Jews have had to face extraordinary anti-semitism since Oct 07. People have become emboldened to insult and threaten, as the case may be. and social media is fertile soil. According to a 2023 study conducted by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 52% of Americans have experienced harassment on social media. Perhaps even more troubling, we know that children and teens are witnessing hate on social platforms at similar rates. The ADL reports that 51% of teens have experienced harassment on social media in the past 12 months, and in our own 2023 survey of over 14,000 American children between the ages of 10 and 18, 80% reported encountering hate speech in the prior month.
The screenshot below reflects offensive Jew hate that appeared as a response to a Blue Sky Social account of Jewish Women ORI (formerly Jewish Women for Kamala Harris.), from an account named The More You Know.
Clearly the person is using a Trans supportive banner on their account. Yah – and what a gorgeous banner it is.
However here is the message she left us.
This came directly from this account @blowen.bsky.social : As you can see from the screenshot below they identify a website that seemingly gives credit for the banner, wrencraft.art which is under the account of @lollibeepop at Blue Sky Social (@lollibeepop.bsky.social) – a business owned by Bailee Wren from Spartanburg, South Carolina, which is not the website of the hateful account . The banner is trans supportive.
The owner of the WREN CRAFT website is one Bailee Wren, an illustrator and graphic designer, who notes on her website:
“an illustrator and graphic designer with a knack for transforming ideas into visually appealing designs. Located in South Carolina, Wren has been working remotely their entire life. Because of this they are a proactive communicator and collaborator who values client feedback and enjoys working in dynamic team environments. They’ve dedicated their career to crafting visual narratives that inspire wonder and creativity and are always eager to discuss new opportunities and creative challenges. Over the course of their career, they have consistently shown a strong knack for grasping the unique needs and aspirations of each client. A few clients they’ve worked with are: Disney, Skillshare, Netflix, Hulu, Warner Bros, Pixar, Marvel, Seaworld, and Dorrance Publishing. In their free time you can normally find them gardening, playing video games, reading about bugs and sea life, or starting a new craft project
https://wrencraftt.art/
Now while the vile language of the author, @blowen whose identity cannot be ascertained from the website and who Ms. Wren asserts she does not know, is fueled with Jew-hate, Ms. Wren stands innocent of the overt nature of such hate.
When I wrote her – the initial response was to chastise me and not fully understand what i was asserting.
The conversation went like this:
After the email conversation I researched the website of Bailee Wren – and found this anti-Israel Palestinian bearing flag among the items for sale. I have a feeling it was probably rendered after October 07, but of course stand to be corrected. Perhaps Bailee Wren does not realize that for Jews, many e this piece of her artwork as calling for the extermination of Jews.
At the end of the day, I gave Ms. Wren one more chance via yet another email to decide if she wanted to “put her money with her mouth is”, so to speak, and to actually disassociate her art from that page. However when pointed out to her – she did not take action, and instead told me that if I am writing an article about Jew-hate to simply say that the ACCOUNT of @bowen “The More You Know” is not hers. Yes she was disinterested enough to leave the goodwill for her business in my hands. All said and done – she seems comfortable associating with the offending account, despite some of her comments above. A cheap placate?
At the time of writing this article, the account bearing her banner with the Jew-hate persists.
It may take publishing this to instill some messaging:
1. That ANY hesitation to ask someone to disassociate YOU from the HATE they are associating you and your business with – is hate in and off itself. THAT is how it is felt.
2. When it comes to HATE – have a no hesitation policy
3. When your art includes images that involve wording, sayings or epithets – google and research all sides of the meaning and what it means to all people, so you can make an informed decision
4. Unless you are comfortable with being associated with ate – keep an eye on your assets, including you business name and goodwill. and how they are being used
4. Never give a pass to hate – whether your name is associated with it or not!
STAND BY FOR PART 2 In this Series…
O-blog-dee-o-blog-da 