Monday's Most Active Threads

Yesterday's most active thread was titled, "Are Any Fellow Jews Thinking of Changing Their Voting", and posted in the "Political Discussion" forum. The original poster says that she is a lifelong Democrat but that she is very angry about the college protests and is considering not voting for Democrats and possibly even voting for former President and current cult leader Donald Trump. While the original poster perceives significant and obvious anti-Semitism among the protesters, she is dismayed that many liberal groups that she has supported don't seem supportive of her at this time and she is upset by non-Jews who deny the anti-Semitism that she observes. This thread is sort of ironic in view of the thread I discussed yesterday that suggested that Biden is intentionally trying to lose the election by alienating young, Arab, and Muslim voters due to his statement that appeared to oppose the college protests. Biden is literally being criticized from both sides. Just as I said when reviewing the thread yesterday, this is really a problem of differing perceptions that is probably going to be impossible to resolve. The history of anti-Semitism has understandably made many Jews especially sensitive to perceiving anti-Semitism. In addition, there are politically-motivated groups and individuals who have an interest in increasing the perception of anti-Semitism. Moreover, anti-Semitism very much tends to be in the eye of the beholder. There is not even universal agreement on a definition of anti-Semitism. Combine this with the relationship between Israel and Jews and things get even more complicated. I will hasten to add that there have been clear and indisputable incidences of anti-Semitism among protesters, so I am not suggesting that the original poster's observations and unfounded. But, the result is that the original poster and someone like me might witness the exact same event and perceive it entirely differently. Where I might see a group standing against the killing of Palestinian civilians and the destruction of their towns and cities, the original poster can — with equal legitimacy — see a mob threatening Jews. There is enough objective evidence to support either perception. In an ideal world, those holding these differing views might be able to come to some amount of reconciliation through communication and understanding. But today's political environment, and particularly a DCUM discussion thread, doesn't really provide for that opportunity. Instead there is more interest in exploiting these divisions for political gain. As such, those with conservative and Republican tendencies are more than willing to welcome those such as the original poster, never mind the Republicans' own struggles with anti-Semitism. In contrast, Democrats in the thread reacted much as they have to the voters who have threatened not to support Biden because he is too pro-Israel. They warned the original poster against throwing out the baby with the bathwater, saying that Trump would be worse on host of other issues and not necessarily better regarding Israel and anti-Semitism. Trump associates with actual Nazis and personally has made a number of statements that could be considered anti-Semitic. While many believe that he would be more pro-Israel than Biden, Trump seems to have personal animosity for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has strong business and financial ties to Saudi Arabia. Therefore, Trump's support for Israel might not be as ironclad as many believe. Biden, on the other hand, has done almost everything possible to support Israel.

The next most active thread was the campus protest thread that I've previously discussed and will, therefore, skip today. Following that was a thread posted in the "Entertainment and Pop Culture" forum and titled, "MET Gala Arrivals". The entire text of the first post was "Beautiful looks so far!" and, had I not discussed a very similar thread last year, I probably would not have known what this thread is about. It is unlikely that anyone reading this shares my level of ignorance, but just in case, the thread is about the annual Met Gala which is a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. I am probably uniquely unqualified to discuss this topic. I am not interested in and know nothing about the sort of fashion being presented at the event. I didn't even recognize most of the celebrities being highlighted in the thread. What I can say from my very uneducated perspective is that designs appear to have gone in one of two ways. The first was to appear as naked as possible while not actually being naked, though that line was kind of blurred in some cases. The second was to use as much cloth as possible covering as many square feet of floor tile as could be achieved while still remaining somewhat mobile. Given the amount of cloth being dragged across the floor, I doubt there was a need to vacuum after the party. As for the discussion in the thread, there seemed to be general agreement that JLo looked great, though maybe a little tired. Posters also seem to appreciate Mindy Kaling's outfit. One surprise was that while most of those attending seemed to be attempting to dress as outrageously as possible, Lauren Sanchez wore what for her was practically a modest outfit. Beyond that, reviews were mixed. One poster summed things up by saying, "99% awful and utterly moronic looking." Even I thought this was a bit harsh. In what is probably a glimpse of the future, several of the images posted in the thread were later found to have been generated by artificial intelligence. I'm not sure what the purpose is of creating fake images, but I guess it is sort of like trolling.

