart is with every Palestinian for the rest of time, from river to sea you will all be free. 🇵🇸❤️

Some more information from killy, the organizer of ghost-90's crowdfund, about how fucked the process is for Gazans to actually get paid out by GoFundMe.

And this is just one story from one person who had a little visibility at the time. How many funds have been frozen that no one knows about cuz they don't have any visibility? How many do we not know about cuz the recipient died while waiting for their funds to be released?

These financial institutions have blood on their hands just as much as the bastards dropping the bombs.

And for the people in the notes saying that the banks are just fallowing the law, laws that allow free transfer of money to Western countries but heavily criticizes and restricts money sent to the Middle East (or really any country that isnt part of the West) is racist and imperialist. Fallowing racist laws is still racist. But I think y'all might be understating how much power the banks have in this situation, they are choosing to fallow these "laws" of their own volition.

Don't try to cover for multi-billion dollar organizations that are directly profiting off genocide and people's desire to save their families from brutal death.

I'm glad for your help and thanks to anyone still helping 🙏❤️

the real reason chilchuck is such a professional hater is cuz his VA kins/cosplays/voices Karkat vantas . Happy 413

anyone doubting this just look at this and see for urself

x

A page of my sketchbook with drawings of Mizuki with differents types of outfits that I saw on pinterest and I thought would look great on her!

girlbulge is such a choice look i really wish it was more normalized

No offense to the droves of nsfw blogs reblogging this, but this was actually not meant to be a horny post. Let trans women exist in public spaces in their natural bodies without having to tuck or take other uncomfortable measures. I deserve to be able to wear tight clothes or go to the beach without having to be uncomfortable or in straight up pain from tucking just because some fragile cis people might think it’s some kind of perverted sexual display if there’s any sign of a bulge. So again, girlbulge is a choice look and I really wish it was more normalized and not seen as something inherently sexual, because it’s literally just how our bodies look in certain clothes.

got my first terf shitstain in the notes throwing a tantrum about this which is part of why i think it’s so important to normalize it. people being driven to seething rage at the mere thought of having to see a little bump under someone’s clothing is not fucking healthy! trans people deserve better than to be treated that way! i should be able to safely wear what i want without having to worry that my body is gonna send someone into a complete fucking rage!

Girls with big breasts 🤝 Girls with bulge

Being sexualized for having a body

"The Brothers Grimm were important contributors to popular cultural European literature" and "The Brothers Grimm were violently antisemitic and misogynistic" are two facts that can and should coexist with each other.

YES I’ve been chased and hissed at by a Canada goose but it doesn’t make me hate them guess I’m just built different

Listen it ain't nothing against Canadian geese specifically

ALL geese are scary bastards, c'mon they've got teeth down their throat don't they?

I don't hate them, I think they're kinda badass, but my god am I scared of the fuckers

Swans can get scary too don't let their beauty trick you

NEW FISH JUST DROPPED

everyone shut the FUCK UP and LOOK AT THIS

 A team of scientists led by Javier Sellanes explored seamounts along the Nazca and Salas y Gómez Ridge near Chile.

The underwater mountains stretch approximately 1,800 miles, surpassing the length of the Himalayas. The highest peak rises more than two miles, about 800 feet shorter than Japan's Mount Fuji.

A remotely operated vehicle, equipped with a 4K camera, ventured nearly three miles beneath the ocean's surface to explore the seabed. It not only captured videos and images but also gathered samples. Scientists believe they may have discovered over 100 previously unknown species.

Researchers hope the region's biodiversity will support its designation as a marine protected area, preserving its unique ecosystem, as stated in a press release.

I forgot to link their full gallery! It's worth checking out, the images are *stunning* https://schmidtocean.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000HRWFfu1r_rE/Recent-SOI-Press-Release-Visual-Content And here is their webbed site: https://schmidtocean.org/ They do livestreams of their ROVs (remote operated vehicles) too, so when they're out on an expedition, you can watch the exploration for yourself!

Can you use the link function or recheck that it worked right? The links aren't click able on my phone, jsyk

NEW FISH JUST DROPPED

everyone shut the FUCK UP and LOOK AT THIS

 A team of scientists led by Javier Sellanes explored seamounts along the Nazca and Salas y Gómez Ridge near Chile.

