Not that I read comments on Facebook. Or Twitter. Because that just plain old brings me down. And it once caused me to impose a Facebook strike on myself which has continued, if to a lesser extent, to this day.
But I might have seen some comments about a few things that I do want to address. It involves what I “tweet” about or post about here on Kveller.com. Maybe. And they might warrant a response or three.
Complaint #1
Mayim Bialik is too self-promoting.
Response
Um…yeah. It’s what Facebook and Twitter can be used for. I don’t use either for my personal life. I don’t have any friends from high school or even my BFF who I communicate with on Facebook or Twitter. I don’t see friends’ pictures on Facebook from their glorious vacations or see their cute kids with avocado on their faces via the internet. I don’t use it for that because it’s overwhelming and I am a fuddy-duddy and I have too many things to do to spend more time on the internet. I promise.
I use these media outlets as a way to be a public person in a way that’s safe and manageable. Do you really honestly “know” a celebrity on Facebook or Twitter because you follow them? Not really. But you get to know what we read, what we write about (for those of us who are writers), and a bit about what we think (I don’t support the death penalty and I think rape as part of military conquest is the most unacceptable thing ever in the world, for example, and you know it from my posts).
Complaint #2
Too much Jewish stuff. What’s up with that? (And other much less pleasant anti-Semitic/bigoted stuff too).
Response
I started on Facebook right when MyJewishLearning was launching a little site called Kveller.com. I was not on a TV show. I was a mom of two young sons, trying to manage my life and make money as a writer and teacher. The auditions came later and I started to write about all of it. But I am a very committed Jew. I am very active in my local community, national, international, and Zionist causes and some of that gets talked about here. I know not all of my readers and followers are Jewish, and you don’t have to click on those links and articles if you don’t want to.
I have no Jewish “agenda,” nor do “the Zionists,” and Judaism doesn’t proselytize. I am not trying to make anyone become Jewish or religious. I promise.
Complaint #3
Why does Mayim tell us every charity she is involved with? What does she think, she’s better than all of us? What a loser she is. I hate her. (Paraphrasing, of course.)
Response
Um…no. No, not at all. I don’t share about charities to show you how awesome I am and how full of goodwill I am. I am often asked (every single day, actually; ask Fancy Assistant Brandon) to post on behalf of every imaginable charity and cause. Why? Because it gets the word out there. It teaches people about organizations they may find interesting or want to be involved with. I pick and choose for sure. Believe me.
My work with Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation has helped people learn about becoming a bone marrow donor, and through the Yeshiva University Maccabeats’ and my MakeSomeMiracles.com campaign, we have raised about $100,000 and have made almost four dozen matches of donors with recipients in need of life-saving bone marrow donations. That’s a wonderful thing and I am blessed to be a part of it.
Do I hope to make the world a better place because of raising awareness? Sure. I was raised to repair the world; we call it
tikkun olam
, and if the internet can help us all do that, I am all for it. I’m not “just” a celebrity. I am a person who is thrilled to help any way I can, and sometimes celebrities are paid to tweet, but sometimes we just really believe in causes, such as veganism, or Attachment Parenting, or advocating for diseases that need funding or causes people may not know about.
Case In Point
I recently posted about Stand Up For Epilepsy to the ire of one particular Twitter follower. To that person, I say the following: one of the dearest women to me in my professional life has a sister with epilepsy. Posting on behalf of this organization was a small way to thank her for her dedication to me and her love for her sister. It was not a way for me to pat myself on the back. If I want to do that, I can call my mom or hug my cat.
The picture of my shoes I posted in support of Stand Up For Epilepsy.
Next time you judge any celebrity for posting about a charity, I hope you hold your judgment, and take that energy to use the internet to make the world a better place, one click, one dollar, at a time.
I would think that the time taken to post all those things about me being self-promoting and a goody-two-shoes might be better spent researching an organization about something dear to you, or volunteering in a homeless shelter, senior citizens center, or your local hospital.
But what do I know? I’m just a celebrity.
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