I read this post at Jew York City and actually laughed out loud. For those who don't know "Yichus" or "Yeechus" means connections, and generally refers to ones' lineage. If you are the decendent of a major rabbi/commentator/etc you have "good Yichus."
Ken Mondschein of Jewcy started this conversation with his article "Frum seeking Frum" about religious Jews who look for no-strings-attached affairs on Craigslist. Baal Devarim of The Other Side continued with a close reading of the ads posted by frum Jews looking to get a little on the side. For those who are not as familiar with the different Hasidic sects, Baal Devarim has chosen two ads that in some way exemplify traits commonly associated with those sects, to highlight the absolute ridiculousness of the situation. However, I would like to point out that repression is not really that funny. Queerty re-posts an ad by a Hasidic Jew who feels trapped by his religion, and I am forced to agree with their statement "how can you not feel bad for this homo-hebe?"
All joking aside, though, this trend of hasidim/religious people using CL and other sites to cheat on their spouses bothers me. Not because of the hypocrisy (hey, we all have some), or the ethical dilemma, but instead because of the safety issue. These people live in a religious community, one where birth control and condoms are not commonly (if ever) used. And they are cheating on their spouse, and the spouse doesn't know. See the issue yet? The cheater could be passing along diseases, to say the least. To an unsuspecting person who has every reason to trust, and little to no recourse should they find out.
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No kidding; it's really a huge problem. A (non-Jewish) friend who works in a free clinic tells me that syphillis has become a large and growing problem in the New York Hasidic community. Without any way of educating the community, which is impossible because the community cannot acknowledge that anything is actually going on, it will only get worse. If gone untreated, syphillis causes nerve damage and death. Worse yet, it is passed from mother to child in utero, which is a terrible thing in any community, but is downright terrifying when you consider the birth rates among Hasidim.
On the other hand, if the Internet is affording people ways of cheating, perhaps it will also provide ways of educating people who would otherwise have no way of learning about sexual health and safety?
Babytyrone- I didn't know that it was already an aknowledged issue.
One can only hope that the internet will allow people to find the education that they need, but it hasn't really worked for inner city populations.
I guess today is "Esther links to herself" day. Forgive me.
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