Eric Raymond posted this after hearing the news of the attack on the synagogue in Pittsburgh*.
To my Jewish friends and followers:
I’m grieving with you today. I know the neighborhood where Tree of Life synagogue sits – it’s a quiet, well-off, slightly Bohemian ‘burb with a lot of techies living in it.
I’m not Jewish myself, but I figured out a long time ago that any society which abuses its Jews – or tolerates abuse of them – is in the process of flushing itself down the crapper. The Jews are almost always the first targets of the enemies of civilization, but never the last.
But I’m not posting to reply only with words.
Any Jew who can get close enough to me in realspace for it to be practical and asks can have from me free instruction in basic self-defense with firearms and anti-active-shooter tactics. May no incident like this ever occur again – but if it does, I would be very proud if one of my students took down the evildoer before it reached bloodbath stage.
US official statistics indicate that Jews are still disproportionally the target of hate crimes:
US Hate Crime Data for 2016 (Most Recent Year Available): Blacks vs. Muslims vs. Jews pic.twitter.com/INkyUxCZYS
— Mark J. Perry (@Mark_J_Perry) October 28, 2018
Michael Brown at Townhall.com:
Premeditated, cold-blooded murder is always unspeakably evil. But it is even more evil when the innocent, unsuspecting victims are children in a school or worshipers in their congregational building. How can we even describe monstrous evil like this?
In recent years, we have witnessed horrific school shootings and barbaric church shootings. Now, we have witnessed Jewish blood being shed in a synagogue. And it was not just during a normal Sabbath service. It was during a bris, a special time of celebration when a Jewish baby boy is circumcised on the 8th day.
Families have come together for this special occasion, sometimes spanning three or even four generations. A new Jewish life is welcomed into the world. And at the end of the ceremony, a prayer called shehecheyanu is recited: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion.”
In the midst of this a mass murder took place.
Sadly, different groups will seek to politicize the slaughter. But at times like this, we do well to hold our peace. Already this week, an allegedly unstable Trump-lover was arrested for his role in the attempted pipe bombings. Now, an alleged Nazi Trump-hater was arrested as the synagogue shooter.
So, I appeal to all people of conscience: Let’s focus on the victims rather than on political debate. Let’s hold our tongues out of respect for the dead.
* Rather than give the killer any “glory” by using his name, I’m following the recommendations of the Some Asshole Initiative.
