There was a controversy in Brooklyn a little while ago (I kind of lost track of it and don't know how it was resolved) where the city was building a bike lane all through the borough -- some parts of it were bike trails through parks or along rivers, and other parts were designated bike lanes on streets connecting the park and river parts. One section of it went through a Hasidic neighborhood, and some people there were just furious at all these people in exercise clothes coming through. They lobbied the city to change the route, and also harassed all the people they thought were inappropriately dressed. I read one article that quoted a woman who said that she'd ridden her bike through wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and when she was stopped for traffic at a corner, a Hasidic man came up to her and asked how much she charged. (There were also plenty of Hasidic people who had no problem with the bike lane, and even a few younger people who started an underground Hasidic bike shop, but several of the people who did have an issue with it were people who were already active in political stuff and thus could get their voices heard by the city.)

Shir, babe, I'm sorry about that. Any other Bitches use Lunapads? I read the ad in Bust a few months ago and switched to their washable underwear/liner pad combo and I am really pleased.(less garbage + better containment is a win for me AND the Earth. Which I was just closer to. Also, the tape on the wings was giving me an itch. Which I don't miss.)

Any other Bitches use Lunapads?

No, for various reasons, but I use sea sponge tampons about half the time. They're great.

Any other Bitches use Lunapads?

I do. Disposable pads irritate my skin like hell. Plus, better for the environment.

Really. Hate. Everybody.

Never been a tampon woman, but I like the *thought* of the sea sponge thing. It's funny though, that throwing out lots of bleached white junk can seem normal and healthy if you do it for fifteen years

Shir, I am so sorry that happened to you. In Israeli terms, I'm probably somewhere between dati and chareidi (cover my hair 100%, pretty machmir about things, but I send my kids to a yeshiva that prepares them for college and let them -gasp-watch TV and listen to secular music) and I am outraged.

Sinat chinam (baseless hatred) destroyed our national life and sent us into galut (diaspora) 2000 years ago. There is no place for that kind of hatred, pettiness, or G-d forbid violence in the true Torah life. Men like that need to get real jobs, support their families, actually learn what Torah means, and raise their sons to go to hesder yeshivot (Torah institutions where students also serve in the army) at least, instead of faking it in the beit midrash, sucking on welfare checks and their wives' little jobs, and hanging out on street corners acting criminally stupid.

Late as ever - I haven't had time to come here in a while - but meant sincerely.

Sean, anything we can do to help? long-distance snuggles?

Sean, been there. Not today, though. Often enough.

Shir's experience is one of the reasons theocracies are scary. So much emphasis on the letter and so little on the spirit.