Why is it ok to degrade people online? Is it because no one can see you? Would you do it if your mother could see?
I am following a blog by Tamar Fox on Jewcy.com. She is a sassy young orthodox woman living in Nashville. She is blogging about her encounters with the crossroads of being a faithful Jew and living in the pop culture of America. I love it. She places some great questions out there and wrestles with her challenges as a Jew in popular America.
Because she is orthodox she has comments placed by orthodox Jews criticizing her ideas. I am all game for criticizing ideas. What I find difficult to take is the belittling of her in the open forum. There is one person in general “who seems a bit uncomfortable with his/her Judaism” and criticizes and belittles Tamar.
Why is this ethical? Why is this frum? What makes him think he has all the answers? If he does not like the writings why doesn’t he just say what he does not like and argue on ideas?
Ethical speech is required for a strong and healthy community. Tearing down other people will only destroy the “third” temple of the Jewish people.
Slander
June 18, 2008 at 9:13 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: ethical, slander, speech
Behira point moving up?
June 16, 2008 at 9:20 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: behira, ethical, Ethics, point, society
Do you remember the behira point? This is the point in which you begin to think that a behavior is wrong such as when is it appropriate to steal. Most people will say never. However, if you need a pen or a piece of paper for home is it ok to bring it from work. I thought you said that stealing was not ok?
I have been thinking that the societal behira point keeps getting moved up. I think that people on average think that it is ok to take a pen and paper from work. I would guess that people think it is ok to go shopping online while at work too. This is all stealing. The question is when does your sensibilities tell you that you are about to cross a line?
What makes people act ethically? Do you learn it from your parents? From your friends? Family? School? Society? What can we do to the behira point back down in general? Does it need to?
What do we do when we live in a multicultural society with many different norms? What ethical standards do we follow? Should we follow the society as a whole? It seems very difficult for most people to go against the societal norms. Should we follow the ones given to us by our religious heritage?
What do you think? If taking paper and pencils and shopping online are alright for our society then is ok to take a stapler, book? Should we just take a poll and whatever most people do is ok?
What am I supposed to do with that?
June 12, 2008 at 1:15 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: ethical, menche, speech
The other day I was talking with a friend. He is a self-described menche (a do gooder, a person who always does right to others). We were talking to a guy about mowing lawns and stuff. This guy lives in a neighbor of 15 houses and he is the only one left who does his own lawn, the others have a lawn care company cut the grass. He is proud of this and loves to sit on his tractor and take a moment out once a week.
He got to talking about the new mower he bought He went to Sears and paid $1700 for this tractor. He likes the guarantee and he loved his old tractor so he is excited to get the new one.
Not much after he tell us this does my friend say ” Can you bring it back?” He says that the tractor is past technology and for just 4 to 5000 more he could buy a professional tractor. “They are way better” he says.
All I could think of was “thanks but no thanks.” After someone has purchased something and told you how excited and how great he thinks it is why would you say that he should bring it back and get something else. What was he thinking? I think that my friend should have said “cool, I just got a mower last year, one of those professional ones and I love it. Isn’t it great to get out and mow and not have to think about anything. blah blah blah blah.”
No so much the menche this time …
