Might have been a good time for the Texas legislature to consider the stability of their electrical grid, but I guess a higher priority went to posting the Ten Commandments so they can be willfully ignored by children, faculty, administrators, parents and legilsators alike.
Of course the Caesar salad was named after a chef named Caesar and not the ruler of 44 BC (or BCE) Rome. But then you knew that. Irony is difficult to tease from rhetoric sometimes. Speaking as a resident of the mentioned state, we need all the forgiveness we can get, but we do not have a monopoly on stupidity.
You really hit the nail on the head in pointing out that denying Intramural sports in Texas for Jewish players - or, possibly cutting out Saturday sports altogether, - is not going to do well for religion. Quite accidentally, I'm more aware of the "Jewish Situation in Texas" than many of "non-Alamo" Americans are!
While I was working for an oil company in the library, one of my most frequent patrons was "Manny B..." His "papers" - if he had any, initially - were inscribed with "Emmanuel B...inski." His Jewish family had successfully fled the Nazi Jewish pogrom and arrived in Quebec, Canada as religious refugees. After a while, the Canadian refugee overload was becoming hard for that relatively underdeveloped nation to absorb . (Think of a nylon stocking that's all rolled down to the border with your shoe! )
While the war was still being fought, Canada applied to its southern neighbor and asked the US to help them lighten their incoming population load.
So here comes the "paperwork". There are boatloads and boatloads of Jewish refugees coming up the St. Lawrence River, and overloading the Canadian immigration sites. "What's your name?" a civil servant asks, and through an interpreter they come up with a bunch of sounds. "Hmmmm!", the civil servant thinks. " I guess 'Manny B...' sounds good enough." In a like manner, the whole B... family gets reanointed with Anglicized names.
But that's not the end of it. By the time the B...s come, there's hardly a spot in the populated provinces that has "living room" for more Jewish emigres. Luckily, Canada's neighbor to the south has taken pity on their plight. Some of the less populated states have said: "Sure! Send some of them to us! We could use the extra workers." Accordingly, shortly after the B... family arrived in Canada, it was transshipped to Houston, Texas. Suddenly, the Anglo/Mexican somewhat Protestant/somewhat Roman Catholic urban population added a significant Jewish Star to the familiar Cross on houses of worship. This took a lot of readjusting, and some of it didn't go all that well.
Just taking Manny's immigrant history as an example, He went to overcrowded schools as a member of a "not-so-welcome" minority through his public school years. He found a job with an oil company (Surprise! Lots of those in Texas!) and did well enough that his supervisors suggested that he attend college and learn the Oil Business. In time, he became a Petroleum Geologist. That's a very specialized field. It involves finding the "oil domes" - structures like upside down teacups - by shaking the surface ground to set up seismic waves. The geologists then read the seismographic records, and say "Drill here." That sounds simple enough, on land, but companies like ours also drill in the Gulf of Mexico from metal braced structures that can go over 100 feet deep.
Well, I began here by commenting on the Sabbath situation for Jewish Texans. People who are familiar with the American South in general probably wouldn't think of Texas as a state with a significant Jewish population. This immigration agreement changed this aspect a bit. At the same time, most Texans at the time wouldn't have been as comfortable with Jewish neighbors, as ,say New York City residents have been for many decades. I'm only talking about one person's choice - Manny left Texas as soon as he had his degree in Reservoir Engineering. But it's quite probable that many of Manny's cohorts spread out across the country, too, and found more Jewish-friendly places to live and work.
Are there any of you "former Texas Jews" out there who would like to share about this?
I liked that a lot! The only thing I would add is that the performative disingenuousness is ubiquitous on both the right and the left of the political spectrum.
Reading this piece, it strikes me that certain emotions are fine as exhibited by persons of one gender, whereas they’re disparaged for the other. Angry men are often taken as “leaders” – and their observations are met with such reactions as “Just as you say, sir!” “I’ll try to do better, sir.” “Angry women might be seen as “Having a Hissy Fit!” But even if someone backs down in the face of her blast, it seems to me that others seldom see a woman’s anger as “Justified.” So women are socialized to quell their anger – to walk away from a potential incident, to minimize their reactions, and so forth. It seems so deep in our American socialization that we rarely even notice it. BUT!
