Showing posts with label internet filters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet filters. Show all posts
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Was Supression of Abuse Victims the Real Reason for the Internet Asifa? (Hint: Depends who you Ask)
I have been thinking about the issues relating the my post on Thursday about the approach of many in our community to place the burden on the victims of sexual abuse rather than stand up to abusers and enablers and protect abuse victims.
In connection with reading about that issue, I saw another article written by Judy Brown, the author of Hush, relating to the big Internet Asifa at Citi Field last year. The article was posted on Dovid Teitelbaum's blog, Tales from a Summer Camp and was called, This is why the Internet Asifa is Important for K’lal Yisroel.
In it, she writes about why she feels it's important for people to attend a protest outside the Asifa by supporters of sexual abuse victims. Their rallying cry was "The Internet is not the Problem." While it's clear that Internet filters are absolutely necessary in my opinion, I also agree that "the Internet is not the [real, underlying] problem," for reasons explained by my Rebbe here and here.
But Mrs. Brown offers a different, seemingly left-field explanation of what she views as the "real" reason for the Internet Asifa: The chareidi community wanted to make the Asifa because the Internet must not be allowed in our community since it (i) gives people a way to reveal the "moral decay" within the chareidi world to the outside world and (ii) empowers victims of sexual abuse by connecting them with others in a similar situation and sources of help and information, which in turn makes the abuse harder to keep under wraps.
As someone completely outside the world of abuse victims, my initial reaction is that this explanation is completely left field (no Mets pun intended). And, right or wrong, because of the "wholesome lie," as she so poetically describes it, told by many parts of the various chareidi communities, abuse as a reason for anything is very far in the periphery of most people's minds. While there may be some people who may have consciously had this reason for supporting the Asifa, I don't think it was a major part of the organizers' motivations. While it could be debated or argued that they missed the real underlying problem, most people's primary motivation is helping protect ourselves and our children from the impurity which is so accessible on the Internet, which is a positive goal. The worst one could say is that the focus was misguided, but the truth is that there was nothing consciously nefarious about it.
That being said, why would Mrs. Brown and so many others believe that the primary reason for the Asifa is to silence sexual abuse victims? To clarify, I'm not suggesting that I don't agree with her that one of the positive things about the Internet (much more important than my ability to share Torah on this blog!) is its ability to connect abuse victims with one another, connect them with resources, help, and law enforcement, and raise awareness so more people will take greater steps to prevent and stop abuse. But that aspect of the Internet is not what most people think of as its defining character. Most people think of it either as a practical tool, a source of entertainment, and/or a source of filth no Jew should be exposed to.
I believe that Mrs. Brown and others saw the the purpose of the Asifa the way they did because the primary importance and character of the Internet in their lives is as a literal lifesaver. It is one of many people's only sources of information, connection, and help, and is a powerful tool in exposing abuse and abusers in order to begin taking steps to fix broken, corrupt systems. For them, that is what the Internet is all about. That is its defining essence in their lives. It is a life preserver that literally saved their lives. In their expeirence, moral decay comes from within the community, not from the outside. The information and connections they find on the Internet feels like the first breath of air inhaled by someone who was drowning.
So from their perspective (assuming I'm right about charactarizing that perspective - anyone who has expeirenced this is welcome to share their actual perspective), if someone is trying to cut off frum people's access to the Internet (the same Internet wose defining attribute is as a lifeline for those suffering from abuse and intimidation), the only explanation is that their primary motivation is to further silence abuse victims and perpetuate the moral decay within the community.
For the majority of people, however, who are not connected in any way to abuse, the Internet does not have that kind of a life preserver nature. That is just not its defining nature in their mindds. It has a different significance to them. It is something they need for work, or want for self-expression, entertainment, or as a way of giving into their illicit desires. For them, it's character is largely as a conduit of impurity, too easily brining filth into Jewish homes and minds. That is why it should be curtailed. That's why Mrs. Brown's charactarization is utterly baffling to those who are (thankfully) not part of the world of abuse.
I hope that by writing this, it will serve as a way of helping people coming from very different perspectives understand where one another are coming from. I also hope I'm not too off-base. IY"H, may we merit to stand up to abusers rather than victims and only use the Internet for good things.
Picture courtesy of Times of Israel. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to "follow" me on Twitter.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Check out this Internet Filter Ad - Part of the Solution or the Problem?
