Michael Lumish
Now and again I make a personal note public without revealing the name of the person who I am speaking with.
It tends to get me into trouble. This is one of those cases:
I am sick to death of seeing my brothers and sisters in Israel and in Crown Heights constantly come under attack and the justification or indifference that my left-leaning friends provide for those attacks.
The Chassidim of Crown Heights are, essentially, family, although unlike them, I am assimilated. The movement was created by Baal Shem Tov who lived in Medzhybizh, Ukraine, as did my father's side of the family with a few thousand other Jews in that wretched shtetl.
To this day, Chassidim from NY make a "pilgrimage" to Medzhybizh for the purpose of visiting Baal Shem Tov's grave. So I consider those people family. My father's father, Beryl, left Medzhybizh in the early 1920s, with my grandmother, Sarah, and my father, Harry, in her arms. They did so after the pogroms, but before the Nazis came during Operation Barbarossa and murdered the rest of my father's side who stayed.
In any case, the emphasis today among world Jewry is self-defense. I cannot carry a Glock legally in Oakland, but I can carry a stun gun. I do not expect to get attacked by anti-Jewish racists, but it did happen once on a MUNI bus in San Francisco when some black guy spit in my face as I was talking with a student about Chassidic rapper, Matisyahu. That student would have kicked his ass right there on the corner of Haight and Baker, but I chilled him out and hopped off the bus because it was my stop, anyway.
My intention is not to carry the stun gun around with me on a daily basis, but I will have it on my person when I am out of the house in Oakland at night.
Every Jew a .22 OR a stun gun.
ReplyDeleteClearly US Constitution is an outdated 18th century document. We need a new, Progressive Constitution that will do away with dangerous and archaic Second Amendment.
DeleteNot saying everyone is going to learn Krav Maga, just saying it should be taught. Some will be good at it, some won't, but it will get people into better shape at least. And when a smaller Jew kicks big bully's butt, big bullies will think twice. Being able to handle oneself earns respect from toughies. It's never good to give people the idea that you are an easy target. Take an anthropology course for more on this.
DeleteThat being said, guns, brass knuckles, chains, can all be great equalizers too, but it becomes more difficult to justify in the eyes of the law.
Is it better to overreact or underreact to this situation? It depends upon the individual's circumstance. I will, now, wear my Magen David on a more-or-less daily basis and will carry my little zap gun at night.
DeleteBut the thing is, if I walked down MacArthur Boulevard without that Magen David I would just be seen as another "white" guy on the street. And the only reason that I wear it now is because I have no intention of allowing us to be intimidated.
Thus the stun gun.
This sucks.
MacArthur Boulevard, wow, that's deep. Be careful.
DeleteIn Berkeley, even the Jews are antisemitic. That used to be a joke.
If you were one of the Dem Presidential hopefuls you could just take your armed security detail along.
DeleteAll the Hillels and synagogues and Jewish day schools should offer Krav.
DeleteSo how does a stun gun work? Does it shoot darts treated with a sedative? I would have the darts treated with a laxative. Let them shit in their pants.
ReplyDeleteTaser is a brand of stun gun that shoots darts to a fifteen foot range releasing an electromagnatic shock. Cops carry the best of these things, which may have longer range.
DeleteThey are legal in California for self-defense, but I have no intention of carrying any such thing around with me on a daily basis. They run about 350 dollars.
My stun gun is 1/10th the price but requires direct personal contact with the person.
It basically knocks the guy down while giving you the opportunity to split.
Or you could beat the holy hell out of him, depending upon the circumstances.
I will simply have mine on me at night in Oakland.
What is the threshold for using it? Any idea?
ReplyDeleteThat is an excellent question and, in truth, School, I am not sure. I will definitely look into those specifics before I even dare to take the damn thing outside.
DeleteHell, man, I come from a family of lawyerly-like creatures.
What I do know is that there are restrictions in the state of California on who can carry these devices and where they can carry them. Felons or people with a record of criminal violence cannot carry legally. People the age of 16 or under cannot carry. No one, outside of law enforcement, is allowed to carry such devices into large public venues.
And, needless to say, you cannot go blundering into Oakland International at dawn with one of these things in your pocket.
I talked to a BART representative the other day and she assured me that they are legal through that system. I asked the same question of MUNI, but they have yet to get back with me.
It doesn't much matter, tho. Mainly I will have the thing in my pocket walking the mutts at night.
There are several inexpensive tasers on Amazon, some are dual purpose (flashlight). In my state it's still easy to obtain concealed carry license, but of course deadly force should be the last resort only. Which brand/model odid you get?
DeleteVIPERTEK VTS-989
DeleteDear Iran: Trump is no Jimmy Carter or Obama. Conduct yourselves accordingly and don't let your generals out to play too often.
ReplyDeleteHe did it for "personal gain." That's the line being pushed. It just gets worse and worse.
DeleteRose MacGowan is the new Jane Fonda.
Rob Reiner is just a knee jerk schlepp.
None of them made so much as a chirping noise when Obama unleashed drones on thousands of terrorists and their commanders. It is to me just absolutely stunning that the Democrats can't stop themselves from sounding like 8 year old cry babies at the seesaw.
I love how the DKos crowd are firmly on Iran's side. They'd happily vote Soleimani over Trump given half a chance.
DeleteI haven't read dkos in forever. Are they still a player?
DeleteSoleimani is the new Che for the Dems et al.
Deletehttp://thepeoplescube.com/images/New_Yorker_Suleimani.jpg
DeleteSay what you will about Caroline Glick but she knows how to write:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/when-will-american-jewry-wake-up/
Yes, she does! LOL
DeleteO/T
ReplyDeletePink has donated $500000 direct to Australian fire fighting services.
What a nice lady.
Who, geoffff?
DeleteI just googled her. Heaps of stuff about her.
DeleteAlicia Beth Moore who goes by the name of "Pink". Described as an American singer song writer. "Pop" " Pop Rock" and "Folk".
Hardly know her but that could be because I'm a generation older.
Mixed heritage and identifies as Jewish.
Very popular in Australia apparently.
DeleteI gotta tell ya, man, sometimes it's just nice to hear nice stuff. Good for her.
DeleteIran has offered $80 million for Trump's head. $10 million more than most Dems and Hollywood celebrities.
ReplyDeleteEverybody is so afraid of Iranian retaliation despite no response from Israel's many attacks. I hope they use their Navy unless one of the outboards is in for repair. Snicker. Death to Iran. Oh, and Iraq too (their Parliament at least.) Oh, and Hezbollah too seeing as how Nasralluh can't keep his big stupid mouth shut.