For those in that tradition, today is a reminder that the religious authorities, civil authorities, their enforcement arm (police and military) will turn against the good and holy and will turn the masses against it, too. That collaborators with them are evil and they may even come from our closest friends. That under the slightest pressure, we too may deny what is good and holy.

stay hydrated and #acab. stay good and don't collaborate.

What gets me is that we always have the temptation to externalize this, though, and say that, ah, those other guys, they're the traitors, we're the righteous who are betrayed and persectued. Historically, for instance, the narrative here is used against, say, the Jewish community by the religious and political leaders, and the mob gets stirred up and joins in and bad things happen. And it's like... congratulations, you are what this narrative warned against.

So I'm back after the Orthodox service for the Thursday evening before Pascha. I always forget just how awful the hymnography gets. It's basically all - and pardon me for how ugly it sounds even cleaned up - "Oh, the Jewish community really screwed the pooch here!" And it's like... is that really the message you get here? Of course, they'll never change it because reasons. It's an embarrassment.