Sweet and Salty

“After the third received a call to our ‘Matzeva [headstone] Hotline’ giving us information of locals dogging in the Jewish cemetery of Głowaczów, Poland, we decided to go see for ourselves, and found something that shocked me to my core, we saw the base of tombstones over turned and even a spade left underneath.”

i hope these people are cursed for eternity

I know there are televisions and telephones in Canada. I do not know if they were honestly that technologically deprived or just fucking with me.

Any person regardless of gender or sexual orientation who devotes themselves to Judaism and G-d deserves to become a Jew. And if they want to, they can become a rabbi too.

When you ask your substitute to spit something, and he hits you with nothing but the realness. And he’s from my home town.

The woman fled to Alicante, where she was arrested the same evening. When she appeared in court the next day in the town of Orihuela, she was cheered and clapped by a crowd, who shouted “Bravo!” and “Well done!”“

More: Here

In school I was taught the names Columbus, Cortez, and Pizzarro and A dozen other filthy murderers. A bloodline all the way to General Miles, Daniel Boone and General Eisenhower. No one mentioned the names Of even a few of the victims. But don’t you remember Chaske, whose spine Was crushed so quickly by Mr. Pizzaro’s boot? What words did he cry into the dust? What was the familiar name Of that young girl who danced so gracefully That everyone in the village sang with her– Before Cortez’ sword hacked off her arms As she protested the burning of her sweetheart? That young man’s name was Many Deeds, And he had been a leader of a band of fighters Called the Redstick Hummingbirds, who slowed The march of Cortez’ army with only a few Spears and stones which now lay still In the mountains and remember. Greenrock Woman was the name Of that old lady who walked right up And spat in Columbus’ face. We must remember that, and remember Laughing Otter the Taino who tried to stop Columbus and who was taken away as a slave. We never saw him again. In school I learned of heroic discoveries Made by liars and crooks. The courage Of millions of sweet and true people Was not commemorated. Let us then declare a holiday For ourselves, and make a parade that begins With Columbus’ victims and continues Even to our grandchildren who will be named in their honor. Because isn’t it true that even the summer Grass here in this land whispers those names, And every creek has accepted the responsibility Of singing those names? And nothing can stop The wind from howling those names around The corners of the school. Why else would the birds sing So much sweeter here than in other lands? – Columbus Day, by Jimmie Durham (Cherokee) (West End Press, 1983)

ps- I feel old, so many of you are young (and beautiful) like 18-20.

Willem Arondeus was a Dutch resistance fighter who gave his life trying to protect his Jewish countrymen from the Nazis. Born in Amsterdam in 1895, Willem was one of six children. From a young age, he was a talented artist and his parents encouraged his creativity, until he came out as homosexual at age 17. In a time when nearly all gay people were in the closet, Willem’s parents could not accept his choice to live openly. Their rejection led Willem to run away from home. On his own, Willem took odd jobs and eventually became a successful visual artist and writer. He was commissioned to paint a mural for Rotterdam’s town hall, in a style that combined modern abstract painting with a traditional Dutch motif. Willem was a well-respected author who published a popular biography of Dutch painter and political activist Matthijs Maris. In 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. Willem immediately joined the resistance movement, and urged his fellow artists to fight against the Nazi occupation. WIllem published illegal anti-Nazi pamphlets calling for mass resistance against the Germans. Willem was especially committed to saving Amsterdam’s Jewish community. Bringing in others to the cause, Willem arranged for Dutch Jews to be hidden in people’s homes. He used his artistic skills to create false identity papers. In 1943, Willem hatched a brazen plan. Dressed as a German Army captain, and with 15 men behind him, Willem boldly marched into the Public Record Office, where lists identifying people as Jews were kept. Willem drugged the guards and planted a firebomb. The resulting blaze destroyed tens of thousands of documents, and delayed or prevented many Jews from being identified by the Nazis. Unfortunately, Willem was captured by the Germans and sentenced to death. Willem’s last words before being executed in July, 1943 were, “Let it be known that homosexuals are not cowards.” In 1986 Yad Vashem recognized Arondeus as Righteous Among the Nations. Because of his sexual orientation, Willem’s story was omitted from Dutch history books. Only in the last 20 years has his courage become widely known.

And I love them both!