Thursday, March 06, 2014

In defense of the "Official' video of the rally

The Internet is buzzing about "official" music video of the rally. (e.g. Rationalist Judaism, Cross-Currents),


I watched it. Yuck.

Some thoughts, though:

1) While it is branded with Kikar Shabbat, that doesn't mean they produced it. I think they mark any video they put up with that watermark. Did they put it up because they agreed with it, or because they found it newsworthy? I don't know.

2) Poe's Law states:
Without a blatant display of humor, it is impossible to create a parody of extremism or fundamentalism that someone won't mistake for the real thing.
I wonder whether this might be the case here. Consider that the chareidim aren't learning Torah (OK, because it is a rally) but are instead shown littering and dancing around, which might be better called devarim beteilim. While meanwhile soldiers are pictured, who aren't doing devarim beteilim (though this might be my own bias creeping in, causing me to misread the author's intent). They would show Bibi at the UN with the red line regarding Iranian nukes as their choice of devarim beteilim?! This shouts out to me that it might just be parody.

3) It could also be that the author had a tin ear, and didn't realize how this was going to be taken. There is a slightly less obnoxious point he might have been advancing.

Namely, that everybody in the video is Ameilim, putting in effort, for the security of the country. The yeshiva students by learning and the soldiers and politicians by physical and political means. But since everything is in the hands of heaven, and so it is ultimately the merit of the Jewish people that counts, those other well-meaning and courageous actions and personal sacrifices amount to devarim beteilim klapei shmaya.

Still obnoxious, and I still disagree with it, but not necessarily the same obnoxious meaning that everyone was attributing to it.

4) There are jerks and idiots in the world. So of course even on Kikar Shabbat, if some people were attacking it, there will be others who will defend it.

But that doesn't mean it necessarily captures the intent of the organizers, or participants, in the rally at large. Or that the rally held in the US is also designed to advance the same message as the video.

5 comments:

yaak said...

I, for one, am someone who thinks the rally was a huge Kiddush Hashem while the Devarim Betelim message of the video was a huge Hillul Hashem.

If you go to the Kikar page where it was shown, the vast majority (it looks like 80%)of comments are abhorred by the Devarim Betelim message of the video. And I don't think they're all non-Haredim commenting (although that's just a guess).

To modify your #3 a bit, as I see you want to be Dan Lechaf Zechut, perhaps, the army is Beteilim Legabei Torah learning, but not totally Beteilim.

Your #4 is correct. I don't think your #2 is correct.

Moshe Laymore said...

Ingenious. Correct or incorrect, your defense is ingenious.

Ameteur said...

Sadly, many people are suffering from denial.

Sorry this response is so long:
1. What's the difference? Read the comments on the article.
2. In Israel, the response to Bibi using a bomb drawing was not "Oh, look Bibi is defending us." It was "Oh look, Bibi is a joke." His talk in the UN did nothing, it was ineffectual, it was wasted effort. None of the images of soldiers are of them doing soldier like things. It's pictures of them standing around doing nothing. Being props for the honor of the secular government.
The charedim in the video are not littering. It's not their intent, and it's not the intent of the video.

Yes, I understand that some people refuse to believe what the Charedim say outloud, on their posters and in their newspapers, and assume this must all be some trick or satire. But it's not. It's who they are and what they believe.

Before the Rally, everyone knew that this rally was because of the Evil Rasha Lapid and his forcing people to go to the army instead of learning Torah. It was exactly what this video portrays.. People who work for the government are evil Rashaim, and not Jewish.

thanbo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Snag said...

Thanks Ameteur, another brilliant parody.

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