Saw the ad on the right at Vos Iz Neiaz adverstizing an Internet filter. It goes without saying that a Jew should not use the Internet without a filter (I use the Web Chaver buddy system and filter combination) but something just rubs me completely the wrong way about this advertisement. I assembled screen shots of the .gif ad to make this picture. Partly, it feeds into the problem Rav Moshe Weinberger notied in his article Just One Thing is Missing - The Soul wherein we feel that the underlying problem is unfiltered Internet, when it goes much deeper, to what kind of Yiddishkeit we are living. Filters without addressing that won't be effective. It also depicts children (or adults?) who are nichshol in Internet related aveiros as literal monsters. If people see themselves that way b'etzem, it makes teshuva much harder... People ought to listen to this shiur given by Rabbi Judah Mischel on Wednesday instead. Thoughts?
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Sunday, March 28, 2010
Burning Away the Chometz in Our Minds - Shalosh Sheudos Torah From R. Weinberger
Rav Weinberger taught an amazing Torah from the Nesivos Shalom at Shalosh Sheudos last night. He quoted the pasuk from the beginning of Parshas Tzav, Vayikra 6:2, which said:
"צַו אֶת-אַהֲרֹן וְאֶת-בָּנָיו לֵאמֹר זֹאת תּוֹרַת הָעֹלָה הִוא הָעֹלָה עַל מוֹקְדָה עַל-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ כָּל-הַלַּיְלָה עַד-הַבֹּקֶר וְאֵשׁ הַמִּזְבֵּחַ תּוּקַד בּוֹ." Metzuda translation: "Command Aharon and his sons, saying; this is the law of the burnt-offering. It is the burnt-offering [which remains] on its pyre on the altar all night, until the morning, and the fire of the altar will be kept burning on it."
He asked why the pasuk has to say "זֹאת תּוֹרַת הָעֹלָה," this is the law of the Olah for the rule that the korban has to be burnt all night until it is fully consumed. After all, that is the rule for the burnt portion of all korbanos, not only the Olah.
He answered from the Nesivos Shalom that an Olah is different and a more difficult tikun than the other korbanos for two reasons. One is that it is mechaper, atones, for aveiros of thought, rather than action. Even when one can avoid bad actions, it is still difficult to control and stop all impure thoughts. So the Olah is coming to accomplish an especially difficult kapara. Second, the there is more of a yetzer hara not to bring an Olah because the korban costs money to bring but one can't eat any of it, and may feel that he gets less out of it because of that. Therefore, the Torah says "Tzav," "command" in this verse, which Rashi always says is a lashon "ziruz," indicating that we must work extra hard to fulfill this mitzvah because it's more difficult than other mitzvos.
In order to understand the Slonimer's first answer, that it is especially important to teach that the Olah is burned all night because it atones for aveiros of thought, he brought an amazing moshol from the Lechovitcher, from which the Slonimer dynasty comes.
The Lechovitcher brought a moshol of a man who wanted to cut down a forest in order to build a city. So he began by cutting down one tree, and then another tree, etc. But he soon realized that the forest was so large that he would probably die before he cut down all of the trees, much less built a city in their place. Therefore, he came up with an idea and set a large fire, which was successful in burning down the whole forest in one shot.
The Nesivos Shalom used that moshol here. When one is trying to drive away all impure thoughts, he may try to wage a battle against one evil thought. And then as soon as he's finished with that one, he realizes that there's another one. So he tries to get rid of that one next. By the time he finishes getting rid of that impure thought, he realizes that the first one has grown back even stronger. And then he realizes that he will die before he is ever successful in ridding himself of all of his impure thoughts.
But then the person realizes that if he can set one big fire, he can burn away all of the impure thoughts in one shot. The key is to set one's self on fire with Yiddishkeit. He has to daven mit ah bren, too learn with fire, to do his avodah with a fire. Then he'll be successful in burning all of his evil thoughts into oblivion.
That's why the pasuk says "Tzav," that he requires special alacrity to work on his thoughts. They are impure, but no one else can see them. They represent a "chisaron kis," a fault (chisaron) which is covered (lashon kisui) and that no one else can see. It is therefore a fault which is more difficult to work on, thus the lashon tzav, indicating that one needs an extra push to get working on it.
And because the Olah atones for impure thoughts, it is especially necessary to say that the korban must be burned all night, because it is only through the burning fire of passionate Yiddishkeit that that can burn away all of the impure thoughts.
