Casspi and Jewish Masculine Identity
Well-written article over at TrueHoop on why Casspi is so important to Israel and Jewish people as a whole.
almost 2 years ago
Exhibit G
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Very interesting find, ExG.
The writer managing to fold Portnoy’s Complaint into the treatise was just the icing on the cake.
Rocks are free, and slingshots easily stolen.
Henry Abbott is consistently awesome.
I am not sure, personally, why the myth of the insecure, self-loathing Jewish male persists, but certainly it is great that Casspi is breaking barriers, whether real or imagined.
I personally have a vague ancestry with evidence of a Hebrew heritage in my last name. And I love Casspi as a great basketball player. But I do not identify with the phenomenon that he has caused in the Israeli and Jewish community.
Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance. Vonnegut
by Ice_9ine on Feb 19, 2010 3:32 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Yeah, I thought this article was interesting
but I’m pretty sure the “American Jews are insecure about their wimpiness” generalization should be offensive. I’m not Jewish and I don’t really know any Jews very well so I’m not sure how much credence there is to this generalization, but it’s pretty much a rule that ethnicity-based generalizations aren’t cool. I don’t know, maybe the author would offer a more nuanced and specific point in a larger article (this piece did read like the abstract for a pretty awesome research paper), but kept it simple for this particular venue/audience. In any case, very much worth the read.
"Sometimes the capriciousness of youth anesthetizes common sense." -Let Geoff's words guide our patience this season.
by AnotherStupidSN on Feb 19, 2010 3:49 PM PST up reply actions
I actually do understand the stereotype
Woody Allen doesn’t exactly strike anyone as being a classic leading man or an athlete of any type.
However, I am critical of the thought that masculinity is something that can be defined by being good at sports or having a certain amount of aggression. That is a modern-day Western and specifically American cultural view. So if Jewish men don’t necessarily live up to that by choice or by growing up with a different cultural view, why should that be something that is viewed as negative?
Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance. Vonnegut
by Ice_9ine on Feb 19, 2010 3:59 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
It's offensive, but the stereotype is very often in the media...
Seinfeld, Woody Allen, etc., etc.
Hence the modern backlash, Zohan, Inglourious Basterds, and others I can’t think of. I never had the problem w/ this because all the Jew’s I grew up w/, Great-granddad was a boxer and trainer, my granddad was a Cop, and my Dad and uncles were all tough SOB’s. That’s why I think I don’t “get” that putz Woody Allen (plus the fact that he’s a sicko) or Seinfeld.
Even Inglorious Basterds played with this theme
When they were first conscripted the Basterds were all skinny little whimps. Harvey Peckar messes with this stereotype all the time. Completely ignoring Casspi’s impact would be like pretending people don’t view African Americans as being good at basketball.
The man known simply as "Christmas Cheesesteak"
3 things Ice
1) I don’t think Henry Abbott is Jewish. If he is, my apologies to him.
2) Kevin Arnovitz is Jewish. He also wrote the article on Casspi.
3) Arnovitz has long been a terrific writer and proprietor who happens to run Clippers blog plus contribute to TrueHoop.
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
'm not sure Donald Sterling is a human being. He had to have been manufactured by someone, possibly David Stern, so that one team could solely just make profit for the NBA while doing nothing good for themselves. -- Aykis 16
I didn't know who wrote it. But Abbot generally does have a great blog, whether his writing or other's.
Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance. Vonnegut
by Ice_9ine on Feb 19, 2010 4:26 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
That wasn't Abbott
careful nowadays with the writer rotation going on at Truehoop. Arnovitz is good stuff.
GREENE! You’ve been superfluously apostrophe’d! - andy sims
"Kings games have become a matter of national importance – except nobody cares if they win or lose. "
I was excited when the Kings drafted Casspi- and I can see his importance to the nation of Israel. I just hope the unwavering, uncritical nationalist support won’t inhibit his development as a basketball player. He’s one of the top 10 rookies, but already a little overrated.
I can't believe I agreed with something you said.
The sky must be falling.
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
'm not sure Donald Sterling is a human being. He had to have been manufactured by someone, possibly David Stern, so that one team could solely just make profit for the NBA while doing nothing good for themselves. -- Aykis 16
it was bound to happen when the topic isn't kevin martin
…and I didn’t want to see him go either, per se.
Remember one thing
fans are pretty fickle. Eventually his fans in Israel will expect him to get better and start winning
www.mancancook.net
I don't know
Speaking as an American soccer fan who follows Americans over seas a little obsessively, fans will stay pretty loyal. Regardless of whether or not he improves, he will already be an icon.
The man known simply as "Christmas Cheesesteak"
And the whole thing about the "pamphlet"?
Not so much…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_athletes
Umm..
The pamphlet joke was written by Zucker brothers (who are both jewish and also big basketball fans) as a self deprecating joke. Trust me, they are aware.
I know, I get the humor....
There just might be some folks who don’t, hence the clarification
Since when is chess a sport!
The list of Jewish chess players nearly as long than as the others combined. What does that mean?
Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance. Vonnegut
I thought the Jewish masculine identity was already established
GREENE! You’ve been superfluously apostrophe’d! - andy sims
by iashwash on Feb 19, 2010 7:05 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
I'd humbly suggest that
the movie’s point is to provide a fantastic counter to the stereotype. The film wouldn’t have been made if the identity was already established.
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