When Jews Say Stop Arming Israel

Posted by Caleb Coy on
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During the Nixon administration, much ado was made to paint anti-war protests as anti-troop or anti-America. The idea was that dissent itself was anti-America. A pernicious myth was replicated that college hippie protesters were calling soldiers “baby-killers” and spitting on them, despite there being no documented evidence of this, and most evidence pointing to compassion between protesters and soldiers returning home. Scores of noncombatants and veterans shared anger at government leaders for putting us in that mess.
I passed by a peaceful protest in support for the people of Gaza yesterday. I am aware that in some locations a select few protesters hurled some anti-semitic rhetoric (and rocks, apparently) at fellow students, and that is wrong. But to confuse a protest for Palestinian rights with a protest in the name of Hamas is to fail to learn from history. The protest movement happening across campuses currently is not anti-semitic any more than standing up for the rights of Jews in Germany would have been anti-Germanic.
If the protests are anti-Jew, why are Jews joining in? Jews rallied outside Schumer’s home in protest against giving aid to…Israel. It’s about stopping war and carnage. And in this instance, people of various identities, including Jews, are wanting to stop Jewish aggression against Gaza’s. Maybe they know something a lot of Americans don’t. Or don’t want to admit. Maybe these Jews know that the government of Israel has acted against Gaza (which, some of you probably don’t know, is not Hamas).
So while Fox news plays over and over again one clip of one Arab American hurling insults at one Jewish American—(and MSNBC is wasting everyone’s time showing shocking footage of *gasp* Trump’s limo pulling up to the courthouse)—look for when Jews, Arabs, Americans, Ukrainians, Russians, and people the world over are joining hands to call out world leaders. What exactly are all these people anti of? One another? Not when they do this. Not when they call for ceasing the violence brought on by those that failed in leadership.
Horrible leaders are trying to protect themselves. They want people at one another’s throats. It’s how they get votes. From Putin to Netanyahu to Haniyeh to Biden to Trump.
Protest them. Peacefully. You’ll get maligned. Keep going.
“This is the Passover that we take our exodus from Zionism. Not in our name. Let Gaza live.”

The “Journalist” Interview of Putin Wasn’t Just Bad—It Was Propaganda

Posted by Caleb Coy on

You can accuse mainstream outlets like MSNBC of being “state-run” all you want, but the proof is in the pudding.

In WW2 A newspaper owned by a U.S. President would be bad, but a newspaper owned by Hitler would be worse.

Tucker Carlson has always been and always will be an opportunist who has no problem capitulating to a dictator rather than engaging in journalism that serves We the People.

And men like Putin know that he would only be useful until he needs to have them executed, because men like Carlson will always go wherever the wind blows them.

The popularity of such a “news” personality should concern you greatly. If Russia ever successfully invaded the U.S., Tucker Carlson would be among those who would gladly shake hands with a dictator and volunteer to be his personal spokesperson. Because he already has.

So if he’s bad for our country, and we want to be a healthy democracy, our solution is to refuse to watch him, and address the serious problem of those who do watch him. That is why one should never apologize for ridiculing, mocking, and exposing fans of his material. This isn’t about opinion or taste in television. It’s about duty to your fellow man.

As to John Stewart, John Oliver, or Stephen Colbert, whether you like them or not, they excel at reminding us the emperor has no clothes.

Men like Tucker Carlson will bend over backwards to tell a naked king, “what fine threads you have.”

Am I A Published Writer At Barnes and Noble?

Posted by Caleb Coy on

A couple weeks ago I received some exciting news.

It turns out that an essay I had written in 2021 and published in 2022 was featured in 2023, making my name appear in bookstores everywhere, including the great chain Barnes and Noble.

This felt like a great milestone. I had to celebrate.

So folks, while I have yet to have an actual work of my own appear in the shelves of such a conglomerate book peddler, rest assured, you can find me there, in a way.

If you’re curious, the essay is titled “In Maggie’s Shadow,” and appeared in issue 71 of Potomac Review. Here is a link to a snippet of it.

You can order a copy here.

The essay gained recognition in the 2023 volume Best American Essays. The essay does not appear in the book, but the editors gracefully selected it as “notable.” I’m blushing.

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What Came Out in August? Publications

Posted by Caleb Coy on

This month I have a new short story appearing in Mystery Tribune online:

Click here to read “Cherokee Knives”

And this month’s satires:

It’s Me, First Watch: Stop Referring To Me as the Instagrammer’s Cracker Barrel in Greener Pastures

I, Herman Melville, Ask That You Please Stop Teaching My Bloated Whale Encyclopedia to High Schoolers in Jane Austen’s Wastebasket

Album Names For Your Dad’s Bluegrass Cover Band  in Weekly Humorist

New Essay Out! And Other Updates

Posted by Caleb Coy on

It’s a new month, and summer has been productive. Here’s an update on the writing that’s been coming out from Caleb Coy Industries—a thing that I just made up.

My latest personal essay out in Change Seven. “Neighbors Now” Take a look!

My first publication in a sci-fi journal, 365 Tomorrows. A flash fiction piece called “A Thousand Tiny Steps” Take a look!

A short article, “What Kurt Vonnegut Taught Me About Writing For a Living” in Writing101

And here are some of the recent satires:

“Help Me: I Am Vehicle Illiterate” in MuddyUm

“I, Male Director of This Film, am Excited to Flesh Out This Female Character, Who is On Screen For Three Minutes” in Greener Pastures

“A Sitcom In Which Putin and Trump Share a Prison Cell, Starring Only Actual Things They’ve Said”

in Doctor Funny

“German Words For Complex Emotions You Didn’t Know About” in Slackjaw

“T.S. Eliot Reviews The Little Mermaid” in MuddyUm

“National “Weed Your Garden Day” Is Now National “Weed Garden” Day” in The Haven

“Diaries of a Dying Jellyfish That Has Just Been Discovered By Two Third Grade Boys”

in MuddyUm

“We’ve Run Out Of Ways To Make a Message Self-Destruct” in MuddyUm

“Other Things To Try In a Small Town: A Tourism Guide” in The Haven

Dave Matthews Band—Walk Around The Moon—Album Review

Posted by Caleb Coy on

I was hesitant to listen to the news Dave album, as now they’re missing two original members, one who passed away and another who was dismissed. They must be the only band around that has had 7 consecutive 1 number one debut albums.

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But bands change, their style and their lineup. We like bands that adapt and explore new territory. Dave is getting older, and this album really shows a man approaching old age. This is their post-pandemic album, some of the material written or recorded during the war on a virus, which drove us all a little crazy. Continue reading →