In the play ‘Fiddler on the Roof,” Tevye is often debating in his own head, the reasons for accepting or not accepting something, saying ‘on the other hand.’ When it comes to his daughter marrying a Russian soldier who is part of the oppressive regime, he debates allowing them to marry, until he stops to say: there IS no other hand!”
The world has a tremendous capacity to forgive people when they screw up and made poor decisions. Sometimes, they ask for forgiveness not because they were wrong but because they got caught. Jim Baker, Clippers owner Donald Sterling, Bill Clinton, Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, Elliott Spitzer. I could go on and on.
Then there are those who seem to be truly sorry for their trespasses and the public accepted their effort to change; Lance Armstrong, Rhianna, Kevin Hart, Jonah Hill, Nick Cannon, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Paul Reubens, David Letterman, and even Hugh Grant. I could go on and on but you probably need to google all these names to see what they did.
Then there are those who saw no reason to explain or apologize for their actions; Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Kanye West, and Dave Chapelle, although a few of those mentioned are considered ‘artists’ or people exercising free speech. Yippie Jerry Rubin once said his interpretation of free speech is the right ‘to yell theater in a crowded fire…’
Some are given passes, others are not. Society decides and each of us is a member of society.
What is becoming scary these days is no one apologizes for their acts or their words. This week, Elon Musk sued the Anti-Defamation League for causing X (formerly Twitter) to lose 60% of its revenue. https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/9/6/23859771/elon-musk-anti-defamation-league-twitter-x-antisemitism
If it was the first time he has shown his antisemitic views, it would be something else, still reprehensible. But these days, people wrap hate speech under the guise of the First Amendment. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks of ‘Jewish lasers.’ Ilhan Omar spread hate and while she came from a place where there was oppression, she broad-stroked the Jewish population. Amanda Tyler of the Baptist Joint Committee said ‘Christian nationalism is the biggest threat to America, saying ‘they promote the anti-democratic notion that America is a nation by and for Christians alone. At its core, this idea threatens the principle of the separation of church and state and undermines the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.” https://www.americanprogress.org/article/christian-nationalism-is-single-biggest-threat-to-americas-religious-freedom/
We are a nation of equal-opportunity haters. Jews, LGBTQIA+, Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans, Asians, Christians, Mormons, and Muslims are all fair game, and we have assaults, vandalism, murder, and even local political movements to prove it.
Hate is learned. So, hate can be unlearned. I hate the word tolerance. It is about accepting, not tolerating.
So when we hear these apologies, asking for redemption, we are skeptical because in many cases, where the transgressor is notable or a celebrity, it is much too often about financial impact. But the apologies are becoming fewer and that is the world we live in.
We are still seeing nooses, swastikas, and exaggerated cultural memes and I expect we will see these flourish in the next two years. No one is speaking up for fear of alienating a base, a group, a friend, or a family member.
When it comes to pondering a statement or action, there “is no other hand,’ and it must end.
Amen. It’s getting scarier out there. 🟦 ❤️
I heard an interviewer say recently that When MTG or others say hateful things it’s normal. It should never be normal or expected or tolerated. I pray a lot and am usually a hopeful person. But these days I’m afraid not so much.