BUT! I was tutoring a Ukrainian couple in English when it was time for two presidential candidates to have a televised debate. ! I don’t own a TV, so I was glad to be able to catch this piece of “American Democracy in Action” with them. One candidate was Hillary Clinton. The other, I’d rather not even mention his name - he was so out of line with accepted behavior!
Actually,, to be more specific, he was always “In Line” that night. As Hillary took her turns in the debate, he would check the angle of the recording camera. Then, a head taller than his debating opponent, he would line up behind her with a scowling face, like a “Bad Genii.” To those of us in the TV audience, his presence was so distracting that folks like me couldn’t even remember a single point that Hillary made during the broadcast!
That’s one of the few times that I have felt red hot, true WRATH! It seemed impossible, in this nation in which “Fairness” is such a universal concept, that someone like that man could continue to provide such an unwarranted distraction in a situation that was meant to be FAIR! I have no idea why the folks on the set that evening didn’t come up to him, quietly or otherwise, and say “Here is your seat, sir. You may take the stage when it is your turn to speak!” Did he bribe the stage crew? That seems likely to me. Or, possibly there was some sort of agreement beforehand about the use of the stage – and Photographic Sabotage had not been envisioned by the organizers of the event.
That’s a specific example. But it’s my general observation that male anger can get “The Desired Results.” On the other hand, reactions to angry women are often on the order of “Who Do You Think You Are to Tell Me What to Do?” In this Millennium, we talk about “Gender Equality.” But it seems to me that we still have a long way to go!
Might have been a good time for the Texas legislature to consider the stability of their electrical grid, but I guess a higher priority went to posting the Ten Commandments so they can be willfully ignored by children, faculty, administrators, parents and legilsators alike.
Thanks!
I needed a nonprofit to deal with actual problem today, and was told that I made the
receptionist cry. I will be barred from their services if I do it again.
Scratching my head to be dressed down in trying to keep two kittens alive. I suggested better trained staff not reprimands to the public.
Garrison, thank you. It's the first podcast I've ever listened to. And I remember you well and fondly from
the NPR days. And I am a Subscriber. Many Blessings.
5 stars, if you care
Of course the Caesar salad was named after a chef named Caesar and not the ruler of 44 BC (or BCE) Rome. But then you knew that. Irony is difficult to tease from rhetoric sometimes. Speaking as a resident of the mentioned state, we need all the forgiveness we can get, but we do not have a monopoly on stupidity.
You really hit the nail on the head in pointing out that denying Intramural sports in Texas for Jewish players - or, possibly cutting out Saturday sports altogether, - is not going to do well for religion. Quite accidentally, I'm more aware of the "Jewish Situation in Texas" than many of "non-Alamo" Americans are!
While I was working for an oil company in the library, one of my most frequent patrons was "Manny B..." His "papers" - if he had any, initially - were inscribed with "Emmanuel B...inski." His Jewish family had successfully fled the Nazi Jewish pogrom and arrived in Quebec, Canada as religious refugees. After a while, the Canadian refugee overload was becoming hard for that relatively underdeveloped nation to absorb . (Think of a nylon stocking that's all rolled down to the border with your shoe! )
While the war was still being fought, Canada applied to its southern neighbor and asked the US to help them lighten their incoming population load.
So here comes the "paperwork". There are boatloads and boatloads of Jewish refugees coming up the St. Lawrence River, and overloading the Canadian immigration sites. "What's your name?" a civil servant asks, and through an interpreter they come up with a bunch of sounds. "Hmmmm!", the civil servant thinks. " I guess 'Manny B...' sounds good enough." In a like manner, the whole B... family gets reanointed with Anglicized names.
