#A sstudy in semiticss

[vergess]

Can't say I'm shocked that we're starting off Letters from Watson by finding out which BNFs are antisemites, but I am horrified to see people whose memes and meta I personally enjoyed unmasking themselves.

At least the damned fucking substack operator isn't a raging shithead. Small mercies in difficult goddamn times.

Here's a pro tip: if you see a Jewish person publicly push back against an antisemitic stereotype, putting themself at risk? Your options are

1) Be quiet because you don't know enough about the situation.

2) Act as an ally to the Jewish person.

That. is. it.

There is no option 3.

Do I make myself clear?

You do not blame the victims of racism for being victimized! What is wrong with you?

You should be ashamed of yourselves. God knows I'm ashamed to be associated with you merely readers of the same bloody emails!

The antisemitism in fandom is not "limited" to the victorian era. It is not dead and gone. It is not "period typical". It is a constant daily barrage that we never, ever get a break from.

Just yesterday, minding my own ass business, I got the delightful treat of 6 distinct exposures (that I can remember today, looking back, so it's safe to say there were more) to antisemitic garbage.

On tumblr it was "jewish people use fandom to molest kids somehow."

At the doctor's office waiting room, it was "vaccines are a jewish microchip conspiracy".

We don't get a break, and it didn't fucking end in 1920.

Stop being a pathetic little gentile pissant! Make an effort to be an actual ally for once in your godforsaken little lives, would you?

Because that post was so painstakingly gentle and kind! And you wretched little bastards couldn't be nice about it.

So here we are Once Again.

With me.

The angry little Bitch Cockroach Jew here to cause problems on purpose.

Eat shit, you useless fucks.

#automatic op tag #Letters From Watson #Antisemitism #Anti Semitism #Sherlock Holmes #Holmes #(As asked: this is fine 2 reblog) #A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #letters from watson blacklist/ #holmes

[vergess]

I think you’re right to be upset with the antisemitism present in Letters to Watson, but I think you risk hurting people who are in your corner by framing those who have disagreed with you as violent antisemites. It’s not my place to tell you to calm down and that isn’t my intention, but I think it’s worth reconsidering a call out post, and redirecting your energy into a discussion, if you’re so inclined. I hope you’re doing well.

Oh man, oh man, you would not believe the vigour of my victorious dab as I slammed open the unpublished draft of part 3 that I barely, barely resisted posting because I felt I had adequately made my point, and surely, surely no one could possibly find room to be weird about it as a """"callout"""" and not sheer fucking exhaustion at yet another fucking microaggression.

But alright!!!!!! Let's goooooo!!!! :D

---

I've no qualms whatsoever with the substack operator, btw. They have done a lovely job thus far. The CW list available on the collaborative google doc looks very thorough, far better than anything I could have organized.

I'm not upset with the book club as a whole, I'm not going to quit or anything.

I just don't think many gentiles understand the scale of antisemitism. So many of you, bless your kind intentions, think it's a historical thing. You think that because it's old and gone, you're on our side by simple virtue of history.

It isn't over. These are not old scars lightly touched.

These are bleeding wounds, often torn open that very day, being poked and prodded during what should be our relaxing hobbies.

Think about whatever marginalizations you have, I'm sure you have them.

And then imagine antisemitism as another one, added on top. Another whole stupid bonus layer. Another shit-icing on the shit-cake.

And then think about all the people telling you that you should just be more grateful for the google doc telling you in advance about the shit corn!

Think about all the kind-hearted anons withing you a good day, with a smile and a wave, so sweetly confused that you aren't smiling back.

That you're not grateful for their utterly, spectacularly useless, meaningless, unhelpful advice. The google doc with the whole "hey, there's gonna be some corn in the shit" warning doesn't really make the shit less shitty.

And it certainly doesn't make the entire process more fun or bearable to have a bunch of condescending little fuckers telling you that the goddamn google doc full of corn warnings really should be more than enough I mean what more do you want them to do, listen to you talk about how unpleasant all this shit-corn is? It's a bit gross you know. Kind of impolite really.

Honestly, at this point you're making it more uncomfortable for everyone else. Can't you just, you know. Leave the poor baker alone?

It's so mean.

---

So, anon, I appreciate the advice.

But, with all my fondness and all my kindness, may I in turn offer this advice to you:

If you're one of the people who Did The Thing?

You're not a "violent antisemite" or fucking whatever.

You're a person who made a mistake. You accidentally did an antisemitism. Happens to the best of us. I myself probably do about 3 antisemitisms a day, and I'm Jewish. It's the nature of the world we live in.

The trick is to acknowledge it when you realize you did one, apologize to anyone you hurt, and try your best not to make the same mistake in the future. You will make it again, btw. You're human. And when you make that mistake again, the solution will be to repeat the same steps then.

What it damned well won't be, it to fucking pretend you're incapable of doing any harm, claim that the real victim is the person running the email chain, and then double down on the bugshit insane idea that antisemitism ended 100 years ago.

So try. The fuck. Again.

You goddamn fucking morons.

#answered asks #Anonymous #Anti semitism #Antisemitism #Letters from Watson #Sherlock Holmes #Holmes #A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #letters from watson blacklist/ #holmes

[vergess]

i'm sorry that you're having such a bad time wrt another tumblr book club :(

I was going to put on a tough face, but actually I'm really not handling it well at all. I keep having violent panics in between dissociative fits.

But more than anything, I'm so fucking mad at myself for having allowed myself the foolishness of vulnerability. For the audacious imbecility of hope.

Because I knew this was coming.

Sherlock Holmes attracts only the worst kind of Literary Intellectual (TM). But I still hoped.

And when I saw that post this morning, do you know what I thought actually? "Oh, finally! I've been waiting for someone to bring it up. It seemed overdue. I'm glad we're going to talk about it now!"

That's why I dared to bare my dumb stupid fucking soul like that, like a moron. Like an idiot. To fucking show my weak spot and say, "go ahead, goyim, here's the target!"

Because I really thought the fandom was going to talk about it.

I trusted us.

Them.

I thought about them as an us that could be trusted to talk to as peers about a difficult subject.

You know. The way the Dracula Daily fandom talked about the anti-Romani bigotry, phrenology, xenophobia.

The way the 80 days fandom talked about the various forms of racist and colonialist messaging pervasive throughout.

The way the Whale Weekly fandom continues to talk about. Ooof. Allll of that.

I thought we were going to talk.

In the way that had been established as the norm for these books.

But instead, just. Just an avalanche of some of the most obscene shit. A lot of it gleefully posted in public, masks fully off.

People calling jews too stupid too read. Calling us censors. Saying we're attacking and harassing gentiles by acknowledging that the fucking source material is antisemitic, a fact the goddamned gentiles themselves also openly acknowledge.

But we're hurt by it. And we're expressing that pain. So I guess that makes us the villains.

You know, Shakespeare wrote plenty of antisemitic stereotypes himself, but uh. He had this tendency to, see, also make his characters very fully realized and give them elegantly spoken motivations. So elegant, in fact, that many people forget the first lines are ours.

I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heal'd by the same means, warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, do we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.

Oh, but I forget my place in the hierarchy of this noble English Literary Canon.

#little baby birds expecting already digested literature to be vomited in their mouths

Jews are just dumb animals.

My bad, y'all. My bad.

#answered asks #myfriendskickass #Letters from Watson #Anti Semitism #Antisemitism #A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #letters from watson blacklist/ #holmes

[vergess]

Genuinely do not understand how people are so oblivious to the fact that antisemitism is a huge and increasing problem, like.. if you follow the news in literally any format there are stories all the time about hate crimes and Kanye and Whoopi and SO MANY people that agree with them. It's so obvious and people still think antisemitism ended with WWII I really do not understand this, or why people are mad at you for pointing it out when they claim not to be antisemites??? If someone is defending or denying antisemitism.. that's called being an antisemite yall this isn't complicated

Well, you see!

There are some Jewish readers in the discord server. And presumably some of them must also have contributed to the collaborative list of trigger warnings. And as we all know, a list of trigger warnings constitutes a complete critical discussion of antisemitism.

Therefore, any Jewish readers who, for example, are uncomfortable with the total radio silence from the broader Letters from Watson fandom here on tumblr WRT antisemitic stereotyping in the text is just going into hysterics. We're either too stupid too read, demanding that the text be dumbed down enough for our malformed "baby-bird" brains

Or we're demanding the poor white gentiles re-write their entire literary canon in our image.

By suggesting that maybe... in a book club... a coomunity venture... taking place publically... on a public platform such a tumblr... perhaps... tumblr users might seek to contextualize the work... communally????

Oh god, you know? I was going to keep trying. I really was. I was going to keep linking to each stupid little example of the overwhelmingly toxic antisemitism oozing off almost every stupid response to that post.

But what's the fucking point?

I can't just keep pointing to them screaming the most brazen and absurd antisemitic nonsense.

I mean for fuck's sakes, they're out here saying that it's a harassment campaign targetting the goddamned substack, when it consists whole fucking cloth of one 20 year old woman pointing out that she was rather shocked by a pretty egregiously shocking bit of racism

And me being like, "Yeah m8, that sure was fucked up!"

While so far no less than 3 dozen anons and 9 completely non-anonymous goddamned individuals decide to be weird about it!!!

Holy shit, people are out here saying "The Jews Want To Censor The Letters From Watson Substack" now, because one person said it might be nice if, perhaps, it was considered to make some community commentary more prominent maybe.

But heaven fucking forfend a Jew speak politely in a public space. God, no. That's making Unreasonable Labour Demands Of Poor, Innocent Fucking Gentiles.

I just.

I really feel bad for the OP, more than anything else. Imagine using tumblr once a month, you read Sherlock Holmes for the first time, pop an off the cuff little jumblr post like that, close the app...

And then...

Oh boy.

It's not gonna be a nice notes page com February, no it is not.

#answered asks #Anonymous #Letters from Watson #BTW my previous statement about the Substack organizer not being an ass is revoked that whole baby birds too stupid to read shit??? #That's allll theirs #Anti Semitism #Antisemitism #A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #letters from watson blacklist/ #holmes

[vergess]

You know what's the actual worst part about this?

I can't actually post the harassment I receive. I'm sure some of you who have followed me for a very long time know that I used to! I posted every one of the abhorrent messages I would get from these, though I would remove the graphic images and videos first.

These days, harassers are smarter. They send in these messages in bulk, and then report tag spam, or else report inappropriate/violent content on the blog once I post it publicly.

Thus, I am obligated to block/delete/report it, instead. Which is probably, honestly, better for the web ecosystem anyway.

But, it means the majority of the people watching this go down will leave thinking the gentiles are right.

They're going to see how polite gentiles stayed. How calmly they talked down to me. How their little lies were delivered kindly from every mouth. Each insult was perfectly deniable. Oh, they didn't mean it that way, oh, I'm taking it too seriously.

Observers will leave with their quiet biases confirmed: Jews over-react to everything. Anti-semitism isn't actually that common. Jews make it up for attention. If Anti-semitism still exists it's rare; we exaggerate it to feel like real minorities.

The reality is: anti-semitism is ever more common and ever more powerful.

This will be lost on them.

Anti-semitism is a complicated force. You can't plot it on a chart like gravity. But it has measurable effects.

In Europe, in 2019, those effects reached their worst point Europe since the 1930s. In the US, we crossed over in 2016. In Canada, I believe it was just last year: 2022.

Around the world, anti-semitism is getting worse every day.

And hundreds of people are, right now, convincing themselves and their friends that it's all crybaby nonsense. Patting themselves on the back for being so polite about the silly temper tantrum. Telling themselves they did such a good job with that google doc.

Isn't that what it was really all about? The google doc?

Not the harassment? Not the alienation? Not the fact that so, so many Jewish people watched this happen and know that they can absolutely never set foot near this fandom ever again? Not the Nazis who watched this and know that they have allies who will give them cover to send hundreds of violent threats to any Jew who speaks out of turn?

No, of course not.

It must have been about the google doc.

About being polite, when you remind people to read the trigger warnings.

#automatic op tag #A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #letters from watson blacklist/ #holmes

[vergess]

The characterization of this as 'arguing over trigger warnings' and not 'it took less than 6 hours for a bunch of people to go from nominally polite statements about trigger warnings to tellings Jews to kill themselves for censoring media' is sure fascinating.

But like.

I will say I'm glad the TWs are going to be made more prominent because I actually do read on the substack (my email provider tends to shorten longer messages) so there were emphatically NOT links in 'each entry' for me and it was EXTREMELY frustrating to have people insist that over and over when it was demonstrably untrue.

#A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #letters from watson blacklist/ #holmes

[vergess]

Hi. There's a linktext in this post https://at.tumblr.com/vergess/705815361967325184/gzkcjwa4twt2 going "jewish people use fandom to molest kids somehow" and the link leads to some anon going off about a jewish person also being PROSHIP. Like, i get why you'd assume an anti (and antisemite) would think proship/Jewish(=pedophile)=child molester, but they didn't SAY that. By paraphrasing them that way, YOU are the one saying that. Which tbh I find darkly funny after you going off at that "baby birds tag" person, but whatever.

Could you please in the future put a bit more thought when paraphrasing what you think other people mean?

Do you take pride in your ignorance of every single subject about which you write? You certainly tend to it with a diligence that would show remarkable love, if not for your sheer vitriol.

Quoted from this reblog:

@katoska being right there in the reblog, i can tell you that was absolutely what the anon meant in context -- the person who was asked was being harassed and called a pedophile (over fictional characters, of fucking course) and the “of course you’re jewish and a proshipper” ask was right there. this is far from the only example of antis being antisemitic, just the most obvious and glaring one. the way Vees paraphrased it was absolutely accurate, you just want to tone police people talking about bigotry that affects them

#answered asks #katoska #A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #holmes

[vergess]

NGL I was really interested in finally reading Holmes and I hadn't exactly gotten around to it yet but I'd saved up all of the e-mails for when I could manage it and... Yeah, I deleted them all. I currently have zero desire to read the series anymore. Maybe that'll change one day but even as just an observer that was such an unpleasant experience that it's completely turned me off of something I legitimately think I'd have enjoyed. Great job, all.

A Study In Scarlet Semitics

Or

The Language of My People

English

Emmigration (n): The Act of Leaving Your Native Land

It's been 7 minutes since this ask came in. I started sobbing when I saw it.

You're not the first person to say this to me. Not the first Jew, either. Not a ton... 6 or 7 total.

I don’t know what makes this message special.

It's just that.

This is so.

How can I explain. How can I explain?

Words don't make the meaning rightly. I cannot condense it well. The loss the loss the fragmentation and the fry the fracture unravels.

Lossy compression in communications.

I wanted to share. Communal. Fandom, friends: these loving things.

These frozen frailties that linger, langour, a syrup sweetly soothes a fissured pharynx, and instead it’s broken, broken broken broken

Français

Casser (v): Démolir Quelque Chose

On me casse

Je me casse

Je le casse

On le casse

Casse

Casse

Casse

#answered asks #transfaabulous #Letters from watson #Anti semitism #Antisemitism #A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #letters from watson blacklist/ #holmes

[vergess]

Turning anon off for a minute, sorry. As usual, @arionwind will be leaving anonymous asks on. You can direct anon messages the, and ny will forward your ask to me.

I just like. I dunno man, if one more person talk about child sacrifice in front of me, I will not be able to cope, okay? You win, gentiles!! You did it!!! Con-fucking-gratulations!!!!!!!!!

#automatic op tag #A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #letters from watson blacklist/ #holmes

[vergess]

The Letters from Watson situation and you bringing up that being exposed to bigotry over time normalizes it reminds me of a situation where I was hurt because someone didn't tw for bigotry. I watched the Nanny a lot as a young kid and when Matt Baume did a video essay about it and it's roots in queer culture I decided to try and re-watch it. When I actually went to watch it, I was floored by the sheer scale of fatphobia presented. It wasn't a jab here or there every other episode, it was a barrage of fatphobia in every episode, baked into the text. I tried to hold out, to see if I could ignore it, but eventually found myself in tears as a chubby child actress was berated on screen for comedic effect. But what really scared me was... The show was getting to me. I was starting to see the thin but less petite elder daughter as fat, when I wouldn't have before. The show was changing my perspective despite my best efforts to not let it get to me. Fatphobia is not comparable to anti semitism, but this taught me that, if you are going to present a piece of media, or analyze it, not mentioning or warning for bigotry is irresponsible at best, and endorsement at worst. I'm still a bit irritated that fatphobia wasn't mentioned even once in the essay. I'm really sorry this backlash is happening over a very reasonable reaction. :/

Mmm, actually I think most kinds of bigotry are very comparable.

Not universally, no. But, in general? People benefit from comparing them. Solidarity is often built on learning the things we have in common first, so that we can better help respect and protect each others' different needs, interests and abilities.

Just off the top of my head, for example, fat people and Jewish people are both characterized as greedy, and in fact, Jewish people are often specifically characterized as fat.

But that's REALLY off topic, haha.

In this case, while there were some warnings made about a month ago (apparently these warnings were repeated if you use the email reader, but I do read on the website, where the warnings are not repeated), and while I was aware of the content going in, my issue is, again, not with the existence or lack thereof of the TW list.

As I have. Repeatedly and constantly said. I think the TW list is lovely. It's great. It's very complete. Nice work everyone. No one has any problems with the TW list. No one has ever had any problems with the FUCKING. TW. LIST.

THE PROBLEM. IS WITH. THE UNHINGED. ANTISEMITISM. IN RESPONSE. TO THE MOST MILQUETOAST. IMAGINABLE. POST. EVER. MADE.

Here's the breakdown.

20 y/o Jewish woman: Gosh, even with the trigger warning a whole month ago that imo was really not enough, that sure was some antisemitism. I would prefer to see more pushback on such intense racism in the future, but it is early days. Sure hope things get better as we go!

