Personally, I support a two-state solution for the region. I hate the government of Israel. In fact, the only obstacles to such a solution are Hamas and the sycophantic duo of Bibi and Trump.
I get it—Amy sees the conflict there through the lens of the long-standing tensions between the Irish, the UK, and the IRA. But I'll leave it at that.
My history with Amy had a funny start. When I was first cast into ATR land, I called Amy with a certain attitude, having read about her interactions with Portelos. I put on this tough-guy charade and felt pretty sure of myself—until she snapped back and basically told me to cut the shit. And that’s always been Amy. If memory serves, I even tried that once in person. When I get anxious or start spiraling, she calls me out on it—point blank. I respect that. That’s what you get with Amy: she tells it like it is.
Here’s another story that shows what Amy is like.
My first year as an ATR, I screwed up royally at my school (nothing involving a student). I was beside myself. I called Amy several times, and she reassured me that I wasn’t going to be terminated or sent to the Rubber Room. But my anxiety wouldn’t go away—I was spiraling. She had my district rep call me, and I completely lost it on the phone. They were both genuinely concerned about me. That day, Amy just so happened to be at the Bronx UFT office, handling other things, but she took the time to help. I am eternally grateful.
Even when Amy moved to the Queens UFT, she was always there when I needed help, always able to talk me off the ledge if necessary. Think of this: ten years of texts, phone calls, Jewish neurosis. She dealt with it.
Amy can be a lot of things—she doesn’t hold back, she tells it like it is, and she is fiercely loyal. She wants to do what’s right. But she is not anti-Semitic.