Next was a thread titled, "Bank of America: former green beret dies after work 120-hour week, IB associates going on strike", and posted in the "Jobs and Careers" forum. I don't know a lot of the background of this story and the original poster only provided the sparest of details. Based on what the original poster writes and information that I have gleaned elsewhere, an associate in Bank of America's financial institutions group (FIG) died due to a blood clot inside a blood vessel of his heart. The associate, who was a former Green Beret, had been working 120 hour weeks at Bank of America. Other Bank of America associates were said to be planning a strike beginning today in an effort to obtain better working conditions. I think it says a lot about today's attitudes toward employment that the very first responses was "What salary?". What salary is worth dying for? There was very little sympathy for the associate who posters said could have chosen a less demanding job. Many posters questioned the connection of the man's work to his death. One poster who identified himself as a former investment banker at Bank of America gave some interesting insight to the work environment inside the bank. He explained that the bank has many resources available to prevent overworking, but that the job attracts ultra competitive types who often refuse to ask for help. The poster stressed that he had no first-hand knowledge of either the associate or the circumstances of his death and didn't want to place blame anywhere, but rather to just share his experience. Several posters commented either negatively or sarcastically about the idea of younger employees going on strike. This fits perfectly with the perception of many forum posters that young people today are lazy and lack drive and ambition. Even so, other posters took issue with a culture that demands the sort of working hours in which this individual is said to have engaged. Many posters argued that if work hours were limited, then salaries should be reduced as well. Their view is that if someone wants to work 120 hours a week in return for a huge salary, they should be free to do so, even if it kills them. Another view expressed frequently in the thread is that the work being performed by investment bankers is simply not that important. Several derided the job as little more than working with spreadsheets. One poster, referring to investment bankers, declared "IB bros bring nothing of value to American consumers and quite often hurt them." A poster who identified herself as working in Big Law explained that associates in investment banking and law frequently don't do work that is all that challenging, but the long hours are a result of a need to be on call for higher ups. If a partner asks you on a Friday evening for something that is needed Monday morning, you may be working the entire weekend on mundane, but necessary, tasks. This has less to do with a demanding work culture than the deadlines for the project or deal.

The final thread that I will discuss today was posted in the "College and University Discussion" forum, though I am not sure that is the appropriate forum for the thread. The thread is titled, "AP Tests this week, how are we feeling?", referring to advanced placement examinations which, if passed, provide college credits to high school students. The original poster says that her high school sophomore is taking two tests, which will be their first and the original poster asks whether most kids study for the exams outside of class and when scores will be released. The title of the thread is reflective of the varying amounts of interest posters take in their kids studies. The original poster is invested enough in her child's exam performance to seemingly be somewhat stressed. In contrast, the first poster to reply wrote, "No feelings. That is for my kids", reflecting a lower involvement. The hands-off approach was demonstrated by several posters, some seeming to make their indifference a point of pride. Some of the parents viewed the main advantage of AP classes and exams as being the benefit they add to college applications. As such, parents whose kids already had college plans were less concerned, and in some cases, not concerned at all, about the exam results. Others were eager to see their kids obtain college credits. Several posters reported that their kids were stressed out, even if the posters themselves were not. As regards whether the kids are studying outside class, most seemed to be doing at least rudimentary reviewing and some quite a bit more than that. Some parents even hired tutors to help their children prepare. One poster said that last year her child had done poorly on one exam because the material had not been covered in class. Therefore, she recommended studying in order to cover any missed material. This thread was divided between posters simply reporting what year of school their child was in and the number of exams they are taking and posters engaged in discussions about the importance or usefulness of AP classes and exams. Posts in the first group were, frankly, boring. But the second group involving discussions could be useful to those new to the world of AP classes. AP classes impact grade point averages and often are helpful on college applications. Many posters see APs as an important aspect of preparing to apply for college. In more recent posts in the thread, posters reported their kids' experiences with the exams and turned to stressing out about the results.