I won't claim to be smart, I won't try to prove anything, because I know I can't. I am a person, as simple as that. I have logic, I have emotions, I have some brains, but that's pretty much it. I wish I could be like those people who are brilliant, and can argue any point, bring refferences, proofs, disputes, and the like. But I can't. And I figured, even if I could, what would be the point? These people are set in their ways, they don't want to listen.
They don't keep quiet. They want to rant. They want to be known. They want to show off, prove a point, 'come out of the closet.' These days, it is 'cool' and 'hip' to be otd. Even calling it by an abbreviation makes it cooler. And what's the point? There is none.
I don't believe. There is no G-d. The Torah is false. Nice, very nice. And Jesus wasn't hung on a cross, he wasn't killed, he is the messiah. There is no messiah, we are all going to hell. Atheist. What's the definition? 'One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.' Even the definition has the word god in it. How can you talk about a god you don't believe in, and say He doesn't exist?
I make a point of not reading OTD blogs. They bother me, and I'd rather not get into arguements that go nowhere. But I found this, and I don't think the blogger would mind if I used it. She says: 'It’s so great to know that there was a strong generation of OTDers before us. We are a less organized and probably much smaller group of people than they were, but we can benefit from what they left behind.'
It's like a society. A club. Like being gay. I don't believe in that either. Everyone wants to belong somewhere. But as I've heard from a few people who have gone otd, it alienates them even more. They are different, they don't realy fit anywhere.
I don't believe the Torah is false. I don't think I'm qualified to say, because I haven't learned enough of it to doubt the truth of it. And to prove that G-d doesn't exist- it's already agreed that that's impossible to do. Most of these people who claim to be otd are not smart enough to prove anything. They are just trying to make a point.
Well I'm gonna make a point too. I think they are pathetic. They are Jews like me, and I have to love them. But to love their actions? I don't see where it says that anywhere.
If you have a problem with one person, the best thing to do is to go straight to them, and work it out. Someone once disliked my 'mode of conduct'. She couldn't convince me to do something she thought I should do. So she told me to 'take it up with G-d' and stormed away. And you know what? I did.
Does it sound stupid to tell G-d that you don't believe in Him? Maybe. But guess what? He'll listen anyway. And in my opinion, it's better to tell the big Guy what you think, then to spew it all over the internet, and to anyone who will listen, and wear it proudly as a badge. It is nothing to be proud of.
I am not cynical, I am not hateful, and I am not stupid. I am simply upset about it. Someone once asked me, what would you do if a child of yours went down that path. Honestly, I have no idea. I pray to G-d it doesn't happen to me, cuz I don't think I'd be able to deal with it.
Lechaim, and may it all become clear this year.
hehe- can i guess wat inspired u? ;)
ReplyDeleteIll leave it at that.
and P.S. ----> i have tonz to say but i know ull agree with it... :) so y bother posting?
and P.P.S--> it wasnt the parental contol... it was my stupidity... :P
Yes unfortunately this is a frustrating topic that I can rant about forever, and not get anywhere productive.
ReplyDeletehaha. So you CAN post comments then. Howd you figure it out?
Ah Mechayeh! only one question: what is OTD an acronym for?
ReplyDelete>Someone once asked me, what would you do if a child of yours went down that path. Honestly, I have no idea. I pray to G-d it doesn't happen to me, cuz I don't think I'd be able to deal with it.
ReplyDeleteWould it better or worse than if he shtarked out and became one of the crazies throwing stones at women in Mea SHearim?
AMEN! God, the OTD blogs drive me CRAZY, I rant about them all the the time to my husband and whoever else will listen. I get really upset. I'm like, "Don't they REALIZE how wrong they are?" It's even more upsetting because, like you said, many of them are great writers and sound extremely intelligent and articulate. I don't have the guns to argue with them - not that they would listen, anyway. I just know they are dead wrong.
ReplyDeleteAnd then my husband said something really smart and to the point. He said, it's like nursery school. All the OTD blogs out there? It's the same 10-15 commenters, over and over and over. All agreeing on each other's blogs, all ranting about the same things, all making each other feel better. These little babies, these little kids, they have a little group that sticks together. But they aren't convincing anyone else.
