Monday, September 22, 2008

POINTLESS BANS

There are so many bans that just weren't worth making. It could have been avoided just by the fact that there was already a ban on something else or on the same thing in a different way. A good pointless ban would be if I would ban using any types of motor vehicles as a use of transportation and then I go and ban cars. Throughout all the bans most are just the same in a different form.

The first of many pointless is the ban of cell phone Internet. Now anyone with at least the brains of a bird will tell you that the Internet on the phone is the same as the one on the computer. More on the Internet ban, there was banned (what you are reading right now) A BLOG, that's after the Internet was banned. The reason for it is, Blogs are only a lashon hara source. Then came MY space, youtube, facebook and many like this which were also banned.

Cell Phones themselves were banned. So now you can only have the most kosher of phones The kosher phone (certified with an OU made in a parve factory, The phone chocolate is OUD). That means No texts, No camera phones (especially video ones), No Internet. Why is texting bad what makes it wrong. Is it the fact that people don't spell correctly while texting? The yesivos nevr had uh probleam with speling rong. Camera Phones once again whats wrong with it? Maybe you'll take a picture of a non tzniyos woman. Well you can do that with a regular camera too. This is an example of another pointless ban and if they wanted a kosher phone just take away the Internet keep the texts and camera.Also this ban is one that has not been excepted by the Jewish community I see people on there blackberry's every few minutes.

Then they're bans that just never made had a basis. Banning the bike lanes in Williamsburg is a foolish one. First what are you going to do about it? Two what is there to ban, banning non Jews? Next up is an Israeli one. In Israel if you go to Kollel (I did not write learn in kollel for a reason) you are not allowed to learn how to drive a car and if you already know how to gezunte hait. The reason for it being maybe you will drive to a place a Jew shouldn't be in. You could walk there or take the Eged bus (really not getting this one). The texting and camera phone problem also falls into this category of Baseless Bans.

The triple filtered water washing lettuce is not a Baseless Ban. Its not necessary since we don't make a Gezeira on a Gezeira. First Gezeira being wash them they have bugs. Second is use triple filtered water. Also a practice in halacha is that if it (something we might object to) wasn't stopped when it began then we cant stop it now. The strawberries are subject to this category.

Pointless, Baseless, Non Necessary bans are whats driving people to think that our rabbanim have lost it. I heard once why they do this. The rabbanim don't really know whats going on but their people who tell them about these things distort it. You know whats a big Question after they banned all these mentioned and more...... why did they not take act and join with Hikind?

11 people gave their 2 cents:

David Staum said...

Banning the bike lanes in Williamsburg is a foolish one.

I didn't hear about this one. Bizarre.

I remember going on the 5 borough bike tour (http://www.bikenewyork.org/rides/fbbt/index.html) years ago and riding through Williamsburg. All these little chassidish kids - hundreds of them - were lined up watching us. It was erev Shavuot one year and I called to the kids "Good Yontiff!". Their eyes got very, very wide.

frumskeptic said...

"Pointless, Baseless, Non Necessary bans are whats driving people to think that our rabbanim have lost it."

Yupz. Its why most of their bans go ignored. We need REAL leaders, since the community isn't getting any, we're going the way of anarchists. lol. we pick and choose our own rules.

Anonymous said...

hey cell phones shouldn't be banned, i mean there is nothing wrong with a cell phone it's like a palm pilot whatever it's called like the treo or the centro y'know they have internet too.all those yeshivishe guys walking down the street with thier blackberrys. they have internet too.

Mikeinmidwood said...

dys

Thats funny

Frumskeptic

I dont think most are ignored have you seen the unpopularity of strawberries?

b s a

Cell phones arent. Thats why they have kosher phones instead of those extremely useful objects.

frumskeptic said...

Everyone I know eats strawberries, they just cut the green off.

Anonymous said...

Seriously, the community leaders need to take a basic course in Sociology(functions, anyone?), and see how it's never gonna work with their approach.

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

The reason why they had to ban internet on cell phones, is because there are those that don't have computers, and think that so long as it's on a phone then it's ok, so they needed to clarify that for them.

I saw the booklet ad for the kosher voice phone, and because it was an ad I viewed it as a bit from a biased side.

"Why is texting bad what makes it wrong"

they answered that in their ad. But yet it wasn't an answer, It just made me nauseous to read what was written there, the only one that made some sense was the Rebitzen. But even then it's just all ridiculous to use these kosher voice phones.

It's not a pointless ban, they have reasons. But their reasons can be argued.

The reasons I got from reading the ad weren't so clear. Basically the Rabbi's were afraid that "dangerous" things will happen, and that boys will text to girls things they would normally never say because of the normal busha one has. My main problem with this argument is that a text message doesn't just appear, you need to know the persons number in order to text them. So if the guys wouldn't know the girls in the first place then there is no way for them to text eachother. Second people don't go off the derech from talking to the opposite gender and receiving text messaging. If anything they go off from feeling restricted. then if they don't have text, they will just use the phone instead, so it's not solving anything. The other argument they made was about L"H being spread, ok, so if they don't text it they will speak it. Then another argument was that they would always be looking at their phones for a text that they wouldn't pay attention in class. The solution then is not to let them have phones in class.

frumskeptic said...

"is because there are those that don't have computers, and think that so long as it's on a phone then it's ok, so they needed to clarify that for them"

Wouldn't it be logically conclusive for the internet to be bad on the phone?

Any form of clarification only shows these people cannot, in actuality, conclude anything for themselves- possibly because of their lack of education, maybe?

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

FrumSkeptic: You're right, it may seem to be logically conclusive. Perhaps since they never tried the internet on a computer they think it's a different one than from on the phone. Or they are just saying that for another reason why people should buy those voice phones. Like they are reiterating the cons of regular phones.

frumskeptic said...

"Perhaps since they never tried the internet on a computer they think it's a different one than from on the phone."

Perhaps they should say goyish music is banned in NY AND the rest of the world. Because maybe if you never heard it in NY, you wouldn't know its the same everywhere else.

Doesn't that just sound silly?

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

FrumSkeptic: You're right it does sound silly. I'm just trying to think of a possible reason of how it wouldn't be pointless.