Orrin Hatch Sings Hanukkah!
Aw, the Jews! God loved ‘em
and so do I! They’re so cute, they
don’t even realize that God’s
made a new and new new
covenant with us! And look at
all these nifty old-fashionedy things
they got! These mezuzim and
the Torah! It’s like they’re lost in time!
And darn if they aren’t real good
entertainers! Those sweet little
ol’ Jews. May Moroni protect ‘em.
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Mary Valle lives in Baltimore and, in the latest KtB book, Believer, Beware, wrote about her adventures in sex ed at Catholic school. She blogs on KtB as The Communicant. For more Mary, check out her blog or follow her on Twitter. She is currently working on a novel called The Hexagon, which is, roughly, Rosemary's Baby set in a Waldorf-type school.
December 12th, 2009 at 7:18 am
Are you kidding me? Is this drivel some poor excuse for humor? You’re so busy trying to be cute your don’t even realize that humor is supposed to be funny. This is just offensive.
December 12th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Dear Religiously Tolerant (if you do say so yourself): I think you missed the point. You know, the one in the title. Titles help that way. This is in the voice of Orrin Hatch, the famously right-wing senator — and NOT Jewish — who decided to write a Hanukkah song. Having spent a fair amount of time among elite Christian conservatives — though I’ve never met Hatch — I think Mary Valle has nailed the tone of unself-aware condescension that shapes all their attitude toward the Jews, the philo-Semitism which is the smiling, close cousin of anti-Semitism.
December 12th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I honestly just think Hatch’s attitude is offensive and people are giving him a wide berth cause it seems kind of cute or whimsical or something. Imagine if he were like “I love the blacks!” or if someone else were like “I love the Mormons! I’ve got a mock Book of Mormon on my desk and love those Osmonds!” It’s patronizing at best. It just makes me a little suspicious whenever anyone’s like “I love ______ group of people.”
December 12th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Jeff- Thanks for your explanation. I’ve been out of NYC for too long; the sarcasm was lost on me. Ms. Valle- well played.