Because what upsets me the most is that people will read these blogs and think they're right, and question things they should not be questioning, because of the hate and viciousness coming out of these people. But what my husband said made me feel better. It's a cloistered little community of OTD people, who are all basically saying the same thing. I don't have to worry about them affecting other people, because, as I can see, it's the same thing, again and again and again.
Big n8t- otd= off the derech, as our commenters name says clearly.
ReplyDeleteAriella- agreed. And people start doubting themself, and they don't know why. But it really shouldn't be a big deal. Therer's nothing we can do about it. So to be upset is a waste of energy.
OTD- I would like my child to be frum, and to choose the path he feels he can best follow. I think I would try my best to educate him in the way I was brought up, but beyond that, I know its not in my control.
No, I'd rather he not throw stones at people in meah shearim. I'd rather he go over to them and invite them for a shabbat meal.
What can I say? We don't have control.
lechaim
ReplyDeleteBS"D
ReplyDeleteNo multiple personality of mine will ever stray from the path of Creedmoorer Chassidus.
Seriously, though, you are right. The OTD blogs are mostly an attempt by self proclaimed know it alls to justify their rash decision.
Hey shygetz, it's been awhile.
ReplyDeleteAriella: You say that you are concerned because people will "question things they should not be questioning." I thought Judaism invited questions and that it has answers. If children aren't comfortable seeking answers to their questions that will not make the questions go away. They may be obedient, but not true believers or they may rebel. If the community doesn't accept questions, then questioning minds may seek answers elsewhere.
ReplyDelete1) OTD or.....2) "shtarked out and became one of the crazies throwing stones at women in Mea SHearim"
ReplyDeleteThose are the only 2 choice?
bankman
>Those are the only 2 choice?
ReplyDeleteNo. It's a hypothetical.
its hypothetical....but whats the point?
ReplyDeletethere are many different paths one can choose - these are 2 extremes....but there are so many paths between the 2.
Most people would be dissapointed to see their kids go to one extreme or the other. Unless you are raising your kids in an extreme environment, for those kids i may agree with you that there is no middle ground, its one extreme or the other. thus, many OTD kids from frummmie homes...in my view
bankman
Bankman: >these are 2 extremes.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. Who sai going OTD is an extreme? Maybe committing suicide is an extreme? Or moving to Europe, becoming a hippie AND converting to Zoroastrianism? It's a very personal life choice, and besides, I bet "OTD" means different things to many people, including OTDers themselves. I should mention that many youth and adults who become less religious don't like to identify or think of themselves as OTD. I don't like it so much myself. I once felt like starting a blog with that name, and hey, I still pay the price for it.
>thus, many OTD kids from frummmie homes
Well, I'm from a frummie home myself, so perhaps I'm not the right person to ask. But I do know that we're generally more authentic, and don't settle for that Orthoprax crap like the rest of you NON-frummies.
"don't settle for that Orthoprax crap"
ReplyDelete...one extreme or the other. Either you go stay on the fundamentalist frummie side, or "ITS ALL BS" and dump the whole dam thing.
those sound like 2 extremes to me as it relates to how one decides to live their life (you suicide and hippie arguments were rediculous)
If it's all BS, what's there not to dump?
ReplyDeleteThis Orthoprax-iness sounds incredibly wishy-washy to me.
Or maybe you're just jealous that you have to live a lie while some of us can be honest.
Ariella: Hate to burst your bubble. Perhaps for the most part the OTD blogs just pat each other on the back, but some people can really be affected. See for example http://daashedyot.blogspot.com/2009/05/better-know-kofer-little-foxling.html
ReplyDeleteAltie: This post disappointed me. I expected you to be more open minded...
ReplyDelete"Most of these people who claim to be otd are not smart enough to prove anything. They are just trying to make a point."
We can turn that around and say most people are claim to be religious are not smart enough to prove anything.
And everyone who has a blog is trying to make a point...
lol it's funny how you admit that you can't argue with any OTD points and yet you just "know they're wrong." When I (as an OTDer) talk to OJ people, I disprove them using logic and proofs. Perhaps I'm biased, but I think my method is more sound.
ReplyDeleteI came here via a link on the blog of my friend, Off the Derech. Ordinarily, I have a fast rule about commenting; I won't leave confrontational remarks on a stranger's blog unless I'm invited. However, I couldn't just walk away from this one.
