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Social Media
Pride & Prejudice
Yes, technology can convey real emotion.
L
ast year I started teaching a continuing education
class for social workers and nonprofit employees
on the basics of social media and strategies for
attracting business and affecting change in the
community.
I've noticed that at every new session a variation of the
same issue is brought up: 1) Social
media and texting are desensitizing
our kids to real communication;
and 2) Human emotion is not
conveyed accurately though
technology.
While both statements hold
elements of truth, both statements,
as stereotypes, are wrong.
Look to last month's Olympics
for a relevant example of social
media being used to connect and
engage. A major petition drive
was launched on the Internet to
pressure the International Olympic
Committee to hold a moment of
silence at the games commemorating the 40th anniversary
of the Munich Olympic Massacre, when the Palestinian
terrorists Black September killed 11 Israeli athletes.
The petition was not granted.
However, a real "win" for Israeli pride
did occur when 18-year-old American
gymnast Aly Raisman earned a gold
medal for her floor routine to "Hava
Nagila." The world watched as "Hava
Nagila" played and Aly brought home
the gold on the 40-year anniversary of
the massacre. Pride coursed through the
Jewish/Israeli world.
So what does this have to do with
social media?
One man, IDF Officer Dan Yagudin,
used social media to express his pride.
He posted the following letter on Aly's
Facebook page:
dedicate it to the Israeli athletes who were killed in the
Munich Olympics in 1972.
There were some tough people at that gym, Aly. Men
and women, battalion commanders from intelligence,
captains from the navy, lieutenants from the Armored
Corps and more. You probably understand that words
like 'bravery' and 'heroism' carry a lot of weight coming
from them, as does a standing ovation (even from
the people doing ab exercises.) There was nothing
apologetic about what you did. For so long we've
had to apologize for who we are: for how we dress,
for our beliefs, for the way we look. It seems like the
International Olympic Committee wanted to keep
that tradition. Quiet, Jews. Keep your tragedy on the
sidelines. Don't disturb our party.
They didn't count on an 18-year-old girl in a leotard.
There wasn't one person at the gym who didn't
know what it was like to give back to our people, not
one who didn't know what happened to the good
people who died in 1972, not one who didn't feel
personally insulted by their complete neglect in the
London Olympics, the 40 year anniversary of their
deaths, and not one who didn't connect with your
graceful tribute in their honor.
Thank you for standing up against an injustice that
was done to our people. As I was walking
back to my machine at the gym, I caught one
of the officers give a long salute to your image
on television. I think that says it all.
Sincerely,
Dan Yagudin
Officer, Israeli Defense Force
In a follow up comment, he also said:
Friends, thank you for all the emails, shares
and support.
The letter was sent to Aly today by someone
who knows her personally, and although she's
probably too busy to respond (with things like
Dear Aly,
the David Letterman show, Colbert Report,
I want to tell you about how you
and a 40-city tour coming up), it feels great
became the hero of a gym full of
that she'll know how much we appreciate
Israeli soldiers. The same Israeli
what she's done here in Israel. To add to the
Olympic gymnast Aly
soldiers who have to deal with
great karma, she just accepted an invitation to
Raisman
Iran's nuclear threat to the Jewish
visit Israel for the first time.
state. The same ones who serve two-
Here's to a world where people aren't
to-three years of their lives, because
afraid to stand up for who they are and what
we have to; because there's no one else that would
they believe in, to a world full of Aly Raismans.
do it besides us, because our neighborhood sucks, and
when the leadership next door in Syria massacres their
When I was growing up, a letter like this would have
been sent to Aly's fan club, pretty much guaranteeing
own people, there's no way we would let them lay
hands on our kids, as foreign dictators have done for
that she would never see it. Because of the access we get
thousands of years.
through social media, Officer Yagudin was able to instantly
You picked a song for your floor routine in the
get her the message. This letter is a great example of ways
Olympics that every Jewish kid knows, whether their
to use social media as a tool to be authentic online and
carry a strong message.
families came from the shtetls of Eastern Europe, the
Asian steppes of Azerbaijan, the mountains of Morocco
To answer those who object to texting, social media and
or the Kibbutzim of northern Israel. It's that song that
technology, just remember — our communication changes;
it doesn't mean that one is right and one is wrong!
drew almost everyone at the Israeli army base gym to
the TV as soon as the report about you came on the
I hope Aly enjoys her first trip to Israel, and I would
news this morning. After showing your floor exercise
love to hear your thoughts on this letter. Just go to www.
BenjiUnSpun.com and leave a comment on my post of this
to "Hava Nagila," the announcer told about your gold
medal with unmasked pride, and of your decision to
article. E.
90
Septc-mber 13 ti 2 012
Welcome
Back!
Auto whiz works his way
home to the Motor City.
Jarrett Hoffman
arrett Hoffman, 24, graduated first in
his class of automotive technicians
at the Universal Technical Institute in
Glendale Heights, Ill., where he went
after graduating Birmingham Groves High
School.
•
The good folks at Porsche took notice and
offered him one of 12 positions at their Porsche
Dealers Training Academy in Atlanta. Hoffman
first went to work at a Porsche dealer in Lansing
and then last year was able to move home to
Metro Detroit, taking a position at Porsche of
the Motor City in Eastpointe, where he is a
technician and service writer, working on vehicles
from classic Porsche 911s to the newest models
like the Porsche Panamera Turbo Sedan and 911
Carrera Coupe. He recently began selling vehicles
as well.
"Eventually, I'd love to be the general manager
of the dealership," said Hoffman, 24, who's
always loved cars.
Hoffman, who's single, recently bought a
house in Bloomfield Hills. "It's great to be back
in Metro Detroit," said Hoffman. "I always
wanted to come back to be closer to my family."
Hoffman, whose hobbies include racing and
working on cars and motorcycles, attends Temple
Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield and was on hand
for CommunityNEXT's Pitch for Detroit charity
softball game. He says that many of his high
school friends who left the state are looking to
return as well. "Metro Detroit is a great place
for networking," said Hoffman. "Sooner or later,
they'll be back." C
if you are a young Jewish professional who
recently returned to the Detroit area after moving
away and would like to be featured in the IN,
send an email to jheadapohl@renmedia.us .