Posted to Op-Ed on
Illustration photo: Bill 613.

Letter: Kindness Can Overpower Negativity

Amid the hard feelings and hostility some members of Crown Heights’ Jewish and African-American communities are feeling towards each other in light of recent incidents, one CrownHeights.info reader describes an encounter of a different nature that he experienced yesterday morning:

As I was approaching the crosswalk at the intersection of Empire Blvd. and Albany Ave. Tuesday morning, I noticed a large group of public school students at the corner waiting to cross on the other side.

As I approached them, fear began to race through me, as I thought “if they try the ‘knockout game’ on me, there will be two victims,” as I was pushing my baby daughter in her stroller.

As we began crossing the street towards each other, the wind suddenly blew my hat off my head. To my amazement, a girl from the group noticed and started to chase after my hat, as I couldn’t run after it because of the stroller I was pushing.

My hat rolled all the way across the street and partially along Empire Boulevard, but that didn’t deter her; neither did the fact that her friends were laughing hysterically – and to be honest, it was a pretty funny scene.

After this incident, I thought to myself: “only a little bit of kindness is needed to overpower this negative ‘game’ that we all hope will come to an end in our neighborhood.”

-Anonymous

Related Articles

21 Comments

  • hashgocho protis

    hashem made the wind and blew off your hat to catch everyone off guard this way you would not be punched

    these kids def wanted to punch you

  • Chaya

    i was witness to this story from across the street and had the same thoughts running through my mind!

  • Citizen Berel

    This is a very important point.

    There are two points very difficult to negotiate. The one is that they are not nearly all bad. They just aren’t.

    The second is that their peoplehood is a festering corpse. Their culture is dead. Thier prospects as a people are null, and they as a people do not know what to do with themselves. Young black culture lionizes barbarism.

    The way out for any of them is to abandon their peoplehood. Back in the day, the color of skin was claimed to be superficial. There was this King fellow who spoke something of the content of character being the defining characteristic. He was right in that, but they eschewed that message and went with the Malcom X black power model, and they are dying as a people because of it. Their way out is to embrace their humanity and leave that they happen to have black skin behind.

    What’s hard to negotiate is that in truth they are individual humans beings. And they are in truth judged accordingly. But the black people as a project which sadly they– almost to a man– identify with is keeping them in slavery.

    • mendy

      i pray that you feel better from your sickness, berel…
      you judge a whole race of people by the action of , well, more than a few; but, you publish it on an open forum for not only the world to see but the community within which both you and the other bigots who post here also reside.
      i was correct about the lashon hara.
      and yea, i don’t hate crown heights. a handfull of you make the rest of yidden look like fools.
      AND, i do miss mendy the butcher’s kugel for shabbos. it was sooo good.
      feel better and wishing for you a speedy and complete recovery.
      :-)

    • Wrong

      You’re way off base, Mendy… Berel’s assertions were well intended and right on the money. Just because it’s not PC to say the truth doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be said. You’d earn yourself a lot more credibility if you were to at least properly dispute any of his points but instead you resort to childish, ad hominem attacks. Calling someone a “racist” or “bigot” without qualification really makes you seem desperate. Then you further stoop to a patronizing tone that makes everyone cringe.,, ugh!

    • Only in Crown Heights

      only in cities like crown heights and some other places do the blacks “not know what to do with themselves”

    • Emes

      This is extremely insightful. They wanted to identify with O in pride of his success, but now they are regretting it. It didn’t sound bigoted to me so much as a social commentary on their particular struggles, as we all uniquely have as human beings. Perhaps not 100% of the population because everyone is an individual, but for sure basically influenced by our popular culture. Personally I find the mix in CH refreshing and one of my favorite reasons for liking it here.

  • Say what?

    So let’s all be extra nice to our black neighbors in hoping that enough of them will be impressed enough to refrain from launching any more unprovoked attacks. PUH-LEASE!

    We have every right to want to avoid people who don’t respect our right to live peacefully. We’re certainly not going to “humanize” them, as you patronizingly suggest, by going out of our way to assist them. They first have to want to help themselves.

  • Chana

    Do u guys hear what this man is saying???
    A grown man, a father . . . felt FEAR begin to race through him upon seeing these kids at the corner!! this is where we’re at! imagine what the kids , or women, or young girls are going through now each time we walk the streets!!
    Whats going to be???

  • chayaf

    at the station…an african woman missed the train by seconds and was so upset. I told her that everything is in G-d’s hands, and even the smallest details in our lives are under His providence. She said to me that those small words made such a difference to her. I shook her hand and we parted as friends. Remember that many strangers are simply friends you have’ nt met yet. The world is not all bad, and members of a certain culture or ethnic community should not be all branded bad. Many comments here say the same thing…try and reach out…a smile even can go a long way. Look at yosef haTzadik….just asking whats wrong, and “how can I help”? will change the world and imy”H bring much light and shalom.

  • Sim story

    I was crossing Lincoln and Albany when I see a group of teenagers, panic stricken but trying to stay cool. When they begin motioning and pointing, and then at that moment I notice my babies blanket fell on the floor. I waved a big thank you…

  • The picture

    The picture of the article is from Montreal, rabbi levi it kin holding hat, Rabbi Leibel Kaplan in the backround

  • Honestly?

    just because there are hate crimes doesn’t mean that every black you see is gonna attack you! some, actually a lot, are nice. is it a reason to take caution, yes. but to number 1, who says that they wanted to attack in the first place?

  • SEREL CHANA MANESS

    YOU’LL RIGHT,THERE ARE MANY FINE PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER,ESPEICALLY WHEN I GIVE OUT THE 7 LAWS OF NOACH,I SAY BLESSINGS,MOST PEOPLE TAKE,AND SAY THANK YOU WITH A SMILE,WE NEED TO GO INTO THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO TEACH THESE,

  • H AND V

    to #4:
    I have actually seen some of our own, not speaking so respectfullly to blacks. It is something thats a bad habit by anyone, and some of unzer do it too. That might be why it happens, because both sides are not trusting. We don’t have to be nice to someone who is chas veshalom being inappropriate and aggressive, but there is nothing wrong with putting out a bit of pleasantry to our neighbors. There are stories about the Rebbe speaking to a few of his neighbors, too, and one person actually wrote about their experience. We can do our part.
    “you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar”. We’re just looking to “catch” some good will, good feelings, spread some positive energy when and where is possible.
    I have also seen some blacks to some very kind acts. Some of them believe in HaShem and just know that they should be helpful and positive. Why would we want to not tap into that.