ReplyDeleteYou young people really have no idea as to what you're talking about. You've been sheltered all of your lives; you have little to no knowledge of what goes on in the wider society, or of what brings people to where they are when you encounter them. It's far more complicated than "They just don't want to believe."
Altie, I read a few of your other posts. You give the appearance of someone who is questioning her faith. To react this way, when encountering people who've left altogether, is a common pattern among people of faith, especially at your age, and of your background. If that's the case, I'd encourage you to engage people who see the world differently from the way you've been taught to, instead of merely dismissing them. It would be beneficial to you. Look at it as kiruv.
I would like to call attention to Ariella's remarks:
Don't they REALIZE how wrong they are?
I just know they are dead wrong.
And then my husband said something really smart and to the point. He said, it's like nursery school.
These little babies, these little kids, they have a little group that sticks together.
Because what upsets me the most is that people will read these blogs and think they're right, and question things they should not be questioning
You just know, do you? Really, dear, if you had any idea how you sound to someone outside of your isolated cultural niche, you'd be embarrassed. You and your husband are both very wrong.
Lost- I'm sorry I disappointed you. I AM open minded, but on this topic, for me it's more emotional than logical. And even if I COULD prove anything, I see no point in trying, because it won't get me anywhere.
ReplyDeleteCipher- you are right. I'll think about it.
If you aren't qualified to say that the Torah is false how are you qualified to say that the Torah is true? O.o
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks for quoting me!
ReplyDeleteRather than get stuck in the quicksand of this discussion, I thought I'd share the context of my quote.
You may well be aware that the Zionist movement was primarily composed of OTDers of a different generation. OTDers of that generation identified themselves differently than we do, but they, too, used the written word as a means to communicate with each other and express their ambivalence about the life they left behind and their hopes for the future. Young people hid these books behind their Talmudim, and the numbers of such people increased.
In our free society, the implications of leaving Judaism are quite different. Our hopes are not limited to the future of the Jewish people, but to that humankind as well. We are not rejected by the larger society in which we live and we can participate in it fully. But we still dream in Yinglish, have families who are frum or miss parents who have rejected us, and still don't know all of the ins and outs of non-OJ culture. Scattered here and there, not identifiable as "OTD" by sight, we do appreciate the opportunity to interact with people who have similar experiences- even if we never meet each other. So the OTD blogosphere serves some of the needs that such writing has filled ever since the nineteenth century.
SJ- agreed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vashti, for clarifying.
Altie-I don't think you can say that non of them are educated. It's possible they are not, but you don't know that.
ReplyDeleteAriella-Judaism has the answers for most questions-you just have to know where to find them. Anyone who is uncomfortable questioning their religion should not claim that it is true. If it is true, there should be answers.
To all of you-You can find answers for what ever you want. I would like to put it out there that "Off the Derech" implies there is a derech of which the OTD is no a part. This leads to two other points:
1. This derech must have some sort of significance if the whole movement is centered around the fact that there is a derech.
2. This community does not have a central bond. They are connected by who they are not rather than who they are. This is a sad example of a people with no identity.
-
Also, I meant it when I said there are answers. For those intellectuals who need proof, the proof is there.
Also, I meant it when I said there are answers. For those intellectuals who need proof, the proof is there
ReplyDeleteThis is the best part of the whole thread. I have been looking for answers for decades. Outwardly, I look as observant as you are, but internally, I have come to realize that there are no answers. There certainly is no proof. I've spoken to rabbanim and asked all my questions, half of which a person with a typical yeshiva education would not even know to ask. There are no answers and the ones that are given are very weak and easily discredited, appropriate for an elementary school level of analysis.
>I won't claim to be smart
ReplyDeleteWise decision.
>These people are set in their ways, they don't want to listen.
Um, dear? "These people" have changed all their ways. Radically. After long thought and deliberation. Most have listened pretty extensively. You, on the other hand, seem pretty set in your ways.
Is it wrong to do things the way one always has? If so, you are criticizing yourself, and not me or my fellow-OTDers.
"Set in their ways" seems an odd criticism coming from someone who seems to pride herself on belonging to a religious tradition that she claims is thousands of years old.
>They don't keep quiet. They want to rant. They want to be known. They want to show off, prove a point, 'come out of the closet.'
Damn straight. I remember when a teacher was reprimanded for mentioning a BY girl who had gone OTD. Mentioning her, and as a cautionary tale. Sorry, I exist. Deal with it.
