# Explicitly saying the Jews are vermin earns a note and not a Warning. WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 13, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028 "2014-04-13T18:28:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/141 "2014-04-16T23:24:32Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Than we agree. I said that because of A, B, C, and D‚ with him apologizing being one of the four, that that should have sufficed. > > Good. How do you get that from what I had typed? We agree that he’s not a real anti-semite and that his apology was sincere. We disagree that he is Jewish, that whether or not he is really Jewish matters and whether it deserved a warning or not. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/142 "2014-04-16T23:37:58Z")
HE SAID THAT HE ISN’T JEWISH! CHRIST! He said he has Jewish parents/G-parents but isn’t himself, a statement that clearly shows he doesn’t know the first thing about Judaism. It’s the equivalent of saying you have a black friend so couldn’t possibly be racist. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/143 "2014-04-16T23:44:26Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > HE SAID THAT HE ISN’T JEWISH! CHRIST! > > He said he has Jewish parents/G-parents but isn’t himself, a statement that clearly shows he doesn’t know the first thing about Judaism. > > It’s the equivalent of saying you have a black friend so couldn’t possibly be racist. Where did he say he wasn’t Jewish? The only post I’ve found so far says he was studying for his bar mitzvah, but decided not to bother to learn Hebrew. I don’t disbelieve you, and it’s not relevant if he is or not, but I’m just curious. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/144 "2014-04-16T23:47:28Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Where did he say he wasn’t Jewish? The only post I’ve found so far says he was studying for his bar mitzvah, but decided not to bother to learn Hebrew. I don’t disbelieve you, and it’s not relevant if he is or not, but I’m just curious. Can’t link at the moment but it was somewhere in his long apology post that he cross-posted here and in the pit thread. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/145 "2014-04-16T23:51:34Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Can’t link at the moment but it was somewhere in his long apology post that he cross-posted here and in the pit thread. This is the one I found. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17286129#post17286129](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17286129#post17286129) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/146 "2014-04-16T23:51:54Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Maybe. Or maybe he making excuses to keep from getting banned. I don’t know what was in his heart nor do you, so stop pretending you do. If this was his first transgression I’d be more inclined to believe him but considering he’s has several warnings and a suspension, this seems like more of the same. > > As has been pointed out, these types of “jokes” have resulted in warnings in the past for other posters. > > And finally, since when on these boards has “it was a joke” been an excuse for being a jerk? It makes more sense to you that he intentionally said an antisemitic comment that would get him banned than he made a mistake and made a joke that fell flat? When he flat out called it a joke in the post itself? Whether he deserved a Warning was not what **Bricker** was talking about. That’s a matter for the rules. He was talking about you asserting that his apology was insincere. You were the one asserting what was in the guy’s heart, calling him a liar. **Bricker** was only pointing out that the evidence does not support your assertion. That was probably the most sincere apology I’ve seen on this board. If that wasn’t enough for you, then nothing would be, and you relegate yourself as someone whose opinions can be ignored. You’ve decided that BPC’s past history means he can’t be trusted. Why try to please the unpleasable? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/147 "2014-04-17T00:01:14Z")
As for the moderation decision: it seems like the best of both worlds. He gets a Warning to please you guys, but doesn’t get banned. He’s been suspended before, which means, according to what Tuba has posted in a previous thread, he was one Warning away from possibly being banned. Now he’s still one Warning away from possibly being banned. So, ultimately for him, there is no difference. I do share the opinion that you shouldn’t be offended if you didn’t think he was sincere. I also think you guys are crazy if you don’t realize that his little “slash remark” was a clear indication he was joking. The whole point of them is to indicate that what you said is not your real opinion, but you playing a character. But neither changes the fact that **PSXer** got warned for a lesser version of the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/148 "2014-04-17T00:29:10Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > HE SAID THAT HE ISN’T JEWISH! CHRIST! > > He said he has Jewish parents/G-parents but isn’t himself, a statement that clearly shows he doesn’t know the first thing about Judaism. > > It’s the equivalent of saying you have a black friend so couldn’t possibly be racist. Ha ha. Look, my parents tried to raise me Jewish, Bar Mitzvah and all, and I just wasn’t having it (less skepticism, more me as a 10-year-old thinking “I don’t care about any of this”). I understand that if my mother is Jewish (which, according to Judaic tradition, she is, as my late maternal grandmother was _definitely_ Jewish), I am also counted as Jewish. I simply don’t identify as such, Judaic tradition or not. