Friday, November 23, 2018

I Don't Wear My Kippah at WalMart

Several years ago I was sitting in a cafe with someone who suggested I take off my kippah.  The neighborhood we were in was a predominantly Catholic and so she thought it might make people uncomfortable and could result in a response.  I normally wear my kippah when I am doing something related to my work so I tend to have it on a lot.  Her request seemed odd but I realized I do take it off in some places, so I wrote an essay that I don't wear my kippah at WalMart.  I am not a frequent WalMart shopper but at the time it was a place I went for certain items.  I found wearing my kippah that was not something that put me in a form of danger, quite the opposite.  What it did was create a chance for people to talk to me about Judaism.  Total strangers would either ask me questions, tell me they loved the Jewish people or worse ask try to preach to me.  While I am always up for a good theological discussion, that was not the place.  It seemed that it was the only place that this happened here in Indianapolis.  When I lived in the south however, a kippah was like Lucy's psychology stand in Peanuts.  I didn't wear it nearly as much as I do now but when I did I could expect a conversation.  Only once did I feel threatened wearing it.  One day I came back to town from shul and forgot I had my kippah on, I went to the post office in downtown Milledgeville.  As I crossed the street I heard someone yell from a pick-up "Christ Killer".  It reminded me that there are people who still feel that they can shout out hateful things.  That was 20 years ago, now there is a feeling in the air that simply yelling isn't going to be enough for some.  The recent attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh is the worst of what has become a significant increase in antisemitic attacks in the US.  White Nationalist groups are coming out into the daylight and seem to feel they have a friend in power.  Some have even run and received the nomination of a major political party.  So today public Jewish expression can be an act of bravery and defiance. 

A recent Facebook post from a friend, a young woman living in a major US city, a city with a large Jewish population and a high level diversity, put today's world into perspective.  Since Pittsburgh she has stopped wearing her Hebrew name necklace.  She, like many Jews, feel that it is important to be careful when in public.  The rise of comfort with antisemitic voices scares many people and the results of that are clear.  So recently in Philadelphia the Proud Boys, a white supremacist group, rallied near the center of town, the cradle of freedom and near the American Museum of Jewish History.  I was planning to walk there as I was in Philly for a convention.  Several friends were nervous about me walking down there and I had to promise not to wear anything that identified me as a Jew.  Again, in an large American city being Jewish in public is seen as dangerous.  We should not have to live like this.  Nor should Muslims, Sheikhs. or any other group whose appearance identifies them to a particular group.  Our country was founded in diversity and has struggled for decades to make more room at the table, we must push back at those wanting to take away the chairs.  I am not sure the answer.  Around the world nationalists and authoritarian leaders are gaining power and influence.  As one of the world's strongest liberal democracies the people must stand up for what American values are and fight to keep us at least where we have grown to today.  Wearing religious or cultural clothing or symbols should never have to be an act of bravery in a country that has valued equality, even if it took some groups decades of fighting to achieve a taste of that.  Let's all call out hate where we see it.  Be it in a small group of men and women who are angered that the world is changing too fast for them, or if your political party nominates someone who feels that humanity has a pecking order based solely on genetics.  We don't and should agree on everything.  Diversity of thought is a value and strength.  But one thing we can all agree on is that hate and fear have no place in our society and kippah, a hijab, a turban or mere Hebrew letters can be worn proudly in public.  

No comments:

It is All a Conspiracy

 Sometimes an event could have a giant impact on the world we live in, but not have a similar cause.  A disgruntled man takes aim from a six...