The Blog Nazis
My first experience with the "Jewish Blogosphere" has been over the past month with a site known as sevenfatcow. I basically came across the site accidentally and quickly attempted to find a voice and meet some people.
As a professional with a college and postgraduate degree, albeit with less jewish education than the others, I began posting my opinions--where I felt I could contribute, and staying out of very (very) esoteric discussion. This first experience was enlightening.
The blog has a couple of friendly well educated contributers, but the core of the blog is a small group of disaffected outcasts who form a tight clique--some guys who know each other from the hood, and prefer to squawk amongst themselves. Now, don't get me wrong--there's nothing wrong with being an outcast, or of not fitting in. On the contrary! I consider it a badge of honor in certain respects. Those people who can think for themselves, rather than parrot the views of others in lemming-like fashion normally should be admired, both for their originality and the determination to stand up and be counted.
The problem occurs when you get a small group of misfits who behave very childishly, turn every thoughtful discussion into violent epithets flaming back and forth, and who "playfully" delete posts by those wanting to join in a meaningful discussion but who are not "one of them."
Enter sevenfatcow, and find a posting that may interest you: i dare you. Regardless of the content of your contribution, you are likely to be ignored, or immediately an editor will respond to your thoughtful contribution with "idiot" or "fuck you," and that's about as far as you're going to get. This initially did not cause me to abandon the blog, but when I realized that I was unlikely to get support from others, I did just that.
Example: an editor posts a comment condemning u.s. healthcare system; as a physician and patient advocate, I commented thoughtfully and conscientiously, hoping to engage an interesting discussion---what I got?---NOTHING.
Example: an editor "YalHak" (who calls himself 'Reb' and posts his picture alongside a variety of influential minds from the previous couple of centuries, as if!) posts a poem by T.S. Eliot. Another editor responds cynically that "this post will get no comments because it is literary and....expect others to think outside the box." Following that, posts were made attempted to catalyze some discussion. Those respondents were immediately treated as ignorant people, not worth the time of the editors. The "Reb" replies, "it's a fucking poem dude..." So much for the guy who posts his picture alongside that of Carl Jung. sevenfatcow sevenfatcow sevenfatcow sevenfatcow
In fairness, I concede to having received a brave email from another blogger of like mind, which said:
I just wanted to thank you for writing on the cow. Thanks for insighting under pressure, and caring enough to tell us things.
I greatly appreciated the support of that contributor, and wish there were more like him. But,
basically, if you live in Brooklyn and smoke weed with these people, you're "in." If you're a curious mind, looking for engaging talk on matters of Jewish interest, hoping possibly even to make some friends...well....look elsewhere.