Rav Weinberger lamented the fact that the schools just work on cutting down one tree and then another tree. They ban the ipods. Then the iphones, then Internet, then the iTouch, etc. etc. etc. But as soon as they ban one device, ten more take their place. We can never get rid of everything that will turn our minds and thoughts away from Hashem. There have always been things that turn people away. In one generation, it was Communism, in another generation, it was haskala, then reform, then Zionism, etc. We can never get rid of every temptation that threatens to take our and our children's minds away from Torah. The key is not to focus all of our attention on the trees. Instead, we have to do the only thing which can get rid of the whole forest of temptations, which is creating a fiery avodah that can burn them all down.
We have to create a fire within ourselves and our children. Passionate davening, passionate learning and fiery Yiddishkeit is the only thing which can burn away all of those temptations. While obviously we have to use common sense and not unnecessarily introduce temptations into our or our children's lives (see here), those things will not go anywhere near doing the job on their own.
May we be matzliach in burning away all of the chometz of our minds with the fire of biur chometz tomorrow morning!
Picture courtesy of templeinstitute.org. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.
"צַו אֶת-אַהֲרֹן וְאֶת-בָּנָיו לֵאמֹר זֹאת תּוֹרַת הָעֹלָה הִוא הָעֹלָה עַל מוֹקְדָה עַל-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ כָּל-הַלַּיְלָה עַד-הַבֹּקֶר וְאֵשׁ הַמִּזְבֵּחַ תּוּקַד בּוֹ." Metzuda translation: "Command Aharon and his sons, saying; this is the law of the burnt-offering. It is the burnt-offering [which remains] on its pyre on the altar all night, until the morning, and the fire of the altar will be kept burning on it."
He asked why the pasuk has to say "זֹאת תּוֹרַת הָעֹלָה," this is the law of the Olah for the rule that the korban has to be burnt all night until it is fully consumed. After all, that is the rule for the burnt portion of all korbanos, not only the Olah.
He answered from the Nesivos Shalom that an Olah is different and a more difficult tikun than the other korbanos for two reasons. One is that it is mechaper, atones, for aveiros of thought, rather than action. Even when one can avoid bad actions, it is still difficult to control and stop all impure thoughts. So the Olah is coming to accomplish an especially difficult kapara. Second, the there is more of a yetzer hara not to bring an Olah because the korban costs money to bring but one can't eat any of it, and may feel that he gets less out of it because of that. Therefore, the Torah says "Tzav," "command" in this verse, which Rashi always says is a lashon "ziruz," indicating that we must work extra hard to fulfill this mitzvah because it's more difficult than other mitzvos.
In order to understand the Slonimer's first answer, that it is especially important to teach that the Olah is burned all night because it atones for aveiros of thought, he brought an amazing moshol from the Lechovitcher, from which the Slonimer dynasty comes.
The Lechovitcher brought a moshol of a man who wanted to cut down a forest in order to build a city. So he began by cutting down one tree, and then another tree, etc. But he soon realized that the forest was so large that he would probably die before he cut down all of the trees, much less built a city in their place. Therefore, he came up with an idea and set a large fire, which was successful in burning down the whole forest in one shot.
The Nesivos Shalom used that moshol here. When one is trying to drive away all impure thoughts, he may try to wage a battle against one evil thought. And then as soon as he's finished with that one, he realizes that there's another one. So he tries to get rid of that one next. By the time he finishes getting rid of that impure thought, he realizes that the first one has grown back even stronger. And then he realizes that he will die before he is ever successful in ridding himself of all of his impure thoughts.
But then the person realizes that if he can set one big fire, he can burn away all of the impure thoughts in one shot. The key is to set one's self on fire with Yiddishkeit. He has to daven mit ah bren, too learn with fire, to do his avodah with a fire. Then he'll be successful in burning all of his evil thoughts into oblivion.
That's why the pasuk says "Tzav," that he requires special alacrity to work on his thoughts. They are impure, but no one else can see them. They represent a "chisaron kis," a fault (chisaron) which is covered (lashon kisui) and that no one else can see. It is therefore a fault which is more difficult to work on, thus the lashon tzav, indicating that one needs an extra push to get working on it.
And because the Olah atones for impure thoughts, it is especially necessary to say that the korban must be burned all night, because it is only through the burning fire of passionate Yiddishkeit that that can burn away all of the impure thoughts.
Rav Weinberger lamented the fact that the schools just work on cutting down one tree and then another tree. They ban the ipods. Then the iphones, then Internet, then the iTouch, etc. etc. etc. But as soon as they ban one device, ten more take their place. We can never get rid of everything that will turn our minds and thoughts away from Hashem. There have always been things that turn people away. In one generation, it was Communism, in another generation, it was haskala, then reform, then Zionism, etc. We can never get rid of every temptation that threatens to take our and our children's minds away from Torah. The key is not to focus all of our attention on the trees. Instead, we have to do the only thing which can get rid of the whole forest of temptations, which is creating a fiery avodah that can burn them all down.