The underwater mountains stretch approximately 1,800 miles, surpassing the length of the Himalayas. The highest peak rises more than two miles, about 800 feet shorter than Japan's Mount Fuji.

A remotely operated vehicle, equipped with a 4K camera, ventured nearly three miles beneath the ocean's surface to explore the seabed. It not only captured videos and images but also gathered samples. Scientists believe they may have discovered over 100 previously unknown species.

Researchers hope the region's biodiversity will support its designation as a marine protected area, preserving its unique ecosystem, as stated in a press release.

I forgot to link their full gallery! It's worth checking out, the images are *stunning* https://schmidtocean.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000HRWFfu1r_rE/Recent-SOI-Press-Release-Visual-Content And here is their webbed site: https://schmidtocean.org/ They do livestreams of their ROVs (remote operated vehicles) too, so when they're out on an expedition, you can watch the exploration for yourself!

Wwwwait I'm sorry is that second fellow a WATER SPIDER!?

NEW FISH JUST DROPPED

everyone shut the FUCK UP and LOOK AT THIS

 A team of scientists led by Javier Sellanes explored seamounts along the Nazca and Salas y Gómez Ridge near Chile.

The underwater mountains stretch approximately 1,800 miles, surpassing the length of the Himalayas. The highest peak rises more than two miles, about 800 feet shorter than Japan's Mount Fuji.

A remotely operated vehicle, equipped with a 4K camera, ventured nearly three miles beneath the ocean's surface to explore the seabed. It not only captured videos and images but also gathered samples. Scientists believe they may have discovered over 100 previously unknown species.

Researchers hope the region's biodiversity will support its designation as a marine protected area, preserving its unique ecosystem, as stated in a press release.

I forgot to link their full gallery! It's worth checking out, the images are *stunning* https://schmidtocean.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000HRWFfu1r_rE/Recent-SOI-Press-Release-Visual-Content And here is their webbed site: https://schmidtocean.org/ They do livestreams of their ROVs (remote operated vehicles) too, so when they're out on an expedition, you can watch the exploration for yourself!

Is that last image that fuckin

That fuckin sponge that the shrimp go into when they're young then they grow and get stuck in the sponge?

Makes this noise at mutuals

My big fat nuts when I'm about to bust on my girlfriend mega Ultra Style

Makes this noise at mutuals

Quick someone remix this

These fox skulls I got from this dude on eBay are so greasy I'm convinced that he put extra grease on them. I think he Criscoed these bad boys.

STOP LAUGHING AT ME THEY'RE SO GREASY I WAS PROMISED NO GREASE

1.) I KNOW how greasy animal skulls are before you clean em. He just said he was gonna degrease these, is why I'm so upset by the grease.

2.) They were shipped all together loosey goosey in a Save A Lot bag that was

3.) PACKED IN LOOSE OWEN CORNINGS FIBERGLASS INSULATION.

And when I messaged him about it, he was like, "You're insane, man, these bones aren't even that greasy at all and customers all around the world love me for my fiberglass insulation."

Not trying to start drama in the eBay packing materials fandom again, but why were THESE shipped to me in hospital scrubs???

Prescription bottle full of teeth in the mail yesterday. It never fucking ends.

I'm absolutely obsessed with both a) the phrase "Ebay packing materials fandom" and b) the specific types of problems you're encountering on your quest to become a necromancer

These fox skulls I got from this dude on eBay are so greasy I'm convinced that he put extra grease on them. I think he Criscoed these bad boys.

STOP LAUGHING AT ME THEY'RE SO GREASY I WAS PROMISED NO GREASE

1.) I KNOW how greasy animal skulls are before you clean em. He just said he was gonna degrease these, is why I'm so upset by the grease.

2.) They were shipped all together loosey goosey in a Save A Lot bag that was

3.) PACKED IN LOOSE OWEN CORNINGS FIBERGLASS INSULATION.

And when I messaged him about it, he was like, "You're insane, man, these bones aren't even that greasy at all and customers all around the world love me for my fiberglass insulation."

Not trying to start drama in the eBay packing materials fandom again, but why were THESE shipped to me in hospital scrubs???

Prescription bottle full of teeth in the mail yesterday. It never fucking ends.

