Greenovian, already
Imagine there is a country called Greenovia (and bear with me, please, because I'm trying to go somewhere with this). All the inhabitants of Greenovia have a large green circle on their forehead. They have their own language and their own rather complicated religion which impinges on most aspects of everyday life - the food they eat, the music they play. They are a close-knit community and so they all know, for example, that on a Thursday at three o'clock they must eat an apple and this is called, in Greenovian, the ceremony of Braeburnia. Make any plans for Thursday with any Greenovian and they will ask "Boaba?" which is their abbreviated version of "Before or after Braeburnia?"
Right, that's enough of that, I think you've got the general idea.
Now imagine there is someone who lives in Greenovia who is actually not Greenovian at all, but just happened to be born there with a green circle on her forehead. Her parents were from Somewhere Else and neither of them lives the Greenovian way of life - in fact they think all the ceremonies are pointless and don't believe in any of it.
But because she has the Greenovian Circle on her forehead, all the people of Greenovia assume, of course, that she is Greenovian. They talk to her about the food, the festivals, the religion and look completely confused when she says she doesn't understand. About once a week someone says "But you must be Greenovian! Look at you!"
Now, my father is Jewish, but - very unusually for their generation - he "married out" and my mother is not Jewish. My mother is from a tokenly Christian background but is not religious. My father is from a not-very-religious family and he is a crusading atheist who won't even discuss religion.
I look like my father. Whatever comes to mind when anyone says "she looks Jewish", that's what I look like. But I don't feel Jewish because I was not brought up in the Jewish community and I know very little about the religion or the culture.
I have the utmost respect for the Jewish community. Many of my relatives in Eastern Europe were killed by the Nazis. Some of my best relatives are Jewish and yes, so are some of my best friends. But I don't feel I belong there. Most of the time it doesn't matter - but just sometimes, when a stranger assumes I'll know all about it because of how I look, it does.
Right, that's enough of that, I think you've got the general idea.
Now imagine there is someone who lives in Greenovia who is actually not Greenovian at all, but just happened to be born there with a green circle on her forehead. Her parents were from Somewhere Else and neither of them lives the Greenovian way of life - in fact they think all the ceremonies are pointless and don't believe in any of it.
But because she has the Greenovian Circle on her forehead, all the people of Greenovia assume, of course, that she is Greenovian. They talk to her about the food, the festivals, the religion and look completely confused when she says she doesn't understand. About once a week someone says "But you must be Greenovian! Look at you!"
Now, my father is Jewish, but - very unusually for their generation - he "married out" and my mother is not Jewish. My mother is from a tokenly Christian background but is not religious. My father is from a not-very-religious family and he is a crusading atheist who won't even discuss religion.
I look like my father. Whatever comes to mind when anyone says "she looks Jewish", that's what I look like. But I don't feel Jewish because I was not brought up in the Jewish community and I know very little about the religion or the culture.
I have the utmost respect for the Jewish community. Many of my relatives in Eastern Europe were killed by the Nazis. Some of my best relatives are Jewish and yes, so are some of my best friends. But I don't feel I belong there. Most of the time it doesn't matter - but just sometimes, when a stranger assumes I'll know all about it because of how I look, it does.
posted by Daphne at 5:00 pm
5 Comments:
I am personally depressed about the number of cheery "well, that explains the nose, then"s that I recieve. THIS ENORMOUS HONKER TAKES AFTER MY FATHER AND IS NOT JEWISH IN ANY WAY (you evil anti-semitic bastards).
At least Jo had the grace to wonder "Did I just say that out loud?"
A similar thing our whole family gets here: “You're so pale ha ha how English”. Mmm no, the pale thing is Lithuanian, Hungarian or Belarussian (Deb) Jewish, actually. The only one who can get a half-decent tan is Mum, thoroughly Anglo-Saxon. (NB blonde Dutch people tend to turn deep orange when exposed to sunlight – must be a patriotic thing.)
No, Emily, it doesn't explain the nose. But it does explain the Talmudic bookishness and an element of the genuis gene (Marx, Freud, Franks - you are in a long line...). And, in the case of your mother and I, it does also explain the hair. The entry of 'Jewfro' to the OED this year is not simply a case of anti-semitic stereotyping! How they managed without Frizz-ease in the shtetl is beyond me.
I'm nearly half Welsh and that, according to my Friend Gareth Jones [all welsh] explains a lot.
This post came to mind while being Extremely Well Fed by you, chez Blass!
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