Made Me Cry – Madness (Kindness)

~saalmog – Swedish tourists

We are a nice bunch here in Jerusalem.

People Speaking – Documentary

— “Do you have a secure room in your house?”

— “No, i don’t think so.”

— “It’s the room with the window that can be shut with a metal door.”

— “No, i don’t have it.”

— “Because I heard that it is very dangerous to use it as a living or sleeping room.”

— “OK, mama, i don’t have such a room, so i probably won’t use it like that.”

— “Do you know why? I saw a documentary about it on the television. It is because these rooms are built with a kind of concrete that emits toxic gases and it suffocates you if you are there for more than a few hours. It is fine to sit there and do some homework for a couple of hours, but not any more …”

— “But why are you telling all that? I don’t have such a room, so it is completely irrelevant.”

— “… and it is especially dangerous in Jerusalem, because the soil in Jerusalem emits other gases which mix with the ones from the concrete and are even more dangerous.”

— “So what?”

— “What so what? It is very dangerous and I am telling you that, because you live in Jerusalem. There was also a high school there and they had to rebuild it …”

— “But mama, i finished high school nine years ago and i don’t have a secure room in my house.”

— “OK. What else can you tell me? Do you still do music?”

— “Yes.”

— “How do you do music?”

— “I go to a rehearsal room with my friends and play.”

— “And what kind of songs?”

— “All kinds.”

— “Oh, OK. And do you sing?”

— “No, not really, i can’t sing at all.”

— “Why do you say that? You sing very well, better than anyone in the world. You must sing.”

— “If you say so, mama.”

— “That’s right, you sing better than anyone-anyone-anyone in the world.”

Oh mama.

One man come

What do i have to write about the pride parade in Jerusalem?

Nothing much.

I think that those parades are kinda pointless, especially in Israel, because in practice gay rights in Israel are in a pretty good shape compared to the rest of the world. And so is the general public tolerance. It’s legal to have sex with anyone you want and same-sex civil unions are not defined in law, but they are defined well enough in court precedents, and that’s what counts. On the Hebrew Wikipedia they pretty much rule. Those who think that they don’t yet rule in Jerusalem are quite wrong.

But i don’t mind. Let them march if they think that it’s fun. I pity those who violently oppose it – they should find something better to do.

Plus, it was on the previous pride parade in Jerusalem that Hadar finally decided to go veg after i talked about it with her for years, so something good came out of it for me.