On February 12, 1966, Rabbi Morris Adler, longtime leader of the Conservative synagogue Sha'arey Zedek, in suburban Detroit, was shot in front of his congregation by a mentally disturbed young member, who then turned his gun on himself. Adler died four weeks later.
Peter Orner takes the facts above and writes a flash fiction piece about it. Barbara is eight months pregnant and bored with the sermon and service at her synagogue. As the sermon winds down, a man rises up from the congregation and fires a shot. He makes his way to the podium and rails against the war and all of the other issues troubling young people in 1966. He ends his tirade by shooting and eventually killing the rabbi. Barbara is not entirely repulsed by his actions. In some way, they energize her. She will speak in defense of the deranged shooter a few months later.
You would like to think this somehow changes Barbara-for better or worse, but she remains with the husband, she thinks of as a racist, and goes on with her life. How many sixties activists did much the same? As we settled into a middle-class existence, we forgot the things that raised our consciousness once upon a time. Or most of us did.
10 comments:
Well, part of the problem is that unless one is somehow going to turn one's life over to some part of one's cause or causes, there is so little institutional support for activism as a part of one's life, particularly effective activism, at least not activism that doesn't benefit someones wealthy enough to not miss their donations to their pet cause too hard.
We live in an expensive world. There are always choices, and having our supposedly less corporate major political party at least as much in the thrall of a slightly, but not much, different sort of corporations, and its members apparently mostly happy with this state of affairs, doesn't help matters. Similar dynamics clearly at play in such similar nations as Canada, Australia, the UK and France, almost all of which have somewhat better, if decaying, structures in place to help people face their lives in the Expensive World. And then there are all the countries where people are less fortunate, on balance.
Exactly, Todd. Where have all the flowers gone?
What an interesting take on a tragic real-life story, Patti, and some really good questions about what happens to our convictions.
Patti--They were seen as pretty to look at, but were mowed down when they threatened to become part of the permanent landscape.
I haven't read this story, but I did read at least one of Orner's collections. As I recall, most of his stories are very short.
After the John Lutz, I read (mostly rereads) Linda Castillo's collection of long stories about her series character, Police Chief Kate Burkholder, who grew up Amish before leaving under traumatic circumstances. The book is A SIMPLE MURDER. One of the stories takes place when Kate is an Amish teen, but the others are modern. I've read all 11 (I think) books in the series, with the new one coming in June.
Currently reading Roddy (THE COMMITMENTS) Doyle's lockdown collection, LIFE WITHOUT CHILDREN. They are set in Dublin, under the lockdown, mostly featuring older men whose children are grown. I like it.
I like Roddy Doyle too. Have to look for this one.
Mine is up.
It's interesting. In the Doyle, the pandemic is always at least an undercurrent, usually the main focus (or one of them) of the stories. All through the book, I've been expecting it to turn out that the protagonist's wife will not just be out of the house but sick with Covid, but time after time, he goes a different way. There is at least one story where a character does get sick. Most of the narrators are clearly older (but not elderly) guys, whose kids are grown and out of the house. It's a pretty short book (under 200 pages) and a quick read.
Interesting that this story is based on a real event and takes a look at potential reactions to such a tragic ending. At least the character had some reaction to it, although I am not sure I would have had the same one.
Nor me.
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