It’s easy to dismiss a Brooklyn coffee shop owner who called Jews “greedy infiltrators,” as an anti-semite. But the truth is that Bushwick Coffee Shop owner Michael Avila is a progressive champion for change who is just saying what other Latinos say behind closed doors.
First, let’s look at what he actually said and did that got certain people (read, THE JEWS) upset. Avila took to Instagram and Facebook to expose the latest Jewish conspiracy with the aid of all caps, awareness-raising hashtags and creative spelling. He starts out his treatise pondering, “how to consider considering the Jews who want a piece or all of Bushwick.” Then he congratulates his principled neighbor, a slob and a hoarder who is ruining the neighborhood, but is standing up to Jewish “greed and dominance”:
My stubborn Bushwick-oroginal neighbor is a hoarder and a mess- true.. and he’s refused selling his building for lots and lots of money. His place makes the hood look less attractive and I would like him to either clean up or move along. BUT NOT be bought out by Jews however, who in this case (and many cases separate- SORRY!) function via greed and dominance.
Avila is an erudite scholar of anti-semitism but he has the decency and the awareness to translate his research into more accesible language:
A laymen’s terms version of a story would simply be- buying buildings, cutting apartments in half, calling them luxurious, and pricing them at double. Bushwick IS rising and progressing, and bettering, but us contributing or just appreciating this rise and over all positive change do not want to be lumped with greedy infiltrators.
Avila then shares his own recent experience with the Jews:
Two jewish young men with generally rude behavior (one more than the other) ordered coffee, and explained how they were looking for this neighbor of mine. I knew what was up and asked where are they visiting from. When asked where I’m from I firmly and confidently said “HERE. This is my neighborhood, it’s where I come from.” They began to lighten up and almost kiss as a bit.
Avila explains how he encouraged the Jews to be good by showing them what death looks like … in his eyes:
I openly said “looking to buy the building?” They said yes and I explained how this man has been asked to sell for large amounts of money many times- which is true. So I said “Good luck with that. But if you’re going to come here ya gotta be nice”. If you know me you’ll know what my eyes looked like. You know!- when they have the look of death within them. They one guy smiled. And they both knew where I stood…. But I did say if you come here you have to be good.
And then the coffee shop owner pats himself on the back for speaking truth to power in a way unknown by anyone who isn’t a lazy bigot:
I will be bold enough to generalize, and expose that I’m very displeased with this general culture’s behaviors of dominance and Illuminati sensibility. HINT: When you learn ON YOUR OWN and not through what is sold to you who exactly funded world war one you’ll learn about the people who were both used and *infiltrated* (extremely popular word and term in this subject) to then become both a mask and main puppets of what you have termed the #Illuminati. #BOOM.
Boom, indeed. But, it turns out that not only is Avila not an anti-semite, he’s a real social justice activist and, perhaps unknowingly, a huge fan of Yiddish culture.
You see, Avila was merely expressing the anti-Semitism most Latinos share behind closed doors: “Hispanics will complain but not publicly.” This, by the way, is always a great defense against bigotry, no matter what kind. I like to call it the speaking bigotry to power for the voiceless. I’m Jewish, so if someone accuses me of saying racist things, for instance, I just say “Jews will complain about Black people but not publicly.” Now, I’m no longer a racist. I’m a community organizer.
And, Avila says, in his own defense “most of the people complaining are Jewish.” This is another great way to deal with accusations of bigotry of all shapes and sizes. I like to call it questioning the source. So, let’s say a Black person is accused of saying homophobic things. Not only can she or he say “Black people will complain about LGBT people but not publicly,” she or he can say “besides, most of the people complaining are gay.”
But back to the community organizing and Yiddishkeit loving… Avila preaches, “We all stick together, that is the only way for there to be progress…. Things should be fair, and the post was intended to nudge people into an awakening … you have to be progressive and go to community boards in order for change to happen.” [italics mine] OK. Did you see what Avila just did? That’s right. He dropped a Yiddish bomb. #BOOM. Yiddish, for those of you who don’t know, is a Jewish language. And to nudge is “to be a bore or pest; to bore or pester; to push.”
Once I learned that Avila had used the word nudge, I did some investigating* and found the original prose he had written on Instagram and Facebook but had updated so it would be understood by people outside of New York City.
My
eingeshpahrtstubborn Bushwick-oroginal neighbor is ashnorrerhoarder and a mess- true becausea chazer bleibt a chazer.. and he’s refused selling his building for lots and lots ofgeltmoney. Hisgegent shtetlplace makes the hood lookferkockkterhless attractive and I would like him to either clean up orgib zich a traiselmove along. BUT NOT be bought out by Jews however, who in this case (and many cases separate- SORRY!) function via greed and dominance, which isshandeh for the Goyim…
Two jewish
zhlubsyoung men with generally rude behavior (one more than the other) ordered coffee, and explained how they were looking for this neighbor of mine….
I openly said “looking to buy the building?” They said yes and I explained how this man has been asked to sell for large amounts of money many times- which is true. So I said
mazel tovGood luck with that. But if you’re going to come here ya gotta be mensches“….
I
have the Chutzpah to bewill be bold enough to generalize, and expose that I’mfull of tsorissvery displeased with this general culture’s behaviors of dominance and Illuminati sensibility… #Oy#Illuminati. #BOOM.
*Yes, genius, this part is satirical. But he did really use the word nudge.
katiehalper.com 