- I thought the Koton was quite funny, and so did a lot of other people. It was just a joke after all. However some people were shocked and appalled, since the butt of many of his jokes were people who should not be made fun of. Some of the people who were shocked are people I respect.
- The point was also made that it is more effective to argue from a rational perspective, rather than just ridicule someone, which is rather a low form of communication. This is a good point. Though ridiculing someone or something can be extremely effective, I guess its not playing fair. We should have genuine discussion, rather than descend into name calling.
- Also, it was pointed out that people were using the Koton as ammunition. For example, one Rabbi in Jerusalem read out a section of the chas vesholom letter in his shiur to prove his point. A few other rabbis wrote me to say they thought it was funny. However I did not want to be responsible for causing any trouble.
- Finally, some guilt (OK I lied), I don't really want to be famous for making fun of people. I started the Koton blog as a 'safe' way to vent some feelings that I would not dare to say in public. Ironically, the vents reached far more people than I would ever have in person.
- I have lost my emunas chachomim. And this did not come from reading banned books, but rather from observing the actions of those 'chachomim', ironically in the banning of books they feared would cause people to lose their emunas chachomim. They appear to be misinformed and misguided. I guess I do not have the level of emunah required to be impervious to the facts that I observe.
- There are some nasty goings on in the far right wing. They need to clean up their act. In particular certain Rabbanim with less than clean records should be ousted. I don't see any effort to do this at all. However I was encouraged that certain Rabbis stood up and made themselves heard.
- The far right wing seem to be winning the fight for the heart and soul of ultra-orthodoxy. Witness Rav Aharon Feldman's somewhat failed attempt to get some kind of retraction from R Eliashiv. This is a shame for the more moderate elements in the UO sector. Either they will just give in, or maybe they might combine with the RW MO's and form a new center (unlikely in the near future).
- MO society tends to ignore the RW UO's, except at friction points, or where there is some other type of connection. Most people at the MO shul I frequent could not care less about RW UO (and probably vice versa). If the actions of the RW UO's bother you, just become MO. In a few weeks it won't even cross your mind.
- I was previously undecided as to which group to throw my lot in with. The LW UO's or the RW MO's. Considering that the LW UO's seem to be losing out to the RW UO's big time, I think I will more firmly join the RW MO camp.
- Seeing how easily the RW UO's dismissed various parts of our mesorah, or how patently false some of their arguments were, makes me wonder about what else is fake. Are we authentic or have we gone down the wrong path ? I will have to study a lot more before I can answer that question.
- One thing the RW UO's are 100% correct about: Critical thinking is dangerous to their ideology, since so much of their ideology does not hold up to scrutiny. In the interests of self-preservation it makes perfect sense for them to ban critical thinking of any type, which is exactly what they do. Can' t really blame them for that I suppose, but the truth always wins out in the end.
I shall continue to blog, hopefully not all my readers were here just for the funny stuff. Maybe I can figure out a way to be funny without it being at anyone's expense, though I have the suspicion that by definition all humor is always at someone or something's expense.
I never listen to the radio in the car, only CD's. As I was driving the other night, I turned it on, and this song came up. It seems appropo.
Take my photo off the wall
If it just won't sing for you
Cause all that's left has gone away
And there's nothing there for you to prove
Oh, look what you've done
You've made a fool of everyone
Oh well, it seems likes such fun
Until you lose what you had won
Give me back my point of view
Cause I just can't think for you
I can hardly hear you say
What should I do, well you choose
Oh, look what you've done
You've made a fool of everyone
Oh well, it seems likes such fun
Until you lose what you had won
Oh, look what you've done
You've made a fool of everyone
A fool of everyone
A fool of everyone