>And what's the point? There is none.
There is a point, even if you disagree with it.
>Atheist. What's the definition? 'One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.' Even the definition has the word god in it. How can you talk about a god you don't believe in, and say He doesn't exist?
Kind of the same way I talk about the Easter Bunny, and still be pretty sure it doesn't exist.
Have they come to a decision after thought and deliberation, considering all the options? When it comes to matters of religion, most people who no longer believe in it don't want to listen to arguments, most probably because they believe the road they have taken is correct, and why bother listen to someone tell you about another path.
ReplyDeleteAs to religious people- those who don't question their beliefs or their religion are not actually observing it, and have no right to follow it, or challenge other people.
In my defense- I am not willing to discuss my thoughts on religion, or my doubts right here. As to my post- those were my feelings, and you can't really control feelings. If I offended you in any way, I'm sorry.
I know you exist. Believe me, I can't forget it.
I don't understand it fully, and I know that I don't know everything there is to know. But I'm pretty sure that as much as I can learn about it, I will still stick to religion, and I will still be sad when I see people abandoning it.
Let me translate that into English: All Altie says on this matter is purely emotional. Attempting to speak to her intellectually is a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteThank you E. That was so kind of you to translate for me, I'll make sure to come to you in the future if I need help.
ReplyDeleteE, have you ever even tried?
ReplyDeleteI certainly did. I have the record of the chats to prove it.
ReplyDeleteWell that makes one of us. You don't seem interested in reopening the discussion, and neither do I, so drop it.
ReplyDeleteThe feeling I get from this post is frustration. Frustration that OTD blogs raise uncomfortable questions. Frustration that you don’t have answers to those questions. Frustration that the flimsy answers offered by religious apologists are so easily picked apart. Frustration that people who are OTD won’t just SHUT UP and let you get on with being frum without having to think about it too much.
ReplyDeleteI could be wrong, but that’s my impression.
Ariella, look up “ad hominem” under logical fallacies. Enough said.
Perceptive.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Its what I do.
ReplyDeleteBS"D
ReplyDeleteWhat I have found is that most of the OTD'ers who waste their time with their inane and vapid blogs are just trying to justify themselves.
They know full well that they are just looking to excuse having taken the easy way out by condemning the way that was too hard for them. Alternately, they may have had bad experiences with a few people in the community and used that as an excuse to leave altogether.
I know. I was OTD for seven years because of a bad experience with a thoroughly corrupt and dishonest menuval who unfortunately holds a position of great power, and this experience eventually culminated in a physical attack against me. I should never have left, but I was just too confused and had nowhere to turn, even after I saw this rosho get punished as badly as anyone can be in these dark times.
But after about the first three months OTD, I got bored of trying to argue and went about my life and my business. I always remembered that I was a Jew even if I ate on Yom Kippur (not out of defiance but because YK just wasn't part of my new life).
And then, far, far later than I should have and at a stage in life when it is very hard to reintegrate socially into the community, I did come back.
Like the disservative, deformed and deconstructionist movements that developed ideology to serve adherents who were looking for an easy ride but, like all Jews, cannot leave Judaism altogether, these OTD chachomim developed an ideology only after they decided to run away from who they really are.
In the end, disservative, deformed and deconstructionist are on their way out and real Yiddishkeit is on the rise. The OTD movement, which exists mostly online and in a few dingy pool halls and crummy clubs, is not a threat anywhere along the lines of the three kefira movements or secular Zionism.
It is just a bunch of undisciplined kids thinking they know it all and that they chas vesholom are above Torah. Really, they are just impotently thumbing their noses at Torah in exchange for an easy ride or a quick fix to personal problems or what is usually a temporary and adolescent inability to find a place in a particular community.
Their pain is real, but it is the pain of disappointment in themselves, of knowing they are wrong but not being able to admit their errors and come back.
In the end, for every OTD'er there are 10 BT's. Much as I hate to say it, many of the OTD'ers are no real losses to their former communities. When you read through their blogs, one feeling comes through - that they are losers trying to justify their loserkeit either with attacks on the community which they failed to integrate into, or with phony intellectualism.
