Sad/Angry.

[gimmelgirl]

It's hard to expect our teens to withstand bullying and be themselves rather than kill themselves, when this sort of thing happens and grownups at impartial non-partisan community newpapers can't even stand up to bullying by one constituency

Comments

[taylweaver]

I feel similarly. I don't know the couple except in passing, by they are very close friends of my sister.

Over the first days of Sukkot, my 12-year-old Orthodox cousin saw the announcement and asked about it. It had never occurred to her that two men would want to marry each other, and she asked why they would, not in a hateful way, but out of curiosity, because it's just not something that has popped up before in her life.

My father and I sort of answered in unison, "because they love each other." (We also told her they're my sister's friends.)

Now, my cousin has been exposed to the idea that two men can love each other. She might ask her parents about it, and find out that (Orthodox) Judaism says it's not okay, but at least now it's on her radar.

Controversy is less than ideal (because, of course, I'd prefer acceptance), but it's better than silence. It's really too bad the Jewish Standard backed down.

[hatam_soferet]

What I don't get, right now, is why we're all being super-sympathetic to the kids who gave into bullying and killed themselves, but super-censorious about the paper who gave into bullying.

I mean, if they actually changed their minds and decided that Teh Gheyz are Ebil, that's one thing. But if they got bullied into doing what they did...why are we blaming them? Isn't this classic victim-blaming? Why aren't we asking them just what these mysterious rabbis threatened?