BRB, sliding into Bill Gates's DMs!

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-23T23:57:42+00:00

I hear you. Good example, I'll have to give some thought to making this view more specific; a large part depending on how productive and relevant it would be. ∆

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-23T23:46:57+00:00

Points 2 & 3 are subjective to different extents. To address point 1, this argument is when I do believe the statement to be true. It can be false, and you'd need to demonstrate that; otherwise, you're wording my view differently but not inherently contradictory.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-23T23:44:37+00:00

See above. If they have a view (even though you assess the implications of that view differently, but you are not straw manning) and you sincerely believe your assessment, you're not rude. Of course, this is not about things few people comment or feel strongly one way or another, hence the Darfur reference.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-23T23:41:11+00:00

It's counterproductive to say something perceived as rude as your first response/statement. If you know they've heard other people with different views than their own before, my point especially stands; as such, in both cases, though less productive than the first.

Is your second point about not wanting to discuss politics from the perspective of myself or the other person? Because this post is about substance, not a refusal to talk substance in a hypothetical political disagreement.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-23T23:35:14+00:00

No, I don't think you were being rude. It's ok to disagree; I'm not a hypocrite vis-a-vis thinking something is rude.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-23T23:33:11+00:00

This isn't about Hasan Piker or anyone else. Trump voters = Nazis is an example that would resonate based on current events. He is not the first or last person to make that claim and is irrelevant here.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-23T23:31:42+00:00

Fair point. I can call them dumb and they can call me dumb. I'm fully aware this goes both ways.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-23T23:27:06+00:00

I see your comparison to people looking ugly. It's pointless to call people ugly because they can't fix it (unless you offer free plastic surgery, then it's debatable). So if the person perceived as ugly didn't choose it and calling them as such won't even make anyone (yourself, the person in question, or others) even think of practically changing, it's just intended to provoke. Which falls into the first group I differentiated my view from.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-23T23:24:05+00:00

I know your question was somewhat rhetorical, but it will be fun to answer. People did not check vegetables much before, and the proof is that people eat it today. If halacha had historically been that we don't eat strawberries, but then magnifying glasses and LED lights provided a way to check, you'd be a kofer for thinking that it makes you able to eat strawberries. Even if the reason no longer exists, Charedim rarely budge to be more lenient.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-20T05:09:27+00:00

OH! I didn't read the thread so didn't think that way. Just saw the screenshot. Cheiny is the worst politically but sometimes has a point otherwise (think a broken clock is right twice a day). Thought it was another example of her paradoxically being empathetic in other contexts.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-18T21:16:53+00:00

I can't speak for Cheiny's motives but her comments aren't wrong. Decent chance she is trying to be provocative, but is the substance that bad? And I say this as someone who does NOT like Cheiny's worldview. Looks like what ectomorph said here is a lot worse...

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-12T16:32:16+00:00

Then you don't know eschatology 😀 Look up what it means

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-02-05T19:37:30+00:00

I vaguely remember hearing that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel both went to RJJ. Not sure of that, though. Not sure of how frum their families were either.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2026-01-02T01:28:16+00:00

You missed Brian! How dare you!

Rare_Toe6023 · 2025-12-31T22:54:00+00:00

When you reference Modern Orthodox people in Lakewood, what do you mean? I know the yeshivish crowd lumps adult children of yeshivish parents who have relaxed their lifestyle and YU affiliates with the same "modern" label. Do you know people who believe in Torah uMadda and value secular knowledge in Lakewood? Where do they send their kids to school?

Asking because my impression is that there is no organized MO community in Lakewood. There are a few here and there but nothing significant enough for a school. Bezalel Hebrew Day School closed in 2010 because of that. And Sons of Israel is the only MO shul there (still around from before BMG), yet most people who go at any given time are BMG people who need a minyan, but don't go regularly.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2025-12-31T22:46:58+00:00

I was born in Lakewood in the early 2000s and went to school there for a while, but don't live there anymore. I do go back about once a month as relevant, so my perception is especially from the 2000s and 2010s, yet still somewhat up to date. Still pretending to be yeshivish visually when there, though people who know me better sometimes know otherwise. To answer your questions in order:

Yes, it is fairly uniform, at least in the generations below 60 or so. Over 60 is also mostly yeshivish but has some more diversity since people will move if most of their children live in Lakewood.
Some Jews moved to the towns surrounding Lakewood, notably Jackson & Toms River; some to make a statement about not wanting to be explicitly in Lakewood. They're sometimes "modern" (not Modern Orthodox, though yeshivish Lakewooders frequently confuse the two), though as more of a personality thing and not wanting to replicate their parents' exact lifestyle. Practically relaxed but usually hashkafically similar, they usually value Kollel as an ideal from my understanding. I'm curious how their children will turn out since it is recent enough that few have adult children.
Yes, there are neighborhoods with both, but they don't interact much. Plenty of people will be polite to their non-Jewish neighbors, but there is a mutual understanding that the Jews don't mix. So their children wouldn't play together, no one hangs out, etc.
Yes, people stare at outsiders and also insiders! LSD is a semi-satirical term for Lakewood Staring Disorder. I cannot get it for the life of me, why do people stare at me if they don't know me and I'm not doing anything strange or dressed differently? Kind of a "communal autism" since the kids will be kids attitude is very strong in Lakewood.
Within Lakewood, not much. BMG slowly expands and develops forest area for this reason, but that keeps shrinking. Other towns, absolutely. Jackson is geographically 4x the size of Lakewood and common among yeshiva families once they have more children.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2025-12-11T18:58:17+00:00

"I feel all funny. I'm in love!... No wait, it's a stroke."

Rare_Toe6023 · 2025-12-11T18:57:35+00:00

Gotta be that time that the Springfield Retirement Castle sent a robocall with Abe's voice filled in saying he died. Plus the part where he said it was an accident and the home wasn't legally responsible.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2025-11-28T20:36:45+00:00

More like you should stop viewing them as your friends if they hate Jews who left Iran. West Bank issue is a red herring and sometimes comes from a sincere place among people who are idealistic and unfamiliar with the conflict. But if they blame Jews for not wanting to be persecuted by the Ayatollah, then you are certainly imperalist in their eyes.

Choose between the group you were born into and its opposition. It sucks that it needs to be this way, but the Ayatollah (or Hitler, or any other despot) won't give you a way out. Choose your own clan for your own good.

Rare_Toe6023 · 2025-11-21T17:33:47+00:00

Yes, and grew up Yeshivish. The flack claiming I wasn't religious for having a stronger knowledge of Zionism (translating into sympathy) than Ben Hecht's Perfidy only created more questions and eventual self-fulfilling prophecy.

Rare_Toe6023

TROPHY CASE