I'm absolutely obsessed with both a) the phrase "Ebay packing materials fandom" and b) the specific types of problems you're encountering on your quest to become a necromancer

These fox skulls I got from this dude on eBay are so greasy I'm convinced that he put extra grease on them. I think he Criscoed these bad boys.

STOP LAUGHING AT ME THEY'RE SO GREASY I WAS PROMISED NO GREASE

1.) I KNOW how greasy animal skulls are before you clean em. He just said he was gonna degrease these, is why I'm so upset by the grease.

2.) They were shipped all together loosey goosey in a Save A Lot bag that was

3.) PACKED IN LOOSE OWEN CORNINGS FIBERGLASS INSULATION.

And when I messaged him about it, he was like, "You're insane, man, these bones aren't even that greasy at all and customers all around the world love me for my fiberglass insulation."

Not trying to start drama in the eBay packing materials fandom again, but why were THESE shipped to me in hospital scrubs???

Prescription bottle full of teeth in the mail yesterday. It never fucking ends.

I think you're just buying a lot of stuff from one tired medical assistant who had to re-insulate his house

Absolutely living for Laios’ English VA

Somesys remind us to see if this VA is supporting the ASAN or AWN, please. This seems awesome but we have one hangup, and the hangup is that there was a similar thing going on with another show (notablely, for a much younger audience!!) and they chose the side of hatred in the end despite their words.

So, does this VA actually mean it? Are they actually siding with the autism and choosing to support the ASAN at the very very bare minimum, or are they too going to choose eugenics instead?

So, TLDR, somesys remind us to see if this person is supporting the ASAN or AWN, please

We hate to do this on a post that seems otherwise great but we have seen it happen WAY TOO OFTEN for us not to say anything at all. Do you all also not remember #BoycottToSiri as well? Anything at all? Have we all just forgotten the many many stab wounds as autistic communities that we have received? Especially as this is autism acceptance month we see this being posted...

Got some awesome news for ya! Damien, the VA, is openly autistic (formally diagnosed) and talks about it often and is a very vocal advocate for neurodivergent individuals and other marginalized people!

Do they have a YouTube channel or anything?

He’s one of the main cast members of Smosh and his social media handle is just “damienhaas” on everything

Oh cool! I did hear that someone from smosh was playing him, but didn't know who since I'm not up to date on smosh stuff.

That's so cool! Autism! Pride!

If you are a Christian that wants to host a Passover seder this year:

1) Don’t. It’s appropriative and gross.

2) Still don’t.

3) Jesus never participated in the type of seder that Jews have today. He lived (if he existed as described in your Christian holy books) during the Second Temple Era of Judaism, when worship was Temple-focused and ritual sacrifice was a key facet of the holiday. The modern seder takes most of its traditions from rabbinic Judaism, which was not the Judaism of Jesus.

4) Don’t do it. Don’t. No, there is no good reason for you to do it.

5) Given the Christian antisemitic violence traditionally inflicted on the Jews during this time of year (the lead up to Easter), it is EXTRA awful for Christians to try and appropriate our traditions related to Passover.

6) Don’t. Pesach is our holiday, and our religion is a semi-closed practice. Don’t appropriate our stuff. Don’t make our stuff about Jesus.

7) There are no exceptions to the rule that Christians should not host Passover seders.

Hope this helps.

Yep

Unless your religion keeps its secrets then there’s no “closed” or “semi-closed” about it. The traditions of every religion are usually built upon some other tradition. What if kosher practices turn out to save lives and increase healthfulness? There’s nothing wrong with people adopting those same practices—even if they shroud it in ceremony or religious garb.

The religion you practice is the religion you practice with those you directly practice it. What the goyim do with it isn’t going to hurt that if you have religious discipline. This is especially true if the goyim are just trying to learn more about your people.

That said, it is objectionable when people mock religious practices. It is objectionable when they try to warp the thing to take on different meaning that detracts in a broad, general public kind of way from the more original meaning. That’s a valid complaint. But as soon as you start using the term “appropriation” like it’s a dirty word, then you’ve morphed into gatekeeper mode that lessens or eliminates your position.

I love the Christian hegemony in this response. Really leaps off the page. You can almost taste it. Kinda tastes like jarred gefilte fish in jelly. (Which is to say, the worst kind of gefilte fish.)

