Michael, I think you're a good guy. Others with fame and an audience have done much worse things than thoughtfully reflect as you are. Viva Variety was good. That is all.
Sadly, no easy answers are available for the many challenges facing our world today. Perhaps the only thing we can do is plant seeds of peace in close proximity to where we live and hope for these seeds grow and spread globally. Although the internet and social media are often blamed for spreading hate, we can use the same means to spread a different message of hope and peace for all people without any exceptions. Nonviolence is often considered by some people as too utopian although violence doesn't seem to produce great results either. "All we are saying is give peace a chance"-John Lennon
First they came for the Israeli Jews, and I was fine with it, because they're all terrible Right wing oppressors, so they deserve suicide bombings, rockets shot indiscriminately at their towns, shooting and knife attacks.
Next they came for Zionist Jews in North America and Europe, and I was fine with it, because they're protecting terrible Israel, so they deserve their property vandalized, death threats, and physical assaults.
Then they came for progressive Jews in North America and Europe, because that "anti Zionism isn't antisemitism" mantra was always a joke. And I was shocked! Found out, the anti Zionists are actually haters of Jews, period.
Finally they'll come for the anti Zionist token Leftist Jews, because at the core all this pro Hamas bullshit is anti Jewish, and Jews can never be "allies" enough to survive that kind of hate. Look what happened to the ant Zionist Jews of the Soviet Union's Yevsektsiya, if you need a historical precedent.
You are not alone in feeling betrayal by a Left that cannot seem to find any outrage about rape, torture, abduction of civilians, and the greatest single-day massacre of civilians since 9/11, and of Jews specifically since the Nazis in WW2 - all done by Right wing religious Palestinian death squads.
The majority of people who were savagely assaulted were Israeli pro peace Leftist activists. This was done by people they believed were mostly, and could be, peaceful neighbors.
‘All they want to do is murder Jews’: The Israeli peace activists slaughtered by Hamas
Agreed. The world unravels and I surmise the weave was never tight.
I agree with an earlier comment about comedians and their ability to see and express as few others can. Comedians often give the best dramatic performances because they see the world in many dimensions. Their humor often pulls from pain. And the world is currently in tremendous pain. Keep writing, young man.
These are dark days and reading about your struggle to cope is actually helpful to any of us similarly struggling. Thank you for putting it out there. We appreciate you. ❤️
I love everything you write. I think that sometimes you funny guys and gals and gayls are capable of the most nuance, the most compassion, of all of the armchair philosophers out there. I find solace in pretty much everything you write. I am so glad you are here. I thank you for your vulnerability.
Michael, so many of us stand with you, heartbroken. There must be an end to the violence and the establishment of a secure peace. We may not know exactly how to accomplish that goal, but we know that is the requirement for the people of Israel and the people of Palestine. We know both of those peoples deserve self determination politically and economically. They both deserve human rights, and we now have the opportunity to establish them. So as god awful as this is, there is hope for a meaningful solution that has been way too long in coming.
I'm heartbroken, too. For all lives lost. Then I'm angry and annoyed, then hopeful, then confused...truth is: we have a leadership problem in nearly every government, religion, and corporation. And nobody listens to me, they just try to circumnavigate and mistranslate my messages.
Please, please read the comments! There are so many of us who agree with you! Do not stop! Thank you for expressing your thoughts/feelings so eloquently! I wish that I could be so erudite!
Oh, Michael, same. Heartbroken. Aware of the heartbrokeness I can’t fathom are experiencing. Thank you for putting all this in words, so clearly and poignantly.
I am broken-hearted, too, and that feeling of stones on my chest is all too familiar. But I’m going to tell you again, Michael: GET OFF XITTER (pronounced shitter). It is a gushing guyser of toxicity and evil.
As I’ve mentioned before, I live in Jerusalem. My heart is with the Jewish people, here and elsewhere who are suffering, while I also can’t ignore the horrific response to 10/7.
The view from here is that Israel has no choice. If there is an option that prevents civilian deaths, and eliminates Hamas, without 10,000 Israeli soldiers dying, I’d like to hear it.
I’ve been so depressed the last two days that I’ve only left our apartment once. I just want to lie in bed all day and try to forget the world around me.
I'm so sorry, Michael. You are in my thoughts. Which I know doesn't help or matter but it's all I can do right now. My heart is broken too. It feels like we're spinning toward even more vile things and no one either knows how or wants to stop the spinning. It's all too much. But sincerely, I am genuinely sorry that you're suffering and I wish I could help. Maybe bring you some snacks. I remember a certain pudding rated evil. Would that help? Hang in there.
Michael, I think you're a good guy. Others with fame and an audience have done much worse things than thoughtfully reflect as you are. Viva Variety was good. That is all.
