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Saturday, January 06, 2007

Why Choose Anonymity?

This anonymous Orthodox blogger discusses some of the reasons behind his choice to remain anonymous:
1. In a society which all too clearly punishes children for the sins of fathers, I want my children to have the best chance I can give them. I certainly don't want them to zip through that all-to-small window of time without doing a shidduch because thir father is so imprudent as to have a respectful, though differing, opinion.
2. In a society where conformity is so prized that we entirely forget that the father of our religion and of us all earned his stripes alone, and by being different, I refuse to subject my wife to social ostracism and/or pity by conformists by me being publicly more different than I already am.
3. In a society where we are expected to jettison chazal and even Torah Shebeksav in favor of following the pronouncement du jour from the dais du jour I refuse to abandon my minyon, my chevrusas, and my chevra by publicizing nonconformist views. Indeed, these are the only means to exposing the error of my ways if indeed my ways are in error.
4. I can take the heat if necessary, and perhaps do so (even now) more than necessary. But I always try to reckon the collateral damage before speaking out what I view as the truth in person. If any of the 'courageous and conforming' will take the responsibility for preventing damage to my significant others, I'll come out.
Check him out.

20 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

whatever........

bla.......bla........bla........bla..........bla...balaaaaaaaaaaa
you are kind of boring...orthomom.

12:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

what a weird comment. orthomom didnt even write this post. someone else did. and i think its actually pretty interesting.

1:07 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Of course its smarter to stay annonymous. I let my true identity be known and I took a great risk. Look how "those in the know" have been putting me down. Will it get in the way of my raising funds to help those children and families who ask me for assistance? Time will tell. But when you feel you need to speak up and using your name might make a difference, sometimes you have to take the chance.

Sherree

3:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this is a very important topic, and gets to the core of the Talibanization of frumkeit today.
We no longer bear any resemblance to halacha, or the core concepts of the Avot and Gedolim.

The core basis of control within frumkeit today is negative threats. We have turned into the Taliban

9:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Some people who post here seem to have such a lack of imagination or vocabulary skills that when they have to decribe something they have to use an outlandish comparison to make their point. Their is nothing about frumkeit that resembles the Taliban, there is nothing about the Vaad that resembles the Nazis and there is nothing about the local community that resembles sodom and gomorrah. Whenever someone makes these asinine comments their entire argument is dismissed with prejudice.

So in that sense it's a good thing the majority of posters remain anonymous because if they weren't they'd certainly become pariahs in short order.

12:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't buy it. If thats the type of community you live in MOVE. If you can't voice your opinion without your family being shunned then there is somthing wrong. In your community conformity is prized but that is not the history of our people. Remember the old story..2 jews ten opinions...

12:59 PM  
Blogger Looking Forward said...

the halmark of both the frum community and of saddom and gemorah is "one size fits all".

we're exactly like the worst of saddom and gemorah.

2:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If one size fits all, how come in my chareidi community i neretz yisroel there are not 1, not 2 ..... but about 6-7 chadorim, all with a different niche, for different "types" of chareidim. and im not even talking about chassidish, of which there are none

4:22 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Halfnut you can't lump all Frum communities together. In fact you cant lump all of any group together. That kind of bias is very wrong

8:33 PM  
Blogger Joe Schick said...

I've lived in charedi and in MO communities in which I did my own thing and refused to conform. There's sometimes a social price for failing to conform, but the notion that there's a great risk to one's family or to one's ability to remain in the community is nonsense.

Everyone has the right to remain anonymous if they wish, but let's not exaggerate the impact of publicly expressing one's views as a basis for being anonymous. Unless you're publishing books that may attract the attention of the kanoim, or directly attacking gedolim, nobody really cares if you have some hashkafos or practices somewhat outside of the mainstream.

6:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Their is nothing about frumkeit that resembles the Taliban, there is nothing about the Vaad that resembles the Nazis and there is nothing about the local community that resembles sodom and gomorrah."

Really? Expecting women to give up their studies to support their mishpocha is not akin to talibanization? Making a checklist of what dry goods stores one may purchase from is not akin to boycotts? A group of men who have so much power that they can determine which supermarkets can stay in business is not akin to the judenrat? You, my friend, need to get a grip.You cannot see how people who initially bought into the cult of the black hat, have children who are flocking to the more tolerant modern orthodox.
Grow up and check out the reality of the talibanization of yiddishkeit.

9:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Really? Expecting women to give up their studies to support their mishpocha is not akin to talibanization? Making a checklist of what dry goods stores one may purchase from is not akin to boycotts? A group of men who have so much power that they can determine which supermarkets can stay in business is not akin to the judenrat?

If this was the extent of the Taliban's rigidity we would hardly have heard of them. Why don't you check out the requirements of living in a Taliban controlled society and compare that to these few mishigas you feel compare. You will then realize how ridiculous you sound.

And I'm almost certain I would never be your friend.

10:18 AM  
Blogger Charlie Hall said...

'Unless you're publishing books that may attract the attention of the kanoim, or directly attacking gedolim, nobody really cares if you have some hashkafos or practices somewhat outside of the mainstream. '

I would be surprised if any kanoim have ever read anything I've published.

In any case, I post non-anonymously so that I will be less tempted to write lashan hara.

6:10 PM  
Blogger Sarah said...

It's very sad when offerring an alternative point of view, or deviating from the norm could cause your family to be ostracized or cause your children problems with their shidduchim. I'd go as far as to call it pathetic.

I wonder if anonymous bloggers who stay anonymous for these reasons are being paranoid or if there really is a social risk. If the risk is real, we seriously need to work on our ahavas yisroel.

1:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wonder if anonymous bloggers who stay anonymous for these reasons are being paranoid or if there really is a social risk. If the risk is real, we seriously need to work on our ahavas yisroel.

There might not only be a social risk but it isn't too far fetched to imagine an economic risk. People who do business in town are wise not to let their stand on hot topics become public for fear they might lose the patronage of those who disagree with their viewpoint.

8:16 AM  
Blogger LT said...

I could definitely, definitely understand a blogger's desire to stay anonymous "for the kids' sake." And I would never condemn anyone who made that choice.

But I would add that there is something to be said for showing one's children the importance of courage - the importance of not just telling your family what you believe in, but standing up and fighting for your vision of a better community and a better world.

1:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Really? Expecting women to give up their studies to support their mishpocha is not akin to talibanization? Making a checklist of what dry goods stores one may purchase from is not akin to boycotts? A group of men who have so much power that they can determine which supermarkets can stay in business is not akin to the judenrat?"

I'm sorry your mother beat you so much. If you can't take the heat stay out of the minyan, momma's boy!

8:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Expecting and forcing are different. Even santa Claus makes lists. The group of men who put the bolenders out of business was headed by a bolender.

8:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jewish unity is always important.

http://underthesuns.blogspot.com/

11:01 PM  
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10:51 AM  

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