I'm not a fundamentalist or anything, the stories in Torah are for the most part just stories, some are fucking bizarre, some are pretty awful and some can resonate.

Sodom and Gommorah has always been one of my favorite Torah stories, and also I fucking hate America, so have a bit of info dump on the fusion of two of my special interests.

I'm not the first bozo to make this point either but here we go.

Lots of people read the Sodom and Gommorah story as being about "the sin of homosexuality", especially Christians. but early Jewish texts generally state that the city got destroyed because of how horrible these people were to anyone coming to town.

I'm cribbing notes from Wikipedia to make a point, but let's pick some choice ones

The Sins of Sodom and Gommorah

Harshly punishing victims for crimes that the perpetrator committed

If you've ever been a victim of any crime in America you know exactly what I mean

Forcing an assault victim to pay for the perpetrator's "bleeding"

The citizens also regularly tortured foreigners who sought lodging

Reminiscent of every hog in america braying for blood of immigrants rn, and America's views on immigrants/asylum seekers in general. Are the kids out of the cages yet, Joe?

The provision of bread and water to the poor was a capital offense

They're not executing Food not Bombs comrades ofc but the crimes for aiding people who need help in our society get harsher and harsher. Like the laws against providing migrants water, laws against feeding the homeless, laws against bail funds etc.

Other commentary

Ezekiel says the same thing about (6th century BCE) Jerusalem:

Only this was the sin of your sister Sodom: arrogance! She and her daughters had plenty of bread and untroubled tranquility; yet she did not support the poor and the needy. https://www.sefaria.org/Ezekiel.16.49

Here's also an essay on (2006) Jerusalem along the same lines that Keshet (jewish LGBTQ org) has up.

https://www.keshetonline.org/resources/the-real-sin-of-sodom-parashat-vaera/

me trying not to be a doomer

God tells Abraham he won't nuke the city if there are at least 10 good people in it.

A lot of times when I look up and see all the horrible shit happening on a daily basis on any sort of scale big or small, like the genocide in Gaza, or cops pissing in children's free breakfasts or pouring bleach on food meant for the homeless, I think of this story.

Obviously God isn't gonna come down and destroy humanity, or America, or whatever. But a lot of the time I start to think humans honestly shouldn't exist.

People that do food not bombs, people that help eachother in general, all the people out there doing mutual aid work - they're always around somewhere, and that gives me the hope to press on as well.

If shit hits the fan, there's gonna be 10 people out there in the streets fighting the good fight. Maybe I can find them and be the 11th.