"Rav Avigdor Miller ztz”l says that the moment you don a black hat, you become an ambassador for the Jews, whether you like it or not"
Interviewed by C. S. Teitelbaum
People form their impressions about communities, or groups of people, or businesses, based on their direct experience. If they have no direct experience, impressions are formed by the narrative that’s out there in the public sphere.
The problem we have is that, many times, the narrative about chareidim in the public sphere is a negative one. This spans traditional and online media, social media, blogs, films, and more. Most people do not have any direct contact with frum Yidden, and their ideas about chareidim are formed by this narrative.
Chareidim don’t, by default, put our own narrative in the public domain. We have a very strong historic preference for keeping a low profile. Men tsheppert nisht! We’re content to live and let live, never raising our heads above the parapet. Mah l’ani v’lahem, who needs to tell the world about our unusual ways? So we’re left with a completely blank canvas on which a really unpretty picture has been painted. The canvas has been filled by people who have left the community and hold on to anger and grievances, along with campaigners and journalists interested in sensational and human-interest stories.
If the host population becomes hostile toward the frum community, this is obviously dangerous. In the past, hostility expressed itself in pogroms and Crusades. Just because these are not normal features in current Western society does not mean we can be complacent.
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