Judaism is a semi-closed religion. We accept converts, but we do not seek them out or otherwise proselytize. We limit inclusion to those that are Jewish under the prevailing laws and norms of our own community. We don’t have to be a secret mystical sect to limit our inclusion to people that are Jews. Limiting Judaism to Jews is how our religion works.

What the goyim do with our religion, when they take it and twist and turn it into something it’s not, can absolutely hurt us. In fact, there’s over 1000 years of history that prove that point. It has nothing to do with Jews “religious discipline” (what does that even mean?). It has everything to do with Christian hegemony, appropriation, and antisemitic oppression.

If goyim want to learn about us because they are interested in who we are, great. I’m here for it. If they want to steal traditions from us that they’ve spent a thousand years murdering us for? They can go fuck themselves.

So your goyische opinion has been noted, but ultimately I fear it is both irrelevant and wrong.

I am a gatekeeper. And I will bar the gate against Xians that want to take and twist my religion for their own purposes.

I’m not a Christian and could give a flying fuck about them over any other group of people, so I don’t see how “Christian Hegemony” comes into play here. The point is that it is the best parts of human nature that take the good others have discovered and try to incorporate that good into their way of life. Nobody should be trying to stop that.

That the Jews have been historically persecuted makes the gatekeeping understandable but it doesn’t make it a best practice or even a good idea. And while the religious leaders in the Jewish community get to decide whether or not I am accepted into a congregational fold, if I wanted to I could decide to be Jewish without their (and your) blessing. That’s reality. You can whine about it and try to persecute people despite it if you want. But You don’t own ideas. It’s not YOUR religion to gatekeep. It’s a faith you’ve chosen, but you don’t get to control the religious choices of others.

Christian hegemony - the societal structure that privileges Xianity, Xians, and Xian culture in the west. It is relevant because, as someone in the west, your worldview and understanding of various concepts (such as religion) are steeped in Xianity. It doesn’t matter what your personal beliefs are, vis-a-vis Xian theology, if you grew up in the west you either benefit from or are injured by Xian hegemony.

That’s not a personal failing, by the by, just a feature of living in a Xian-dominant society.

Incorporating “good things other people came up with” is fine. No one is saying we have to give up using Arabic numerals or something. But that’s not what’s being discussed here. What’s being discussed is “can someone from a privileged group take religious rituals from a group they’ve spent a millennium, up to today, oppressing?” And the answer is they can, there’s no law against it, we can’t physically stop them, but doing so is inappropriate and wrong.

And, point in fact, you can’t just decide for yourself you’re a Jew. Just like I can’t decide I’m an Indiginous American. You can’t, on your own, opt into an ethnic group you aren’t part of. Judaism is an ethnoreligion, and our religion is not severable from our ethnicity/culture/peoplehood.

You think you can just opt-in because you think all religions operate like Xianity - that it is predominantly a question of faith or belief - which is why I pointed out your post was and is steeped in Xian hegemony. Many religions, Judaism included, don’t work like that. You could start believing in Hashem tomorrow and undertake each of our commandments all you wanted, and it would not make you a Jew. And if you called yourself a Jew, you’d be wrong. Because your belief, at the end of the day, doesn’t matter.

It is not your place, or at all appropriate, to tell Jews how our community structure and laws should work. First, because you fundamentally don’t understand us. Second, because you clearly are uninterested in understanding us. And third, because you aren’t one of us.

Gatekeeping is built into our religion. That’s a feature, not a bug. It helps prevent total assimilation into the dominant culture, which here in the west is Xianity. It keeps our culture alive.

You’re right, I can’t stop you from doing something appropriative, antisemitic, and awful. But I will call it what it is: wrong.

I’m always saddened when good ideas get conflated with and used as foundational support for bad ideas—as it appears has happened here. I get the distinct impression that the OP is a good and thoughtful person. But that doesn’t mean the conclusions that are being drawn are correct or right.

There’s a giant difference between being an active oppressor (in word, deed, and outlook) and living in the world where the oppressor’s ancestry and systems still dominate. Anybody who is a white American benefits from the advantages—privileges—of white Americans—in this way. That includes all the white Jews in America. That white Jews are part of an oppressor system doesn’t make them oppressors. This is a thing that all the “privilege” talk gets wrong. Some of us old white dudes actively try to push away from the thinking that allows for those wrongs. Hence my spending time arguing that not everyone who tries to learn through even limited practice a religious observance is going wrong.