But that's not the end of it. By the time the B...s come, there's hardly a spot in the populated provinces that has "living room" for more Jewish emigres. Luckily, Canada's neighbor to the south has taken pity on their plight. Some of the less populated states have said: "Sure! Send some of them to us! We could use the extra workers." Accordingly, shortly after the B... family arrived in Canada, it was transshipped to Houston, Texas. Suddenly, the Anglo/Mexican somewhat Protestant/somewhat Roman Catholic urban population added a significant Jewish Star to the familiar Cross on houses of worship. This took a lot of readjusting, and some of it didn't go all that well.
Just taking Manny's immigrant history as an example, He went to overcrowded schools as a member of a "not-so-welcome" minority through his public school years. He found a job with an oil company (Surprise! Lots of those in Texas!) and did well enough that his supervisors suggested that he attend college and learn the Oil Business. In time, he became a Petroleum Geologist. That's a very specialized field. It involves finding the "oil domes" - structures like upside down teacups - by shaking the surface ground to set up seismic waves. The geologists then read the seismographic records, and say "Drill here." That sounds simple enough, on land, but companies like ours also drill in the Gulf of Mexico from metal braced structures that can go over 100 feet deep.
Well, I began here by commenting on the Sabbath situation for Jewish Texans. People who are familiar with the American South in general probably wouldn't think of Texas as a state with a significant Jewish population. This immigration agreement changed this aspect a bit. At the same time, most Texans at the time wouldn't have been as comfortable with Jewish neighbors, as ,say New York City residents have been for many decades. I'm only talking about one person's choice - Manny left Texas as soon as he had his degree in Reservoir Engineering. But it's quite probable that many of Manny's cohorts spread out across the country, too, and found more Jewish-friendly places to live and work.
Are there any of you "former Texas Jews" out there who would like to share about this?
I liked that a lot! The only thing I would add is that the performative disingenuousness is ubiquitous on both the right and the left of the political spectrum.
Reading this piece, it strikes me that certain emotions are fine as exhibited by persons of one gender, whereas they’re disparaged for the other. Angry men are often taken as “leaders” – and their observations are met with such reactions as “Just as you say, sir!” “I’ll try to do better, sir.” “Angry women might be seen as “Having a Hissy Fit!” But even if someone backs down in the face of her blast, it seems to me that others seldom see a woman’s anger as “Justified.” So women are socialized to quell their anger – to walk away from a potential incident, to minimize their reactions, and so forth. It seems so deep in our American socialization that we rarely even notice it. BUT!
BUT! I was tutoring a Ukrainian couple in English when it was time for two presidential candidates to have a televised debate. ! I don’t own a TV, so I was glad to be able to catch this piece of “American Democracy in Action” with them. One candidate was Hillary Clinton. The other, I’d rather not even mention his name - he was so out of line with accepted behavior!
Actually,, to be more specific, he was always “In Line” that night. As Hillary took her turns in the debate, he would check the angle of the recording camera. Then, a head taller than his debating opponent, he would line up behind her with a scowling face, like a “Bad Genii.” To those of us in the TV audience, his presence was so distracting that folks like me couldn’t even remember a single point that Hillary made during the broadcast!
That’s one of the few times that I have felt red hot, true WRATH! It seemed impossible, in this nation in which “Fairness” is such a universal concept, that someone like that man could continue to provide such an unwarranted distraction in a situation that was meant to be FAIR! I have no idea why the folks on the set that evening didn’t come up to him, quietly or otherwise, and say “Here is your seat, sir. You may take the stage when it is your turn to speak!” Did he bribe the stage crew? That seems likely to me. Or, possibly there was some sort of agreement beforehand about the use of the stage – and Photographic Sabotage had not been envisioned by the organizers of the event.
That’s a specific example. But it’s my general observation that male anger can get “The Desired Results.” On the other hand, reactions to angry women are often on the order of “Who Do You Think You Are to Tell Me What to Do?” In this Millennium, we talk about “Gender Equality.” But it seems to me that we still have a long way to go!