We have to create a fire within ourselves and our children. Passionate davening, passionate learning and fiery Yiddishkeit is the only thing which can burn away all of those temptations. While obviously we have to use common sense and not unnecessarily introduce temptations into our or our children's lives (see here), those things will not go anywhere near doing the job on their own.
May we be matzliach in burning away all of the chometz of our minds with the fire of biur chometz tomorrow morning!
Picture courtesy of templeinstitute.org. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Being Frum and Having the Internet - The Trifecta Approach
I believe that it goes without saying that with all of the terrible things on the internet, one has to use common sense to protect himself. For over a year, I've been using the kleenweb filter. It does let a lot of stuff get by and it's expensive (13ドル/month) and customer service is so-so. I'm in the process now of switching over all of our home's computers to the K9 filter, which is free. (See the unpaid sidebar ad I'm now posting.) I've been trying it out and whatever problems it had a couple of years ago when I had initially tried it out seem to have been ironed out.
I'd also tried a web accountability system a couple of years ago but it also didn't work well. But now there's a new system adapted for the Jewish community from a Xian system called Covenant Eyes. Ours is called Web Chaver. My old internet buddy signed up for it, making me his buddy and it seems to be working very well. Essentially, a web accountability system is great because it observes *all* of a person's internet activity and reports anything questionable to someone he designates to clarify if there's anything inappropriate. It causes a person to self censor anything he's reading or doing on the internet, including the use of programs that don't use web browsers like iTunes and ftp and filesharing programs. It also now has an app that reports on iPhone (and soon phones on the Droid platform as well) too!
I think that a filter by itself is inadequate because it lets certain inappropriate things go by and because sometimes it overfilters things that are appropriate. The web accountability system is also good but it doesn't prevent you (or your children) from seeing bad things to begin with. It just reports on it sometime in the week after the inappropriate site was visited. But I think that the two together make a great team. And if you combine the less expensive Web Chaver system (4ドル/month) with the free K9 filter, it's a great tag team protection for one's self and one's family.
So here's my plan for a setup that will really keep not only your family, but also you (Kesubos 13b: "אין אפוטרופוס לעריות," no one can trust himself when it comes to illicit matters):
1) Get the free K9 filter
2) Get the Web Chaver accountability software and subscription
3) After the systems are set up, tell your wife (or one of your parents, if you're single) to change the password to both of these systems and not to tell you what it is!
Having the internet is a must for most people today and this is becoming more and more true every year. But without taking some or all of these precautions, it's as if one is keeping a loaded gun in his home, sitting on his desk. It just makes no sense to fool one's self into thinking that he doesn't need to take some of these common sense precautions. (More information at Mystical Paths HERE)
Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.
I'd also tried a web accountability system a couple of years ago but it also didn't work well. But now there's a new system adapted for the Jewish community from a Xian system called Covenant Eyes. Ours is called Web Chaver. My old internet buddy signed up for it, making me his buddy and it seems to be working very well. Essentially, a web accountability system is great because it observes *all* of a person's internet activity and reports anything questionable to someone he designates to clarify if there's anything inappropriate. It causes a person to self censor anything he's reading or doing on the internet, including the use of programs that don't use web browsers like iTunes and ftp and filesharing programs. It also now has an app that reports on iPhone (and soon phones on the Droid platform as well) too!
I think that a filter by itself is inadequate because it lets certain inappropriate things go by and because sometimes it overfilters things that are appropriate. The web accountability system is also good but it doesn't prevent you (or your children) from seeing bad things to begin with. It just reports on it sometime in the week after the inappropriate site was visited. But I think that the two together make a great team. And if you combine the less expensive Web Chaver system (4ドル/month) with the free K9 filter, it's a great tag team protection for one's self and one's family.
So here's my plan for a setup that will really keep not only your family, but also you (Kesubos 13b: "אין אפוטרופוס לעריות," no one can trust himself when it comes to illicit matters):
1) Get the free K9 filter
2) Get the Web Chaver accountability software and subscription
3) After the systems are set up, tell your wife (or one of your parents, if you're single) to change the password to both of these systems and not to tell you what it is!
Having the internet is a must for most people today and this is becoming more and more true every year. But without taking some or all of these precautions, it's as if one is keeping a loaded gun in his home, sitting on his desk. It just makes no sense to fool one's self into thinking that he doesn't need to take some of these common sense precautions. (More information at Mystical Paths HERE)
Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.
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