It’s not Christian hegemony. Freedom of religion is actually a secular concept that—despite your argument—makes the practice of religion and spirituality a protected thing. It’s one of the things that has helped support the existence of a Jewish state even. Yes, it is my place to say that secular concepts of religious freedom trump your actual religious beliefs or worldview. You seem to think that your religion exists easily without that fundamental, bedrock assumption. It doesn’t.

You can’t create ethnicity. So if your religion is—by design—limited by some ethnicity then you couldn’t actually allow converts. Yet the leadership of organized Jewish religion adopts people into it all the time. True that you can’t just say you’re an indigenous person. Even if they adopt you then you still wouldn’t be. Except they would consider you as such. So it looks like ethnicity in those respects is more like tribalism and less about genealogy. The whole of identity bumps into this issue.

If leaders of organized religion can adopt others into the religion then the basis for “belonging” to it isn’t really ethnically based. Please stop lying to yourself and everyone else about that.

Anyway, you have an opinion that it’s just plain wrong. I suspect that there are a lot of examples where the thing that got done (“appropriated”) was ugly in its execution. But from a wider perspective (the one you think is the privilege) it’s not only not “wrong” it’s a good thing. It’s that freedom that helps protect and insulate your freedom. Again, your religious discipline helps to ensure a practice is not diluted by anyone who sees things or practices things differently.

Are you suggesting that there aren’t different sects of Judaism? Obviously, the purity of practice varies so much that one should even wonder what actual purity there really is. So much so that your gate keeping seems a bit silly when taken to it’s logical conclusion.

I’m not “one of you.” If you think that means I’m somehow less-than in any discussion then it highlights your actual ignorance and tribalistic mentality. You may believe that mentality to be correct and justified. But it’s the same logical underpinnings of white supremacists and Nazis.

You actually suggested that I’m anti-Semitic too. Smh. If your worldview is so weak that you have to make it personal then maybe you should revisit your rhetoric and your position.

You do not have the moral high ground you think you do—even if you’re motivation is well-intended. Please think about it.

Oh, okay. I get it. You’re stupid. Let me break a few simple things down for you so that you can maybe learn something, so that in the future you can engage in productive dialogue rather than smearing your lack of knowledge on society’s shared windshield.

1) Ethnicity is not based on DNA. It’s a modern sociological concept, not a scientific one. Judaism is a tribally-based religion. That is how it, historically speaking, originated and informs how it operates to this day. We can accept new people into our tribe; that would be conversion. And as a member of our tribe(s), converts are religiously and ethnically Jewish.

This isn’t a blood quantum thing. Trying to make it into one is disingenuous, dangerous, and incorrect as matter not only of Jewish practice but also as an understanding of the sociological concept of ethnicity.

2) At no point have I ever advocated for the lack of religious freedom or for anything less than a firm separation of church and state. I’m unsure where you were going with this bizarre religious freedom rabbit hole. As I’ve said, more than once, Xian appropriation of Jewish ritual is legal, it’s just also immoral.

3) Some Xians actively oppress Jews to this day. That’s a reality. Xian hegemony harms Jews to this day. This is also a reality. They are related, though not coextensive. One can participate in one and not the other, both, or neither. Not sure where you were going with your odd digression into systems of oppression vs people who actively oppress others.

4) Christians that host seders aren’t trying to learn something about Judaism, as a general rule. That is what you either don’t or won’t understand. They are trying to take Jewish ritual - specifically Jewish rituals Xians murdered Jews for in the past - and turn it into a Xian, Jesus-focused, practice. It’s not about learning anything about us. Corruption of the practice is the purpose, not an accidental consequence.

5) Your Xian hegemonic entitlement is showing. You not being one of us is relevant in discussions about what Judaism is, how it operates, it’s beliefs, cultures, obligations, taboos...all of it. Because, as you’ve aptly demonstrated, you don’t understand Judaism (or sociology, or history, or religion writ large). We have informed opinions. You have uninformed misconceptions based in a Xian worldview. So yes, what you have to say about Jewish topics doesn’t merit equal consideration to what a Jewish person has to say. Just like what I have to say about astrophysics has less weight than something said by an astrophysicist.

