Poem of the day: The Hebrew Mamita

Vanessa Hidary is one of my faves amongst the poets who appeared in the six seasons of Russ Simmons' Def Poetry series on HBO.

This performance is especially deep for me, because I have been that girl on that barstool, I have been told many times "gee, you don't look Jewish" and remained silent (or, worse, took it as a damned compliment). On the other hand, I have been known to let people go on and on about "this Jewish bastard" or about "the Kyke landlord" or about "the Jewish conspiracy that owns all the world's stocks and plots to limit my access to the pharmaceuticals I need" (yes, that is an actual meme out there) ... let them go on and on until they have taken all the rope they need to hang themselves, and then stood up and before leaving the table have let them know THEY WERE TALKING TO ONE.

But I have not done the whole trip that Hidary has done (at a much younger age). I never fully processed the shit I've sat and listened to that people felt safe to say in front of me because I "don't look Jewish" (odd, also, because I think I do "look Jewish") ...

Thanks, Vanessa, for crossing the desert for me and bringing this back with you: