I'm still a planet!

pulpofiction:

hermione granger the smartest witch of her age

hermione granger who in book two figured out that the thing turning kids into stone and killing other kids off was a giant fucking snake living in the secret fucking basement AND NO ONE HAD DISCOVERED IT IN A THOUSAND YEARS

hermione granger who was so smart and so studious that she traveled back and forth in time to learn everything she could about a world she’d never known about, and itself was torn apart over whether to treat her as one of their own or as scum

hermione granger who at fourteen discovered and trapped an illegal adult shapeshifter with considerable media sway and blackmailed her remorselessly

hermione granger who at fifteen decided to forge her own brand of justice with cool-headed cunning and subtle leadership “here’s what we have to do to protect ourselves,” she murmurs, drafting plans and strategies, when the law is useless you write your own, as harry takes the lead

hermione granger who was thrown into a world where people like her were reviled and persecuted at the tender age of eleven but learned all its tricks and whims, its secrets and deepest thoughts, who cut it open with the keen knife of intelligence and discipline and learned how to pluck each nerve and make it sing for her

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ HERMIONE *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ GRANGER *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

(via grneyedmonster15)

While I agree with the author’s premise that it’s wrong to hate Haredim, I’m afraid I’ll have to differ on most of her points.

1) While I certainly don’t quarrel with those who desire large families, the overwhelming burden is placed on Haredi women, many of whom would NOT like to go from pregnancy to pregnancy. Continuity should be about quality, not quantity.
(As to military service, I am in agreement with the author that Haredim should not have to serve in the armed forces, but then again, I’m against ANY compulsory military service…)
2) Haredim have some of the highest rates of poverty in Israel.
3) It’s a rather selective literacy, is it not? A poster for United Torah Judaism - the leading Haredi party in Israel - published an ad warning Haredi parents that a secular government would force their children to learn about Euclid. Literacy without math is a hollow literacy, in my humble submission.
4) Haredim are also at the forefront of banning any writing they view threatening their narrow interpretation of “our classic literature”. Modern Jewish Writers ranging from Slifkin (an erudite scholar) to Boteach (a milquetoast buffoon) have suffered the wrath of Haredi small-mindedness.
5) The Daas Torah of an elderly, but senile, “gadol hador” is constantly exploited by malicious activists.
6) With respect to the author, looking out for society’s weakest links and not terminating pregnancies that may result in a child with Down’s Syndrome are non-overlapping- magisteria.
7) The violent crime rate is low, perhaps, but also severely under-reported due to a culture of silence, and labeling people who call the police as mosrim. Spousal, child abuse and molestation exist in these communities at much higher rates than people choose to believe.
8) The author chooses a very narrow view of “family values”. Low divorce rates does not morality make, either. Are agunot part of the divorce rate statistics? Like in many aspects of Haredi life, women lose in this field, too.
9) I do not care if they pray for me, or if they curse me. Prayer is literally the least they can do.
10) This argument is silly enough to not even warrant a response.

I will offer the author my own reason not to hate Haredim. Because it’s wrong to hate.