Published on 12, July, 2020
I am one of a few Jews living in a small Norfolk town. I already have strikes against me being an autistic American with no friends who has experienced my car being "keyed", having two tyres let down, damage to recently installed fencing on my driveway. Now with this Israelie war and an apparent widspread refusal in the UK population to condemn the barbaric attack by Hamas as reported on our News media --- am I being unnecessarily anxious?
I'm sorry that you're anxious but maybe focus the thread on that?
What I'm reading feels like attacks on other people. You don't like "woke", replace it with the words "compassionate human being" and see how it reads. Try not to use language that you know is going to be inflammatory. We're neurodivergent, the world is neurodiverse, we're never all going to agree.
Yes the attacks were horrific. The situation is incredibly complex from millenia of fighting over what to me is a cursed patch of land.
Ultimately we are passengers on a small planet orbiting the sun, too soon we return to the dust and own nothing. In 10 years your scratched car is forgotten, in a 100 years we're all forgotten. So let's do the least damage possible whilst we're here.
Make friends with your neighbours or the other Jewish folks in your village. Embrace the local culture, volunteer at a worthy local cause. Make someone else happy if you can't be happy yourself. It's up to you.
Point taken. One would think that at my age of 78 a lifetime of wisdom would have subdued my anxieties by now---it has not, and I am tired; tired of having continual rejection of my efforts to integrate, so I gave up, It's just me on the spectrum. I did try.
My intro explains some initial experiences, but I have reached a stage where I simply want a quiet life. I am too tired to pursue further efforts. Interreacting with this forum is my limit---providing I do not alienate myself Despite my many years here in the UK i acknowledge the role I have played in my journey and perhaps my cultural differences.
NAS86592 said: I am tired; tired of having continual rejection of my efforts to integrate, so I gave up,
Have you considered sharing what your efforts to integrate look like here?
It is possible that these are not working well and we may be able to offer advice on how to tweak them to work better for you.
Giving up will probably only annoy the locals further so it could be worth a try.
Hi
with regard to your original post, I can really appreciate your anxiety, and also your questioning of whether it is well placed or not.
I am also in a marginalised group (transgendered), and faced a great deal of difficulties while transitioning, and afterward, from my neighbours. Not all of them, but I found that even one was too many. It gradually chipped away at my confidence and made me very anxious indeed.
At 78 you may not feel able to move. It took me several years before I accepted that this was what I needed to do. I wonder if you can maybe find a retirement flat. Perhaps get some help from the Council, or a charity organisation like Shelter.
Otherwise, I guess it is finding ways to manage the anxiety you have, and to prevent it from getting worse if you can.
I don't doubt that there are troubles where you are, and also that they may well be due to your Jewish descent. The UK has swung to the right, and it is most felt by those in any marginalised group. The recent conflict will not help this.
I wish you all the best, and hope for a good outcome for you