Self identification is necessary to add proper context to this Sunday Smack — I’m an African descendant non-Jew who recently attended a Chanukah event.
The video you see below is a product of my attempt to shoot a spinning dreidel with a holiday choir singing in the background. The challenge I faced was holding my camera steady with one hand while spinning the dreidel with the other.
And the dreidel kept falling flat without as much as a double revolution.
That’s when an older white man walked up to me and casually said “It’s not in your blood.”
My response was a hearty laugh. I took no offense to the remark in any way.
The man laughed. He also offered to spin the dreidel.
I recounted this story to a few people where about half of them laughed — including African descendants — while others were infuriated to the point where I believe a violent incident would have occurred if any of them personally witnessed the interaction.
Which brings up my Sunday Smack to you: what would have been your response to “It’s not in your blood” — laughter, anger or something else?
song currently stuck in my head: “get it right (ziggy phunk disco edit)” – Aretha franklin
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