Clockwork Orange
Was taking the 405 home after work yesterday. Got me a window seat and then got myself comfy. After a while was staring out the window daydreaming. It was somewhere near the airport that I spotted it - a car shooting down the Ayalon with multiple orange ribbons attached to it.
Soon after saw a few more cars with orange ribbons. I began looking for a car with blue and white ribbons and couldn't see a single one. You know why? Because they were a gimmick while the orange was and is a way of life.
For those who don't know what I am talking about - orange became the symbol of the people who were going to lose their homes due to the Hitnatkut. There were orange bracelets, orange t-shirts, orange posters and of course orange ribbons. They were everywhere and were soon countered by people handing out blue and white ribbons. For those here last summer you will remember coming to a halt at an intersection and being deluged by people handing out ribbons. For one side though, it was a game and for the others it was far more serious than that.
Did the people handing out the blue and white ones really care about the Hitnatkut? To me they smelt a bit like the bad woman in the famous Solomon's baby case. When I heard first the fable I hated her but as I grow older and witnessed the darker, cynical side of man I became more fascinated by her. After all the villains always make the more interesting characters. I mean, to want to have a baby chopped up in half just so the other person misses out on her baby - that's some serious Schadenfreude going on. But not half as bad as what we see in today's society.
Did the whole orange thing last year become political? You better believe it. Regardless of whether you meant to or not, suddenly wearing orange was making far more of a statement than the guy who wore a pink shirt. Certain companies told their workers who had company cars they were not allowed to display orange ribbons. Some taxis had both ribbons to please everyone. After all business is business.
A week is a long time in politics, so how about nearly a year? With the fast paced lifestyle we live in, the government was banking on everyone moving on to the next flavour of the moment issue and soon the Hitnatkut would be nothing more than a dot in the rear view mirror.
You know what the definition of belief is? To do so when you have no reason at all to do so. When every sign, indictator and person tells you there is no sense in doing so. That is real belief.
So now the media and paparazzi have moved on to the next hotspot on the globe. The blue and white ribbons are in the rubbish bins but not the orange ones. You still see them affixed to backpacks, cars, houses and the like.
They still believe.
Soon after saw a few more cars with orange ribbons. I began looking for a car with blue and white ribbons and couldn't see a single one. You know why? Because they were a gimmick while the orange was and is a way of life.
For those who don't know what I am talking about - orange became the symbol of the people who were going to lose their homes due to the Hitnatkut. There were orange bracelets, orange t-shirts, orange posters and of course orange ribbons. They were everywhere and were soon countered by people handing out blue and white ribbons. For those here last summer you will remember coming to a halt at an intersection and being deluged by people handing out ribbons. For one side though, it was a game and for the others it was far more serious than that.
Did the people handing out the blue and white ones really care about the Hitnatkut? To me they smelt a bit like the bad woman in the famous Solomon's baby case. When I heard first the fable I hated her but as I grow older and witnessed the darker, cynical side of man I became more fascinated by her. After all the villains always make the more interesting characters. I mean, to want to have a baby chopped up in half just so the other person misses out on her baby - that's some serious Schadenfreude going on. But not half as bad as what we see in today's society.
Did the whole orange thing last year become political? You better believe it. Regardless of whether you meant to or not, suddenly wearing orange was making far more of a statement than the guy who wore a pink shirt. Certain companies told their workers who had company cars they were not allowed to display orange ribbons. Some taxis had both ribbons to please everyone. After all business is business.
A week is a long time in politics, so how about nearly a year? With the fast paced lifestyle we live in, the government was banking on everyone moving on to the next flavour of the moment issue and soon the Hitnatkut would be nothing more than a dot in the rear view mirror.
You know what the definition of belief is? To do so when you have no reason at all to do so. When every sign, indictator and person tells you there is no sense in doing so. That is real belief.
So now the media and paparazzi have moved on to the next hotspot on the globe. The blue and white ribbons are in the rubbish bins but not the orange ones. You still see them affixed to backpacks, cars, houses and the like.
They still believe.
posted by Dot Co Dot Il at 9:03 PM
11 Comments:
very true.
Great post! Interestingly, at Amdocs the request to remove ribbons from company cars came from an outspoken blue-ribbon employee.
Thanks Rafi and Sara
I already feel bad for tourists who inadvertently wore orange, at least I got warned not to.
Good thong they didn't use black for their cause, cause I wouldn’t know what to wear Shabbes then.
"the orange was and is a way of life"
How true!
my STBex and her family religiously practice Schadenfreude.
J.
Actually, my blue and white ribbon is still in my car.
I think that yes, although they were distributed to some degree as a kneejerk reaction to the orange ones, it is not true to counter that it was "a game" or that the people handing out non-orange ribbons "didn't care." You could legitimately argue that they are not involved with campaigning on behalf of the settlement movement- perhaps they "don't care" about that, but you cannot conclude that that makes them indifferent to the state of their country.
(And also don't forget that while you reminisce, Jerusalem was the most ribboned of all cities last summer: the vast majority of cars around the country had no ribbon/involvement at all.)
- Good title, btw.
I replace my car's orange ribbon every few months with a new one.
And there's a big "moetza azorit chof aza" flag flying from my home.
It's not a game in the slightest.
http://muqata.blogspot.com/2006/03/remembering.html
yes! yes! yes!
good post!
funny cuz when i landed in israel in the beginning of this year (was away for the summer..and the hitnatkut), i suddenly was unsure what to do with my orange strings. i thought maybe it would just be a 'stab in the heart'. i thought maybe it would be considered insensitive.
thinking it over, i decided that i would rather take the chance of being insensitive for remembering, than for being insensitive for forgetting.
i left them on (my suitcases, backpack, camera, keys etc) and was glad i did.
Pragmatician - Lol!
Kasmaba - Thanks :)
JCop - Sadly, they wouldn't be in the minority.
PP - At least they didn't take the holy colour of purple and use that in vain ;)
Jameel - Where do you get your new ribbons from?
Anonymous - You think so? Are you Dutch?
Sabra - Welcome and thanks :)
interesting, havent been back since the whole orange_fest, but what you say makes perfect sense!
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