Sadly, no easy answers are available for the many challenges facing our world today. Perhaps the only thing we can do is plant seeds of peace in close proximity to where we live and hope for these seeds grow and spread globally. Although the internet and social media are often blamed for spreading hate, we can use the same means to spread a different message of hope and peace for all people without any exceptions. Nonviolence is often considered by some people as too utopian although violence doesn't seem to produce great results either. "All we are saying is give peace a chance"-John Lennon
First they came for the Israeli Jews, and I was fine with it, because they're all terrible Right wing oppressors, so they deserve suicide bombings, rockets shot indiscriminately at their towns, shooting and knife attacks.
Next they came for Zionist Jews in North America and Europe, and I was fine with it, because they're protecting terrible Israel, so they deserve their property vandalized, death threats, and physical assaults.
Then they came for progressive Jews in North America and Europe, because that "anti Zionism isn't antisemitism" mantra was always a joke. And I was shocked! Found out, the anti Zionists are actually haters of Jews, period.
Finally they'll come for the anti Zionist token Leftist Jews, because at the core all this pro Hamas bullshit is anti Jewish, and Jews can never be "allies" enough to survive that kind of hate. Look what happened to the ant Zionist Jews of the Soviet Union's Yevsektsiya, if you need a historical precedent.
You are not alone in feeling betrayal by a Left that cannot seem to find any outrage about rape, torture, abduction of civilians, and the greatest single-day massacre of civilians since 9/11, and of Jews specifically since the Nazis in WW2 - all done by Right wing religious Palestinian death squads.
The majority of people who were savagely assaulted were Israeli pro peace Leftist activists. This was done by people they believed were mostly, and could be, peaceful neighbors.
‘All they want to do is murder Jews’: The Israeli peace activists slaughtered by Hamas
https://news.yahoo.com/want-murder-jews-israeli-peace-170000168.html
Agreed. The world unravels and I surmise the weave was never tight.
I agree with an earlier comment about comedians and their ability to see and express as few others can. Comedians often give the best dramatic performances because they see the world in many dimensions. Their humor often pulls from pain. And the world is currently in tremendous pain. Keep writing, young man.
These are dark days and reading about your struggle to cope is actually helpful to any of us similarly struggling. Thank you for putting it out there. We appreciate you. ❤️
I love everything you write. I think that sometimes you funny guys and gals and gayls are capable of the most nuance, the most compassion, of all of the armchair philosophers out there. I find solace in pretty much everything you write. I am so glad you are here. I thank you for your vulnerability.
Michael, so many of us stand with you, heartbroken. There must be an end to the violence and the establishment of a secure peace. We may not know exactly how to accomplish that goal, but we know that is the requirement for the people of Israel and the people of Palestine. We know both of those peoples deserve self determination politically and economically. They both deserve human rights, and we now have the opportunity to establish them. So as god awful as this is, there is hope for a meaningful solution that has been way too long in coming.
I'm heartbroken, too. For all lives lost. Then I'm angry and annoyed, then hopeful, then confused...truth is: we have a leadership problem in nearly every government, religion, and corporation. And nobody listens to me, they just try to circumnavigate and mistranslate my messages.
Please, please read the comments! There are so many of us who agree with you! Do not stop! Thank you for expressing your thoughts/feelings so eloquently! I wish that I could be so erudite!
Oh, Michael, same. Heartbroken. Aware of the heartbrokeness I can’t fathom are experiencing. Thank you for putting all this in words, so clearly and poignantly.
And thank you for pointing me to Parker’s stack!
I am broken-hearted, too, and that feeling of stones on my chest is all too familiar. But I’m going to tell you again, Michael: GET OFF XITTER (pronounced shitter). It is a gushing guyser of toxicity and evil.
Right there with you, friend. Too many people have lost their damn minds and it’s breaking my heart, too. Grateful for your voice. ❤️
As I’ve mentioned before, I live in Jerusalem. My heart is with the Jewish people, here and elsewhere who are suffering, while I also can’t ignore the horrific response to 10/7.
The view from here is that Israel has no choice. If there is an option that prevents civilian deaths, and eliminates Hamas, without 10,000 Israeli soldiers dying, I’d like to hear it.
I’ve been so depressed the last two days that I’ve only left our apartment once. I just want to lie in bed all day and try to forget the world around me.
I'm so sorry, Michael. You are in my thoughts. Which I know doesn't help or matter but it's all I can do right now. My heart is broken too. It feels like we're spinning toward even more vile things and no one either knows how or wants to stop the spinning. It's all too much. But sincerely, I am genuinely sorry that you're suffering and I wish I could help. Maybe bring you some snacks. I remember a certain pudding rated evil. Would that help? Hang in there.
It is painful.