Me, 30+ Jewish person: Haha, yeah, reminded me of how much it hurt to read when I was a kid. Glad I've got bigger problems to worry about nowadays lol.

Every gentile within earshot: OH SO YOU THINK WE SHOULD CODDLE YOU POOR LITTLE JEWBABY FEELINGS HUH? WE SHOULD CENSOR ART FOR YOUR PRECIOUS WIDDLE OWIES? YOU WANT YOUR TO PRE-DIGEST YOUR WORDS BECAUSE YOUR SUBHUMAN JEW BRAINS CAN'T READ? KILL YOURSELF!!!!!!!!

Me, again: Okay, well. That is an extreme fucking reaction so let's fucking calm our asses down with the goddamn nazi shit for ten fucking minutes, perhaps????

And then the gentiles devolved into further screaming about how I'm, I don't know...

They seem to have convinced themselves of a lot of things at this point. The ones willing to put their names on it are mostly content to call me anything from a liar to a harasser to an imbecile incapable of reading, to someone with a personal hatred of the Substack operator, etc etc.

They seem broadly convinced that I "want" something or to impose on the substack. Which is nonsense. All I "wanted" was to read some books I liked with a group of people and discuss, and that ship has thoroughly fucking sailed.

The anonymous bitches are mostly wandering into blood libel at this point. Again, I used to post all my anon threats, but I stopped doing that once bigots got smart enough to start reporting me for spam when I did that, because victims showing their harassment in public is, of course, the real harassment.

They also seem not to be aware of a very simple fact:

I can still see your comments in my notifications page if I'm the OP, even after you've blocked me, and it is very fucking obnoxious.

#answered asks #themetafarers #A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #letters from watson blacklist/ #holmes

[vergess]

Hey, I'm just popping in to tell you that reading what you wrote about antisemitism brings me a lot of emotional relief, because I can feel why these people are wrong, but I don't have enough information to articulate it (my own connection to Jewishness much more vague).

Thank you.

I really appreciate the messages of support. I was feeling more refreshed when I woke up, but it does get draining. It's so much easier when the little bastards are on anon.

It's the ones who so gleefully take pride in putting their names on their anti-semitism that exhaust me. How they can sit there and hear, "oh, well, my actions were the Polite Normal Face that allowed a bunch of shitheads to send violent threats for 12 hours... therefore I'm totally in the right! It's just a coincidence that I'm on the same side as nazis!! No need to reassess my behaviour!!"

Like, buddy. Come on...

Even if you were 100% right, do you not think that, perhaps?? the fact that the people agreeing with you are Nazis telling Jews to die, and the people disagreeing with you are Jews actively begging you in tears to just let us read the same dumb mystery novel as you in peace is... like...

A red fuckin flag? Maybe????

Just in terms of your rhetorical devices???

#answered asks #female-to-faggot #Anti Semitism #Antisemitism #A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #letters from watson blacklist/ #holmes

[vergess]

Oh good, the antisemite is making dracula meta now.

Time to update my fucking blacklist I guess

#A sstudy in Semiticss

[vergess]

Damn, now every time I see Holmes meta I have to hold my fucking breath until I find out whether it came from the "we can't be antisemitic we have a jewish mod what do you MEAN we've been publically mocking Jews for existing" gang.

And it always did, because we're between major adaptations right now, and so of course Letters from Watson is the only game in town but like.

God damn it.

God damn it now I'm crying again fuck

#automatic op tag #a sstudy in semiticss

[vergess]

Did you report the threats

Like the first dozen? Honestly, it... there really gets to be a point where the actual report process itself gets too be more work than its worth.

It IS very fast and efficient! It's just, y'know. When you've got them coming in that quickly, it's easier after a point to just block them.

I report the more egregious ones, of course, and if I'm feeling more energetic I do a few here and there.

But a block+delete takes two clicks. A harassment report opens a new tab and I have to click trough a couple options, and it's yeah, only about 20 seconds per threat, but it does add up quickly and like...

I am actually a seriously disabled motherfucker lol. My shoulders are only good for so much typing and mouse movement a day, I can't be wasting all of it on these assholes, y'know??

#answered asks #Anonymous #A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #letters from watson blacklist/ #holmes

[vergess]

are you okay with non-jewish people reblogging your post regarding letters from watson?

Oh yeah, go for it. I turn reblogs off on posts I don't want reblogged (when I remember, haha)

#answered asks #Anonymous #A sstudy in semiticss #anti semitism #antisemitism #letters from watson blacklist/ #holmes