Those who really don't find answers in Judaism and leave do so quietly and go about their daily lives in peace. They don't need to justify themselves because even though they are wrong, they are not disappointed in themselves and believe that they have indeed found the answers. The ones who rant online are those who know they did not and will not find answers in the sewers where they are looking, but do not have the strength to "shuva elay va'ani ashuva".
BS"D
ReplyDeleteAnd I am in no way upset by these OTD'ers. I have been there and done that, and I know how empty these kids are. When I read their blogs or the blogs of the "ortho-skeptics," my emunah and bitochon are only reinforced as I say "ashreinu ma tov chelkeinu...".
On the other hand, what I once did do was to very simply expose one of these losers for what she is - a loser who is full of herself and who thinks the world revolves around her but NOT in the way of bishvili nivra haoilam in which we know that Hashem did create the world for us and use that knowledge to strengthen ourselves.
I know that she in particular will be back, after she realizes that she was just a teenager with a teenage perspective on the world when she made her silly decision to leave.
She had no real answers for me except a ream of petulant teenage jabber, which now that she is over 21 shows once and for all who and what she is - an immature, spoiled kid.
Der Shygetz makes a very valid point... and his comment makes the most sense to me. OTD is an emotional reaction to a bad experience with religion. It is not at all a reflection of the validity of said religion.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do not agree that these people "are no real losses to their former communities". That is just rude, insulting, and untrue. A Jew is a Jew, and all Jews have a responsibility toward one another. You cannot just write one off as unimportant.
Shygetz: You sound like you don't know any OTDers.
ReplyDeleteShaygitz has a point. But off, you're right, if you knew someone personally, the loss would be closer to home.
ReplyDelete> Der Shygetz makes a very valid point... and his comment makes the most sense to me. OTD is an emotional reaction to a bad experience with religion. It is not at all a reflection of the validity of said religion.
ReplyDeleteGood God. No. Shygetz is describing his personal experience. Anecdotes do not evidence make.
There are plenty of people who have serious intellectual theological questions. Some of these people decide that there simply isn’t good reason to continue following a religion that is full of holes.
Secondly, even if your first statement was true, and the only reason anyone ever went OTD was for emotional reasons, that has no bearing on the validity of their arguments. Arguments stand or fall on their own merits regardless of the motivation of the person putting forth the argument.
BS"D
ReplyDeleteG3, read what I wrote. The people who leave for intellectual reasons leave quietly and do not spend their time justifying themselves online (or wasting their lives in pool halls and whacked out clubs). They realize they don't believe, move on, and that is that.
The online OTD community and their pool hall buddies are the ones who left for immature emotional reasons and then find ways to justify themselves.
And I am sorry, but most of the OTD'ers of the emotional variety are just plain losers. Yes, every Yid is precious, but we are in golus, life is not perfect, and we have limited resources. We win many, and lose a few - such is life. I have always said that when Chabad says "shygetz aross" and the kanoim say "We want Moshiach now" is when Moshiach will come. When I heard how an OTD kid who died in a brawl was elevated to the level of tzaddik, with not one word said about how we have a choice and he made the wrong one, I know something is very wrong.
Finally, "emotional reasons" applies only to those who really had a bad experience (like me at one time). Most of the online whiners are just looking for an easy way out of life and really have no idea if they believe or not. They are telling themselves they do not believe when every word they write shows they just want to have a good time.
A few might find themselves again by switching from their original community to another one (a more structured community to a less structured one or vice versa) but most are just looking for a quick fix in the sewers of life. When you look in the sewers, you find waste and rats, and few can or should go down to those sewers and pull them out.
BS"D
ReplyDeleteI do know a handful of OTD'ers personally, and many more online (though I added their sites to my filter so I would not bother arguing with them anymore - sometimes you just have to let a sinking ship sink to the bottom).
Why don't you tell us more about the intellectual reasons?
ReplyDeleteHere's one of the emotional reasons: Intellectual questions are not allowed in some cults, err religions.
You're probably right that a lot (though not all) of the ones who actaully leave had bad expiriences. The cost of giving up the social infrustructure of the frum world and family/freinds often keeps people in even if they no longer believe.
ReplyDeleteIt could be that you're just hanging out with the wrong crowd. My expirience with the online OTD community has given me the impression that most are intellectuals. Then again, I tend to not read whiney blogs becuase they're just not interesting.
