Of Etrogs and Aesthetics
Listening to the Orthodox discuss the relative beauty of various estrogim reminds me of a conversation I had a long time ago with a (black) friend:
"You see," she said, looking at a picture of some starlet holding a pocket doggie, "the difference between white people and black people is that white people look at that dog and say, aww, how cute! And black people look at it and say, DAMN, that's one ugly dog!"
Something to think about.
"You see," she said, looking at a picture of some starlet holding a pocket doggie, "the difference between white people and black people is that white people look at that dog and say, aww, how cute! And black people look at it and say, DAMN, that's one ugly dog!"
Something to think about.
posted by Tzipporah at 1:32 PM
6 Comments:
I'll admit it - I read this one three times, and I still don't get it. Help me out here, Tzipporah.
LOL - I think HER point was pretty much that "black folk" see no need to pretend that something ugly is "cute," and/or that their aesthetic sense is less warped by what's fashionable.
Re: the picture - the point? "Beauty" (or the lack thereof) is clearly in the eye of the beholder.
Chag Sameach, rabbi! Hope Toronto is treating you well. Is it snowing in your sukkah?
Oh, now I get it. But what about people (like me) who actually find that dog cute? We need not be slaves to a popular definition of beauty...
I fled to Atlanta for succos... no snow here...
Errrm, the dog is both ugly and cute.
Now, if it were a chihuahua, on the other hand......
Like the two visitors in the movie Ushpizin, I keep thinking that what this salad needs is a squeeze of limon.
Sat in M's sukkah this past weekend. Good food. Good company. Strange conversation.
I'm torn on pugs. I both think they're cute and sad excuses for dogs because, really, what kind of dog isn't taller than my ankle?
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