"Good for the Jews?" or "Go Know!"

You rush into her small linoleum floored kitchen some 60-70 years ago and tell my delicious immigrant grandmother the Yankees won the pennant or that King Edward VIII just abdicated his throne, something she had no way of knowing anything about, and she was sure to reply, dumbfounded but whimsical, either "Good For the Jews?" or "Go know." I was dumbfounded not whimsical yesterday, Sunday, when I picked up the first section of my New York Times. On the first page, two fat, excruciating news stories. One dealt with the rash of suicides among Iraqi vets, deep and detailed cases of several suicides among hundreds of others. The second dealt with 1.5 million of the 8 million plus out of work Americans facing cutoffs of their unemployment benefits.

Just a few pages away, inside the first section, were lavishly produced full page ads for two new gloriously endowed perfumes. Of John Varvatos' stunning new fragrance, the copywriter gushed, "... an intricate yet bold blend of rose absolute and a coffee bean accord... presented in a heavy metal flacon for a rock and roll vibe." A few page turns later Marc Jacobs, on another lush full page, trumpets his startling new fragrance, "... an intoxicating swirl of rich layers, wrapping the skin in sensuous florals, blooming with the signature note of fuchsia peony."

I imagine my grandmother, Baba, overhearing a conversation about this ironic juxtaposition and then asking one of her inevitable questions, "Good for the Jews?" "Well, Baba," I might respond, "It could be seeking to prove something to us about the strength of the human spirit, meaning that no matter what besets us as a people, there is a part of us that will find beauty and loveliness in the harshest of realities, (God's presence, if you will) in the bleakest of circumstance."

"So, good for the Jews," she'd sigh contentedly. "On the other hand, Baba, it could just add up to more evidence that we've become a "Have or Have Not society."

And together we'd say, "Go know!"

Comments

[iMissMollyIvins]

Your Baba was a smart woman.

[OldSchoolLiberal]

Earlier today I walked past York and Frontage in New Haven where Norman lived in a forth floor walk-up. It is now a Walgreens.

[ipresumelikely]

It is understandable that Jewish folk, after the anti-Semitism in the 20th Century would be concerned about what was "good for the Jews". I don't begrudge them the practice of looking out for their own. I do have some resentment however of perpetuating a race that not everybody wishes to run. Most tend to gravitate to careers in business and have influence beyond their numbers in the financial industry, real estate, law, retail, and the media. They have contributed heavily to the current state we are in now of everything and everyone being bought and sold. Not all Americans want life to always be about profit.. "So Dahlink, what does he do for a living?" I don't care what he does for a living.

[roseau]

What the?

[joeinvt]

How about the anti-Semitism of the past two millenia? And by the way, Jews are also disproportionately represented in medicine, literature, music, philosophy, nuclear physics and all other fields of scientific inquiry, teaching, and even philanthropy. Education is a wonderful thing. You should check it out.

[changeself]

how do you explain that disproportionate over-representation of the jews in most of the key areas of the modern capitalist system?

either the jews are a superior race / ethnic group in the absolute terms, or

the system and the race / group are in a symbiotic relationship.

[Mike Barden]

I gotta figure out a way to wax poetic about my BO.

[scarletxoxoxo]

It was good for your mom last night.

[huhwhatdidyousay]

What does "Go Know" mean?

[WeCanDoMore]

I was wondering this too.

[slowlearner]

I had the same question It sounds like: "Go and find out."

[myopinion2]

My bubbie and mom always asked "is it bad for the Jews." It was a fear of anti-semitism, a concern that the majority population would blame the Jews as a group.

[soto719]

I am not Jewish, I am Puerto Rican from the South Bronx, and I understand what Mr. Lear is saying. I think have to much time on their hands and think way too much. I am not offended by him at all.

[soral]

"The story here is not about Jews at all. Or have anything to do the writer's own success or privilege. Just the opposite. It's about compassion for a group about whom so many of the educated and economic elites feel their prejudices to be valid. The working class. A taboo this country has yet to face-- class prejudice."
-Raphi

"It's not about hate or religion! Our grandmothers would often ask "Is It Good for the Jews?", not because they didn't care about "other" people. It was most often an expression common to a large sector of society that was different from Christians. They found living among their "own", a way of avoiding discrimination and "hate". Our "Bubba"s world questioned, "is It Good for the Jews?" , is indeed a caring question for all society?"
-SWforever

Mr. Lear, most people who read your article have no idea why your grandmother would say, "is it good for the Jews?" because the common worldview today is extravagantly different from where your grandmother came from. Please provide more context such as these readers provide in the future so that readers will not be confused, or worse, resentful of what they may faultlessly perceive as a statement of ethnocentrism or ethnic aggrandizement. It would be good for the Jews if you explained it next time.

