Appropriate edit I found on the interwebs, because yes.

This article gave me chills and tears, such amazing and powerful writing. You’re incredible Kara!

I hear what you’re saying. I don’t inherently have a problem with characters growing through relationships with other characters. A part of my issue is that sometimes it feels like that’s all that’s out there for me is being an agent of an anti-Semite’s redemption/growth (because I’m Jewish, I can’t speak to the…

Granted I moved to a city with a larger Jewish population as an adult but I know in the 90s or early OO’s I still heard it. Admittedly it may have been that fun combination of bullying and anti-semitism rather than a genuine belief that under my mountain of at the time poorly maintained frizzy curls were horns.

You’re welcome at my Purim party anytime!

I’m not saying that people can’t learn and grow. But, especially in books where a person of a target identity is the “main character” making it all about the growth of a non-target identity character is at best, incredibly frustrating.

I’m really glad Ester’s ability to rise above all of it inspires you! I think that’s something I love about exploring women in the Tanakh. Like The Patriarchs always left me cold, to say the least, but did I LOVE reading about the Matriachs and other women in the Tanakh. I fell in love with Purim because it was the…

That was like the abominable intersection of White Character Growth on the backs of African American Women and White Savior. My mom gave me the book because she loved it and I started figuring out how to get rid of it. One the one hand, throwing away books is hard for me because well, bibliophile but one the other…

Yes we can!!

Ester is a hero and her story as it relates to feminism and identity is really interesting and a great discussion. However, I know I get frustrated with their Ester obsession because these are the same people who also tell me that I killed Jesus, ask me if I hide my horns in my curls, or that I’m going to hell. It…

It’s very much this idea that “friendship” (we’ll ignore the super troublesome power dynamics) redeems the ractists or Nazi. It’s the job of the Jewish or African American or LGBTQIA or character with a disability to redeem the bigot and just put our feelings and our hurts aside and just be grateful that those…

Middle grounder here too! I also have a hard time cutting my mom out because she hasn’t been abusive, but she’s definately been toxic. I do have a lot of compassion for her, she’s been incerdibly depressed and an alcohoilc for much of my life but it was never on the TV level that made me feel like I was justified in…