I don't think that most people are trying to "justify" their beleifs. Some are, but for others writing is catharsis for difficult decsisions they've made or, like myself, just fun.
Also, many are just writing for other OTDers. They couldn't give a crap if frummies read their stuff. I also know they're generally well-behaved, unlike certain shgootzim I know.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for being nasty to Altie yesterday. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteBS"D
ReplyDeleteThe online OTD crowd are pseudo-intellectuals who look for supposed intellectual proofs in order to justify the bad decisions that they regret but cannot reverse. Again, it is like the Jews who wanted to assimilate so they found out about all kinds of kefira (such as the increasingly discredited Documentary Hypothesis) which they understand even less than they understand real Torah, and created movements around this nonsense as a way of justifying themselves.
Honest people who write for a certain audience make their blog private.
The OTD crowd wants to get frum people to pay attention to them - in some cases they did not get enough attention when they were frum so they turn to OTD behavior in order to get the attention that they so crave. Some do it on the streets, others do it online.
Instead, all they really have to do is find something positive that they can excel in - or wait until they are adults and change their particular community situation.
But that takes thought and initiative which these kids so sorely lack.
1. you feel the OTDism is pseudo-intellect. Well OTDers feel that "real Torah" is pseaudo-intellect.
ReplyDeleteSome people are out there looking for attention, and some are just trying to blog with like-minded friends just like frum bloggers.
Please recognize that not everyone fits your model of the immature ta'avah driven loser.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBS"D
ReplyDeleteSorry, but the OTD bloggers are just that. Immature baalei gaave vetayve who are trying to justify their miserable and unimportant selves. I can only laugh and cry simultaneously as I read their tripe.
Since it is not my shlichus to try to save these kids, and I am more of the community patrol, law and order type, I just about say, good riddance, enjoy your lives, and thanks for serving as a perfect example of why to stay frum.
Those who leave for intellectual reasons lead quiet lives, often as successful professionals whose intellectual questioning led them to the academic world. They are at peace with themselves and their decisions, and have just moved on with no need to justify their decisions to anyone.
>You're probably right that a lot (though not all) of the ones who actaully leave had bad expiriences.
ReplyDeleteA side point is that all frum people have had bad experiences, whether they choose to stay or leave. Finding someone with a frum background with nothing negative to say is like finding a guy without a kippa at the kotel. So it's ridiculous to say people leave because of bad experiences when you could just as easily say they stya because of bad experiences. It's just a really dumb excuse, and one of the main ways to avoid the bigger questions.
BS"D
ReplyDeleteOff the Derech, thank you for showing your true colors.
I rest my case. I have no need to say another word here. You have just proven everything that I know to be true of you and the rest of your sorry ilk.
But don't worry. When you fall down hard, frum Yidden will be there when, not if, but when, you cry to us to help you save your sorry self from your own mistakes.
Enjoy yourself. Thanks for proving my point.
BS"D
ReplyDeleteSo, gut Yom Tov. No time and no need to comment further.
BS"D yourself.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't poke your eye out with your lulav tip.
:) A public apology too. E, it's my lucky day.
ReplyDeleteWell this has been fun. I never expected to start such a big discussion when I decided to let lose some feelings one night. Aaaah, if only I knew...
Shygetz, I was never frum, and am, therefore, technically not OTD. My experience with them (and with their Christian counterparts) belies everything you've posted here. You really have no clue. You're embarrassing yourself, but are too smug and self-satisfied to know it.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, if my experiences have taught me anything, they lead me to suspect that you're harboring doubts of your own, and dismissing these people is your way of trying to stave them off.
In any case, everything you've said here is utter nonsense. You think these people conform to a stereotype? You obviously have no idea as to what a cliche you are.
BS"D
ReplyDeleteCipher, what an apt name.
No, I have no real doubts. I have been there, done that and know what OTD is all about.
And yes, I proudly conform to a stereotype. That stereotype is called "Jew"!
If you want to read about normal, well-adjusted OTDers who don't fit the shaygetz's sterotype, check out the "Better Know a Kofer" series on daashedyot.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorites are
http://daashedyot.blogspot.com/2009/04/better-know-kofer-gaius.html
http://daashedyot.blogspot.com/2009/05/better-know-kofer-little-foxling.html
http://daashedyot.blogspot.com/2009/05/better-know-kofer-elisheva.html