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Top Comments: The Lesson of a T-Shirt [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-11-19
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Last week, I had to do a cleaning job, so I got a bucket and cleanser and a rag. The rag I happened to grab was an old, permanently stained t-shirt of mine from many years ago that I had completely forgotten about. It was a band t-shirt, the band being called the Rootless Cosmopolitan Parasites. I no longer remembered the type of music they actually played, or where I saw them, but I liked the design, and the name of the band had a bohemian vibe to it.
When I was done with my task, my curiosity about the band drew me to Google. Who were they? What kind of music did they play? Where did I see them? I typed in “rootless cosmopolitan parasites,” and was almost shocked at what it revealed. At the top were scholarly works on antisemitism. Words like “rootless,” “cosmopolitan,” and the dehumanizing “parasite” were routinely applied to Jews by antisemites.
I had thought that the band’s name had been made up of more or less random words to express this bohemian vibe I had perceived, but it’s clear now that the words were not random at all. It also became clear what kind of music they played: Klezmer, traditional music of the Jews of eastern Europe who speak Yiddish. I like Klezmer music, and it justifies why I would have bought the t-shirt. The band certainly was made up by mostly Jewish musicians, and I suspect they chose the band’s name to be amusingly ironic. In these days of resurging antisemitism, it’s no longer so amusing.
I did another Google search, like the one before, but this time including the word “music” as well. This time, one of the returns was an article from 1991 in the San Diego Union Tribune about the upcoming San Diego Heritage Folk Festival that year, including a full schedule of the acts. Sure enough, the Rootless Cosmopolitan Parasites were on the schedule. Furthermore, I clearly remember attending that festival. (I was living in Orange County at the time.) Bruce (U. Utah) Phillips and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot were headliners. That may have been the last time I saw Utah Phillips perform live. So that’s where I bought the t-shirt. Mystery solved.
it took me more than 30 years to figure out the true meaning of this t-shirt (yes, I can be that dense), and in the current political environment, it makes me a bit queasy. I’m not above wearing a 30-year-old t-shirt if it’s still in good shape, but I think it’s a good thing that this one is now retired. However, I still like to listen to Klezmer music, so I’ll leave you with the following selection by the Klezmatics:
x YouTube Video
Comments are blow the fold.
Top Comments (November 19, 2023):
From inkstainedwretch:
dmhlt 66’s comment in annieli’s diary MAGASLIGHTING.
From sfnx:
LimitReached made a vital point in the heated discussion about President Biden's position on Israel and Gaza following wilbur's diary.
Top Mojo (November 18, 2023):
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