“Who will be the guardian*?”

See him stalking day or night
The islands of the bay
Like some veteran tiger
Come to hunt his chosen prey
He’ll never lack a target here
For scum will always rise
And to the man who guards your walls
That comes as no surprise

I knew the debate would rise again. It always does. After every tragedy, it’s always the same old shit. It’s not paranoia anymore when the blood all over your synagogue floor declares without equivocation that somebody really is out to get you.

For one in ten’s a predator
Who treats the rest as prey
So someone’s always needed here
To drive those wolves away
We never left the jungle
We just carted it to town
The leopards took on human form
And follow us around

Us goyim have to put up with it, but at least we can take comfort in the fact that the nay-sayers who insist and try to mandate that we remain harmless and helpless are not of our own tribe. (Our own families, sometimes, but…) And entire ideological groups aren’t hunting our blood. Yet.

Jews are in a less easily-understood position: Yes, people are definitely out to get them. The whole course of medieval European history proves it. Piles of bone and ash prove it. The guns surrounding Israel prove it. The body of a innocent old woman crumpled on a synagogue floor proves it. You’d think it would all be extremely unambiguous, but here it comes again…

Who will dare deny him there
And say it isn’t so
Must claim there’s no walkway at night
They wouldn’t fear to go
That sovereignty or righteousness
Will keep them safe from harm
And if their own front door is shut
The whole wide world is warm

…the tugging between sensible and magical thinking. They’ll talk and yell and argue, but nothing will be done to protect their own doors. Until next time.

Who will say the job is wrong
And shouldn’t be at all
Must then take up the gun themselves
To guard each door and wall
Must spend their nights in sentry lines
Their days in packing heat
It’s easier to pay the man
Full time to guard your streets

Yeah, but they won’t. They’ll light candles for the dead, pontificate, shout insults at the hard-faced few among their own who didn’t do it and could have reduced or prevented the tragedy, and vote to disarm them. Because disarming the innocent always keeps the monster at bay. Works every time.

Evolution never stops
We always have to choose
The thug who waits to mug you
Is collecting Darwin’s dues
And you can’t drive hyenas off
By kneeling down to pray
So who will raise the weapon then
To keep the beasts at bay

I’ve said it before: I have nothing against American liberal Jews and don’t understand people who do – but I’m equally perplexed by the Jews themselves. How many dead does it take to prove that pacifism doesn’t preserve peace?

I’m sure it’s very pleasant to sing Kumbaya and imagine there’s no psycho hater just outside the door. Sounds great. Until he comes inside.

And who will be the guardian
To take your dangers on
Who will guard your sleep at night
When old Black Cal is gone

In a besieged group of innocent worshipers it is perfectly sensible for the young and strong to arm and train to guard the very old at their prayers and the very young at their learning and play. Instead of scraping together the last pogrom’s battered survivors every damned generation. Why is that so hard to accept? I’m not smart or wise in any way, but it’s clear as day to me. Unlike the impulses that make pacifism so attractive to a certain sort of mind that it will wish the whole dark world away and pay in the blood of whole congregations for a chance to live in a bright fantasy for a little while.

Run like deer
Or die like sheep
Or take your dangers on
For you must guard your sleep yourselves
When old Black Cal is gone.

It confuses me, that’s all. I don’t understand what’s so hard about “Never Again.”

—
*Leslie Fish