The idea that giving less consideration to arguments put forth by someone who does not understand or grasp the topic at hand is comparable to Naziism is mind-blowing, by the way. And yes, I understand very well your intentional choice to try and provoke Jewish outrage by the very comparison. Fuck you.

6) There are many denominations and minhagim in Judaism. None is more or less valid than the others. And their practices vary. We disagree with each other sometimes, that’s been true throughout the entirety of our history. There’s nothing wrong with that. Your weird digression into “purity” of practice is both misinformed and very influenced by Xian inter-community disagreements because Xian theology is fundamentally different than Jewish theology.

7) I didn’t call you antisemitic (all one word, by the way, no hyphenation). I said Xian appropriation of Jewish ritual for Xian purposes was antisemitic. Because it is.

You’re antisemitic too, but this is the first time I’ve said so.

8) Last, but not least, you are under the very mistaken impression that you have anything of value to add to this conversation. You don’t. You are not informed enough to be adding value. I don’t need to learn about Judaism, Xianity, or religion from you. I’ve got a whole degree for that. That’s why I run this blog. I also don’t need your help to understand the legal concept of religious freedom. I’ve got a degree in that too.

That’s not to say you can’t go forth and learn some things and became a more productive discussion partner, but you seem uninterested in that based on what you’ve said so far. Your pseudo-intellectual defense of something you do not understand and have put no effort into understanding is a waste of my time. So, your uninformed goyische opinion has been noted, you’ve done the hard work of defending Xian supercessionist and appropriative seders, feel free to go.

I reblog because anyone who devotes that level of effort to invalidate the insight of others is noteworthy. Notice how often “don’t know where you were going with this” is the conclusion. No, you don’t. Your head is too filled with what you think you know so well.

Funny thing is that all of us who live in goyim world get to reject your dismissal of our supposedly flawed viewpoints that arise from our privilege. “We have informed opinions.” Like there aren’t stupid and misinformed Jewish people?

Just for the record, your argument that Christians who incorporate Seder practices into their religious observances are immoral is unpersuasive. That you want to cry oppressed Jew as the basis for your lack of persuasiveness is your prerogative. All done here.

One of the things that keeps bothering me about your responses is that you can’t even bring yourself to admit that you were wrong, and you won’t try to understand either. Judaism is a closed practice with closed rituals and closed traditions. Sure, anyone can claim that they’re Jewish or appropriate Jewish practices, rituals, or traditions, but a) that doesn’t mean they’re Jewish, and b) it isn’t for them to claim, and it is instead for the Jewish community to decide.

Appropriating distinctly Jewish practices is offensive and inappropriate, period. And it would be offensive and inappropriate were it happening to any other group as well, as it often does.

Learn about our practices or our history all you want—no issues there, but unless you decide you want to convert to Judaism, which seems unlikely, given all that you’ve said, you don’t have any standing room here.

No one was saying there are no stupid or misinformed Jews. There are stupid or misinformed people in every group, regardless of whether said group is based in ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, gender identity/expression, sexuality, etc. We are, however, saying that you’re being willfully obtuse and really, really, really obnoxious

And given that the US, in which you live, is a white, culturally Christian, patriarchal society which consumes any and all other cultures, religions, practices, etc. and claims them as its own, yes, we can claim “oppressed” because we are—our culture, practices, and traditions get mocked and ridiculed all the time, our holy spaces violated and desecrated, and our homes vandalized. We get verbally harassed for our Jewishness and being Jews and sometimes physically harassed or hurt too, especially when we’re visibly Jewish. Christians won’t be harassed or hurt or sometimes killed because of their beliefs or when they decide to appropriate ours, but Jews will because we’re Jewish. It’s cute that you think that since the US has freedom of religion and the 14th Amendment, that there’s no possible way Jews or Judaism could be oppressed in American or Western society.

The story of exodus and the Seder is specific to people who specifically identify as Jewish i.e. Jews, and that is what the Torah tells us. Christians and Christianity are not part of that. Christians putting on Seders when they aren’t Jews is offensive. Seders aren’t theirs to put on. Take part in, sure, but not to put on. You go to a Jewish person’s Seder if you want to have that experience, but otherwise, this is for Jews. This is personal, this is private, and this isn’t yours.

