In 1999, I Made A Pseudonym For Writing Fanfic Because I Knew Everybody Around Me Hated Queer Stuff And

In 1999, I made a pseudonym for writing fanfic because I knew everybody around me hated Queer Stuff and I also knew I needed to be able to talk about Queer Stuff online in a safe-ish space, not surrounded by people automatically revolted by Queer Stuff

In 2024, I made a pseudonym for writing about my Jewish conversion because I knew everybody in fandom spaces hates Jewish Stuff and I also knew I needed to be able to talk about Jewish Stuff online in a safe-ish space, not surrounded by people automatically revolted by Jewish Stuff

Part 3: More books!

I thought Jumblr would like to see some of the Jewish books I rescued last year, because books!

We used the Shabbat book tonight since we could not use our online resources, analogue wins again

The Blue Valley Farmer, Oklahoma City, August 10, 1933

Since Free Gaza is trending this is your friendly reminder that Gaza has been ״free” since 2005

Maybe you should actually acknowledge that Hamas, the terrorist organisation controlling them and killing civilians trying to get food is the issue???

Alright

Time to discuss Palestinian "martyrdom."

First, let's explain what the meaning of a martyr in English. From Google:

Note the verbs here.

The first two are actions taken by the martyr, they are active in this occurrence. The third is something that happens to the martyr. They have a passive participation in the situation.

The first 2 definitions are what are commonly meant when someone is called a martyr. (As in, in Western society.) They've sacrificed for a cause that they believe in so deeply, they will give up their life.

Generally, martyrdom is not "oh I will kill myself to make a point." It is "They will kill me for [doing/thinking/believing this] and I refuse to renounce [thought/action/belief] so I will die for it."

Different cultures have different interpretations and values on martyrdom. Christianity is centered upon the martyrdom of Jesus, and it informs the entirety of their religion.

Jewish people do not believe in martyrdom. There is a reason our refrain for generations has been "am Yisrael chai." Our culture values our continued living rather than following our customs (such as the value of pikuach nefesh; which allows a Jew to break shabbat rather than see someone die. (Slightly complicated for the big 3 aveirot but no time for that here)). That is a large part of how we have survived, we generally do not look to death as a 'saving grace.'

Now, take Palestinian martyrdom. For one, the word "martyr," in Arabic is shaheed, which actually translates to witness. A witness is not a martyr, they play two completely different roles in society.

That is already issue number one with the way that Westerners call every dead Palestinian a martyr. Because that's not what they (originally) mean when they say it., except the West does not know that.

A shaheed is someone who has witnessed war and will testify about that (on the day of judgment). Which is how you have a 2 month old "martyr." It is not that they are a martyr, it is that they are a witness.

Secondly, in Islamist culture (which for the uninformed, is not Islam, but an extreme variation of it), death is a privilege and honor. Every dead person does not matter as much as their life, rather as much as they can be a pawn in the game. Which means that while Western culture is saddened by these deaths, Hamas is not at all, and many Palestinians are not either.

Being a shaheed is a worthy pursuit; so why not make more of them, especially when it can come at the cost of Jewish lives? This is why you see such things as celebratory parties when there has been yet another terror attack against a Jew, even when the perpetrator has been shot dead.

The fact that they died in a (self imposed) "conflict" does not matter, suddenly they are on an elevated level.

Various Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other Islamist groups, have been influenced by and have helped disseminate the culture of martyrdom. They perceive martyrdom as the ultimate sacrifice for their cause and often cite it as a moral justification for engaging in what are known as so-called martyrdom operations, such as suicide bombings.[2][3] After the collapse of the Oslo Accords and at the beginning of the Second Intifada, popular interest in these martyrdom operations grew.[1] During this period, martyrdom evolved beyond its religious connotations, becoming an ideal for the resistance identity of secular Palestinian nationalists.[4]

(Source)

What that should tell you is that 1) there is a culture of "dying for a cause" (ie: the cause of killing Jews) and 2) (some of) these people value their own lives less than YOU value theirs.

So why are you all up in arms when Hamas is getting the death and destruction that they wanted? And if life is valuable to you, why are you glorifying those who are actively trying to destroy it?

If you want to break that cycle, maybe stop calling every dead baby a martyr. Stop pretending that these children chose to die for a cause, when their death was sealed even beforehand for something they don't care about by people who don't care for them.

Would love it if people stopped fandomising the war. Like person XYZ wouldn't have an opinion cause they are a fictional character.

People are dying. People are starving to death, dying from bombs and gun fire in a war that the majority of them did not want to start. This is not your blorbo fandom. These are real people.

I get that it's overwhelming and scary and horrifying but if it is too much for you, no one will blame you for logging out for a couple of days and just processing. Coping by forcing war into fandom spaces that people go to try and escape the horrors of real life is disgusting.