December 23, 2020 #1 of podcast: Autobiography of a Non-Conformist
Happy Holidays!
At last, I started a podcast. It’s The Very Not Normal Podcast. I wanted to do it for a long time.
It will be about challenging the normative by analyzing social constructs, propaganda, conformity, totalitarianism, capitalism, technology, media, etc.
I think my insights are worth sharing because I come from a statistically very rare place. How many of our contemporary social critics grew up with strict gender segregation, with no television or theatre, and had their spouses picked out at eighteen? Not many, to be sure. Much of my understanding comes out of the juxtaposing of my former-Hasidic community with the secular. There is plenty to learn from this, but I can’t promise that the lessons will be feel-good. I do promise to try my best to be searchingly honest.
My analysis will be humanist, old school leftist (that means class analysis, not identity politics) and deeply, deeply skeptical of the techno-utopian vision. This means I’ll take a critical view of a lot of our current status quo institutions and the technologically focused solutions to education, socializing, entertainment, medicine. The last includes, yes, pandemics.
I have been critical of the Covid19 measures from the very start, with blog posts like this and this and this cartoon one, and by being openly involved in the lockdown skeptical reddit community. It is never good for business to be lockdown critical. But I can’t prioritize business over values when my business is my values. I won’t – and can’t! – hide my views —- even though the world expects a good, well adjusted ex-Hasidic woman not to have any opinions at all. If I censored myself, what would be the point of my entire body of work, which is on challenging dogma? Why come all this way only to become a projection of other people’s archetypes, the very thing I escaped?
No matter how much I’d like to please every single upturned nose, I can’t. I’ve tried too many times. My stubborn conscience always gets in the way. So alas, I am being forthright. I step into this project with the hopes to free myself from pigeon-holes and stale expectations. To challenge myself, maybe also you. I hope this might be valuable to some of you out there.
Since I anticipate the audience for this type of analysis to be much more niche than the audience for ex-Hasidic feel-good stuff, I would be very grateful if the receptive listener could spread the word. Please help me reach like-minded free-thinking folks.
Thanks much!
iPhone owner
Posted at 15:53h, 24 DecemberWhat about your iFollowers? We need this on apple podcast too…
Frieda Vizel
Posted at 15:56h, 24 DecemberI appreciate your enthusiasm, iPhone owner 🙂
Apple actually rejected the podcast on account of the cover art being copyright material. I drew it myself so —- ?? I am appealing it.
Sandrine Le Tellier
Posted at 23:56h, 06 SeptemberHi Frieda! I wrote a comment few days ago on one of your you Tubes videos saying how I thought you were fascinating because of your ability to stay true to yourself… I didnt know about your blog or your podcast! I understand much better now and what stroke me is how your interviews (that dont go so deep into the personal reflexions on a more abstract way here still reflect what you mean so well but on a different level. Its those interviews that got my attention first because somehow I could relate to some of the things that were said. As a family scapegoat (who decided to tak distance with my family, especially my mother), a daughter of immigrants also somebody who studied French language and literature in an English University in Montreal (I am French!) who teaches literature (in college) but who also loves to teach basics of the French language to new immigrants for the human experience, I also had my shares of criticisms on about how weird and not normal I am. Staying true to who I am has been a life battle and a challenge!
I talked to my colleagues (in College) one day about the idea of teaching a novel wirtten (for a Quebec literature class) by a Jewish author born in Montreal who spent all his life there Mordecai Richler, probably you know him) and I had reactions from my colleagues that (for now!) had me to postpone the project! For them, he was ot a Quebec writer… This has a lot to do with the Quebecer’s identity and all the twisted ideas about it… For some people, it was weird to study French literature in an English university is weird, teaching basic Frenchwhen I can teach literature is weird, teaching a novel that put the emphasis on the jewish community not the french canadian oneis weird, taking distance from your close family is weird, I should be more grateful… The thing is I dont feel like people are telling I am supposed to feel! LOL But feeling apart means also having the privilege to see things from a distance that allow you to be more critical… I would say that about the lack of quality of the entertainment we have (and not supposed to say a word about it like you said in one of your podcast), about the informations we have i the news, about education (I have and education that is not typical from where I grew up). We live in a world where distance is really hard thing to have and it is something that some of the shadowed communties (like the religious ones =) have. I dont identify myself as a typical Quebecer, I dont identify myself totally to my family ( but still to detach yourself from it is a really hard job and I failed many times)… I think thats how your videos, your podcasts really touched me on so many levels. You have the privilege of that distance (that sometimes is hard to bear) and you are doing such a great work by taking advantage of it. If I could ask you a question, I would ask: how all this affect your personal relationships? I mean sincee and deep frienship or otherclose realtionships. You can answer in a general way! Its the part that I find the most tricky one!
Frieda Vizel
Posted at 08:46h, 07 SeptemberThank you so much for sharing so much of yourself. I feel like you’re a kindred spirit! Thank you so much for your empathy and intuitive understanding of my journey.
The question you asked is such a big one and a good one. I have to give it some thought. I really can’t say I have an answer off the top of my head. But when it comes to the relationship with my Hasidic family, it’s definitely complicated. It could be so much more but there’s so much I hold back out of fear of being hurt. 🙁
Sandrine Le Tellier
Posted at 22:54h, 07 SeptemberIts my turn to say what a sweet comment! I always have loved the expression “kindred spirit” since I was a little girl reading Anne of Green Gables! Coming from you (and what I understand about the reflexion you did on empathy) that comment means a lot and touches me! And I think the podcast on empathy could partially anwser my question but I would have so many more LOL Its really a shame that I was in New York by accident few weeks ago and didnt know about you yet!