Look, @oisinslament Judaism doesn’t function like Christianity. Most Jews aren’t religious. They are Jews culturally. If I said I was Latinx because I think tacos are healthy, but I have only ever eaten the hormel chillie and crunchy shell ones from the supermarket, that’s kind of fucked up. You can eat crappy tacos but accept people are going to be pissed off when you say they are “objectively authentic to indigenous Mexican culture.” There’s a mistranslation or misconception here. This isn’t like gender where everyone has skin in the game by being affected by socialization into one gender presentation or the other, this isn’t like sexual orientation where it’s a sexual preference difference from the mainstream shared human sexual orientation, this isn’t like Christianity where people come and go based on faith and belief…

Being Jewish is like family law crossed with religion sometimes and cultural norms that don’t even apply to every branch of a 3000 year old family tree mixed with tribal and ethnic shit. Jews disagree with each other because jews can’t be stripped of their Jewishness unless they want to convert out (but even then they can be Jews again without reconversion if they stop being Christians or Muslims or whatever.) you can be adopted in to Judaism if the jews believe you’re converted (just like parents decide to adopt rather than kids deciding who their parents are. If Kevin from across the street has never spoken to me and has his own parents and doesn’t know or like the way I live, he shouldn’t go around telling people I’m his mom. It’s not true and weird and less flattering than you might think. He can still do it. He’s not going to jail for it. But he would be a fucking creep and I wouldn’t want anything to do with him.)

This guy doesn’t understand what Jews are. He can’t really be yelled at because his understanding is at 0. He’s refuting germ theory because he’s only heard people talk about demon possession causing illness and saying “if that was fake so is germ theory.” I can’t even be mad at him because he’s got so many things wrong. This is at the level of yelling at color blind people who don’t think the sky is blue. There’s not really a reciprocal relationship here.

I think it should also be specified what "conversion" here means, as Jewish conversion isn't the same as someone just going to a Christian church and deciding that they're Christian now. Conversion to Judaism, being a semi-closed ethnoreligion, takes a LOT more effort and dedication to join than most (if not all) denominations of Christianity do!

Conversion into Judaism is a process. You talk to a rabbi who will access how truly serious and dedicated you are to the conversion. Then the rabbi oversees you during a long period of study (usually 6 mo - 1 yr) where you are thoroughly taught about Judaism and Jewish culture, practices, and history, as well as some Hebrew. You have to prove to the rabbi that you are learning, too, by checking in with them and completing assignments.

During this period, you're expected to follow Judaism to the best of your knowledge and ability as you learn.

Once the rabbi believes you're ready, a Bet Din - a court of three people containing 1-3 rabbis - asks you questions and accesses your knowledge and especially your sincerity.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's even more to it! Here's some links to some resources I looked through to figure this out. I knew conversion to Judasim was a process, but I never knew all that went into it! If I or these resources get anything wrong, please correct me, as I am not Jewish myself.

But I just couldn't go without pointing out that conversion for Judaism is WAY different from Christianity. People can just claim they're Christian, believe a few Bible things, and boom, they're Christian. But you can't just waltz into Judaism like that! It's entirely different and way more involved!

Links

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2972927/jewish/How-to-Convert-to-Judaism.htm

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-conversion-process/

So before speaking further about shit you know nothing about, Oisin, how about you prove to us that you can read first?

If you are a Christian that wants to host a Passover seder this year:

1) Don’t. It’s appropriative and gross.

2) Still don’t.

3) Jesus never participated in the type of seder that Jews have today. He lived (if he existed as described in your Christian holy books) during the Second Temple Era of Judaism, when worship was Temple-focused and ritual sacrifice was a key facet of the holiday. The modern seder takes most of its traditions from rabbinic Judaism, which was not the Judaism of Jesus.

4) Don’t do it. Don’t. No, there is no good reason for you to do it.

5) Given the Christian antisemitic violence traditionally inflicted on the Jews during this time of year (the lead up to Easter), it is EXTRA awful for Christians to try and appropriate our traditions related to Passover.

6) Don’t. Pesach is our holiday, and our religion is a semi-closed practice. Don’t appropriate our stuff. Don’t make our stuff about Jesus.

7) There are no exceptions to the rule that Christians should not host Passover seders.

Hope this helps.

It’s that time again! Don’t do it, guys.