[Tags]

Norman knows from whimsical.

Unfortunately, not everybody who read this post did.

Live and learn, already.

[tony4sure]

I wonder if other minorities ask if something is good for them, or just good for everyone?

In my opinion, if it is good for the Jews, then it is good for everyone else. I just think that the ethnocentrism is odd.

I have lived through a lot, but I don't see myself ever asking if something is good for just one group above all others.

[CarlyHope]

if your from the holocaust generation, self preservation doesn't seem odd

[Mildmannered]

I agree

[tony4sure]

The Holocaust is shameful to all of humanity, and I understand how a survivor of that tragedy (a word that does no justice to the true substance of that event) would be concerned mostly with self preservation.

But I still think that self preservation is folly is you are the only one alive. What I mean is, why ask if it is good for the Jews only?

Is it not the case that something good for the Jews is good for everyone else, and that if something is good for the Jews only, it might not be good for the rest of humanity? See, we are then drawing a dividing line. Things can't be good only for a particular group. But to think so strikes me as odd.

The truth is that we all suffer. Some more than others. And I know of people who have been to hell and back. And I also know holocaust survivors who have told me that being in a concentration camp was not the worse thing that happened to them. For many it was the loss of a parent or a loved one through illness or accident.

I've read about other concentration camp survivors (not necessarily Jewish) saying that surviving the Holocaust was actually worse than being killed there. They don't say is it good for our group.

All I'm saying is that it strikes me as odd to think only of something being good to you and your "group".

[Pero]

And especially good for Palestinians?

[soto719]

I am not Jewish, I am Puerto Rican from the South Bronx, and I am not offended by Mr. Lear at all. I understand what he is saying. I think people have too much time on their hands.

[desiderus]

Good for the Jews is to give back Palestine and restore Human Rights to those you have oppressed.
Go Know - is http://www.ifamericansknew.org/

Norman Lear should know this.

[CarbonCreditSeller]

Norm, so nice of you to post. When I was in junior high, my favorite program was All In The Family, until some of the kids at school found out that I am Polish. They started calling me, "dumb Pollack" and "meathead". The damage you did to Polish Americans took a Pope to repair. Your damage in your interests of making money damaged me, my family and everyone I know from the Polish community. So, I don't know what is good for your people; however, All In The Family was bad for my people.

[EminemsRevenge]

"All in the Family" led me to understand the few rednecks that lived in our multi-racial but predominantly Jewish & Irish neighbourhood, and instead led me to create THIS:
http://eminemsrevenge.xanga.com/708857320/profiling-me/
which i have to GIVE AWAY because publishers and agents aren't into "the Dream" that Martin Luther King had.

"All in the Family" wasn't what was bad for your family...it was the intolerance Mr Lear tried to dissipate with biting satire. Obviously you lived in a Dixiecrat neighbourhood that was on the verge of becoming Reagan Republicans!

And since i visited many Jewish homes, i gleaned a lot of wisdom from the bubbas, although i'm still a bit peeved that i only got two seder invitations in my life:(

[Chitownfool]

You know that Pollack is just Polish for man right?

[TXFF5000]

CarbonCreditSeller,

You are correct.

The show "All in the Family" only spread prejudice against Polish people.

Many Polish Americans were ridicuted with the same Anti-Polish slurs on TV shows like "All in the Family".

[iMissMollyIvins]

The problem was the kids who called you names, not Mr. Lear, who was using All In The Family as a way to educate us about the everyday bigotry that we still experience.

Do you still blame the writers of Welcome Back Kotter for people who said, "Up your nose with a rubber hose.", to you? Sheesh, grow up and get over yourself.

[TXFF5000]

MissMollyIvins,

Well it went beyond just kids imitating the anti-Polish slurs they saw on TV shows. Many of their parents and others felt it was also open season on ridiculing Poles with anti-Polish slurs because they saw it done on TV shows like "All in the Family". "All in the Family" also was hardly the only TV show filling the TV airwaves with anti-Polish slurs.

[george389]

i don't think i understand this post at all. what does "go know!" even mean?

[LeRoyRogers]

If I may suggest: The message is clear in a carefully confined reading of the last three paragraphs and brings "from your mouth to God's ear" to mind. A message of hope which closes the loop if we only knew.

[mystic]

Ask Madoff.

[CarlyHope]

Now that's just clearly offensive. Let's point out all the bad things white people have done whenever a white person talks and see how you like it

[11907281]

What color is is Madoff, exactly?