The ultra-orthodox live in a world of their own. It’s a very closed society and harshly patriarchal...like the godfather. It stays within itself and I think most of them are nuts. They still arrange marriages and G-d help you if you do not obey.
I just could not believe what I saw at the parade. I was shocked.
Funny thing though, most of the “paradees”, when marching by, went to their side waving their Israel flags in their faces, singing their songs and dancing their dances to their face.
I really had no idea about hasidics until I went to that parade. The Jews in our “pen” explained it all to me.
They thought I was Jewish and some were surprised when I said I was Christian. I met a great group of people that day!
I can see what you mean, and certainly the Hassidic community often looks cranky or retrograde. But their way of life must have some benefits, or it would not have lasted so long.
One thing in their favor, is that they rarely kill or harm their children. Child abuse does occur (like everywhere) but it is rare. Most Hassidic children are safe at home with their families. In the welfare suburbs of our advanced economies, child neglect is rampant, the deaths of children at the hands of their caregivers is so common it is banal, and the rest of society is ok with that. The perpetrators usually have a lenient sentence.