gornisht

For my Grandma Braff it was about the truth (der emes) No matter how difficult, painful or awful, if you forgot the truth in what you had to say to others, no matter the amount of breath used to try and explain, it amounted to nothing (gornisht). In the heat of a family poker night when the peach schnapps was running roughshod and the creamy toppings of three different desserts were dripping like molasses on the plates Grandma Braff would focus on the one relative who was anything but honest and say in Yiddish; bik drek neyn eysek vi disguised shtiks (it was not until I was about 12 when that was translated into bull shit no matter how disguised still stinks). Grandma would mockingly stand up from her chair move her hands to the right then to the left clap twice in both directions and hum some silly melody for about two minutes then sit down. The second she sat she would point the index finger of her left hand, the one that the Devil tries to control toward the culprit and state clearly you can dance around the emes all you wish but it provides you with gornisht (nothing). Depending on exactly who the offense of lying was addressed most of the relatives would either find the nearest glass of schnapps raise it high say the person’s name and drink whatever liquid there was. If in fact the villain proved to be a popular member of the family there was a bit more silence and my Grandma Braff having nothing of it would say in the clearest English I heard her speak, “…they may protect you but your lies seep through your skin and soon you will melt”; always adding her pooh, pooh, pooh for a dramatic conclusion.

To hear the self defined Christian Conservatives, falsely citing the Constitution as they try to chip away the rights of a minority demographic of this nation pretending that religious freedom is anything but religious homophobia is both frustrating and fearful. Listening as those who tried to bully their bigoted beliefs into a law now cry foul insisting that they are the persecuted, the victims is pathetic and sad. Trying to legitimize the denial of civil rights, fair access, equality in any aspect of American life by pretending your God, not my God but your God told you so is hypocritical, phony and so opposite of the democratic principles upon which this nation was founded. And not admitting that all you are doing is acting like a homophobe based on nothing but selected passages from a Bible and the babble from men and women who hate, provides you with gornisht and is far from the emus. 

Thank goodness hate backfired, this time. Sadly the mere fact that American liberties were attacked was not enough fodder to stop this heinous attempt to deny civil rights, instead it was the reaction of those worried about the economics of it; but the actions of inequality and prejudice were halted. The bully was held at bay but for just how long? What truth was told that all men are created equal in the eyes of a nation based on democratic principles or that all men can be created equal if the bottom-line and those in control of the bottom-line permit it? Grandma Braff would say holding her glass of schnapps, “…they may protect you but your lies seep through your skin and soon you will melt.”