IGX

This was the other question from the Arthur Brooks/Tim Ferris podcast on “Four False Idols, etc.”

This is a much tougher one for me to share. Not because the answer was hard to figure out, but because there’s a lack of confidence. Would I really do this? My answer is:

“I’d die to protect someone who couldn’t defend themselves.”

What I’ve realized is that this is mainly metaphorically. I’m not sure I’d be willing to lose a personal training client by calling them out on abusive behavior towards someone else. Or fracture a friendship or family relationship.

But the good version of myself would be willing to step up in those cases.

A handful of people, no doubt. As far as principles or ideals go ... not so sure. Never been tested quite like that, so we'll see. But the people that mean everything to me, yep, without question.

In the 1960s in a violent revolution to overthrow the power structure, stop the VietNam war, oppression of poor people.

I've asked myself what would I have done if Israel had persecuted Arabs (has never happened and won't) would I be willing to shelter them when my kids were little and endanger their lives? I don't know to be honest. If it happened now while living alone, knowing me I'd shelter somebody but Israel won’t persecute them. I suppose if somebody was being beaten to shit by a few guys I might intervene but I won't know until it happens.

As a child I learned a Jew doesn't bow down to an idol and has to let him/herself be killed. Two other reasons are to commit wanton murder of innocent victims and adultery which I would have done when I was on a mystical Jewish path but doubt I’d be in such a situation today.

I never thought I'd participate in a demonstration again. I lucked out a few times in the 1960s and early 70s when I could have gotten a tear gas canister to the face at point blank range in one terribly frightening demonstration with steel helmeted bayonetted soldiers with gas masks tear gassing hundreds of us. I ran away to one of the main streets of town which was deserted at 6PM which never happened. A police car pulled up and a cop asked where I was going. I said home. He let me go. Across the street, about a minute later some students weren’t so lucky and got a tear gas canister at point blank range.

At one demonstration, a plain clothes cop could have shot me in the head or beat the shit out of me. I politely said arrest me. He told me to go home, which was my dorm 300 feet away. Later that night a bunch of us were screaming at police loading students into paddy wagons. We weren’t violent. For some reason, I started walking back to my dorm when the cops charged the crowd beating the shit out of students with their night sticks. I escaped into the dorm and was horribly shaken up and couldn’t believe this was America. It was. I had been reading how the New York Times covered the Columbia student strike. It was all lies.

If Netanyahu doesn't resign after this horrible series of massacres and kidnappings, which was his fault and that of the security services I would be willing to demonstrate. The cops can be brutal although I doubt I'd be killed.

My general sense is that protests have a risk of anger, violence, chaos, etc. I’ve been lucky to only have attended protests that stayed peaceful. But I’ve also witnessed firsthand the attempts of speakers to control the direction in a dangerous and/or self-serving way.

Even if things were super fucked up, would I protest via marching in the streets? I have before — and am glad I did in retrospect — but probably wouldn’t again except for limited scenarios.

I guess I imagine situations like you’ve encountered.

Lenny, do you still follow those Jewish precepts like refusing to bow to another person’s God?

I like that answer in your original post, Bram. I kind of think the same way.

My answer now is a lot different to even a few years ago. I'd die for my family and friends (that's probably a given for most people) but these days, if shit was to kick off for example, I'd like to think I have no issues putting myself in the firing line for a stranger with maybe a bit more going on than I do hah.

2023 I've had a bit of a death wish, but even a health scare a couple of weeks ago was a bit like "Nup, don't want this to be bad! I want to stick around!" However, if you gave me a rifle and told me I could take the place of a random kid in a draft, or a dude with a wife and kids, I'd do it really quite quickly. A past version of me would be very cagey to the pleading no.