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/149 "2014-04-17T00:43:12Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > You know you’re not required to post in these threads, right? You can go outside and do something else. Which is a good point. A principal has power over people who are compelled to be there, which is why it’s a shitty analogy to compare the mods to a principal. I’ve said before: the best meatworld analog to this place is a nightclub. Yeah, it’s semi-public, but the managers have a certain feel they want to maintain for a variety of reasons (including both the desire to keep current clientele happy, and the desire to make their own work life pleasant). If someone’s being an asshole, they don’t need to break out the wig and gavel before they make a decision: they should bounce the asshole whenever they feel like it. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/150 "2014-04-17T00:51:29Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Ha ha. Look, my parents tried to raise me Jewish, Bar Mitzvah and all, and I just wasn’t having it (less skepticism, more me as a 10-year-old thinking “I don’t care about any of this”). I understand that if my mother is Jewish (which, according to Judaic tradition, she is, as my late maternal grandmother was _definitely_ Jewish), I am also counted as Jewish. I simply don’t identify as such, Judaic tradition or not. I’m confused. I thought Bar Mitvahs were at 13 for boys so why were you studying for it three years before it? I though most boys only started studying for it when they were 12? Was I wrong? Also what did you mean by saying your grandmother was “definitely Jewish” and why did you feel the need to italicize the “definitely”? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/151 "2014-04-17T00:55:12Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I’m confused. > > I thought Bar Mitvahs were at 13 for boys so why were you studying for it three years before it? I though most boys only started studying for it when they were 12? > > Was I wrong? > > Also what did you mean by saying your grandmother was “definitely Jewish” and why did you feel the need to italicize the “definitely”? Most kids start Hebrew school at 5-6 years old, learning Hebrew, prayers etc. the official bar/bat mitzvah training will start the year before, but it’s been 5 or 6 years leading up to that. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/152 "2014-04-17T01:11:13Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m done with this for now, so you can go play a different game for a while. Why do you think this is some sort of game? I see nothing inconsistent about **magellan** disliking this decision. He’s always thought this board should be more rough and tumble, and has always been for offensive jokes. He often argues that people should not be offended by things. Arguing that offensive speech is wrong because of the person instead of the speech is not an uncommon position. In his mind, the fact that **Budget Player Cadet** is not an antisemite means that his comment can’t be offensive, for the same reason why, say, Chappelle’s jokes aren’t offensive because you know he’s not really a racist. The argument that it can’t be offensive if the joker is a member of the group he is making fun of is also not unusual. I really think the guy cannot understand why anyone would still be offended unless they think the guy is a non-Jewish antisemite. And if no one should be offended, he doesn’t think the guy should have been Warned. And, frankly, I’m not completely unsympathetic to his position. If **Budget Player Cadet** had been banned, I’d be right here with him. A Warning to help him avoid such in the future is okay, but a banning for a failed joke would have me making similar arguments–albeit less one-sided. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/153 "2014-04-17T01:11:13Z")
It’s just such a bizarre way to defend your Jew cred. As if you think that being Jewish is purely based on your current religious belief. Someone who is a Jewish atheist just wouldn’t denounce that part of their identity unless they converted to another religion. In any case, even if 100% true, it’s a pretty weak defense for the infraction and was pointless to mention. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/154 "2014-04-17T01:13:56Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I’m confused. > > I thought Bar Mitvahs were at 13 for boys so why were you studying for it three years before it? I though most boys only started studying for it when they were 12? > > Was I wrong? You were more wrong than not. I started Hebrew School when I was 8 years old. 2 evenings a week, after regular school. The subject was reading, writing, and speaking Hebrew. Sunday School started at 6 years old, and was history, holidays, ethics, and bible stories. Once you hit 12 years old, you’re either pulled out of your regular Hebrew School class for Bar Mitzvah class, or you continue your regular Hebrew class and take additional Bar Mitzvah lessons. In my case, I did the former. So we went to class to learn all the prayers we’d have to read during the ceremony EXCEPT the Torah portion.\* The Assistant Rabbi would assign that to us and tutor us in that. And he’d approve/heavily edit our Bar Mitzvah speech for us to memorize. \*The prayers were the same the whole year round. Each Torah portion, however, was specific to the week one’s specific Bar Mitzvah fell on. And the Hebrew script used in a Torah was very much unlike the usual script we had learned to read that was printed in texts or prayer books or the version we learned to write. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/155 "2014-04-17T01:15:20Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I’m confused. > > I thought Bar Mitvahs were at 13 for boys so why were you studying for it three years before it? I though most boys only started studying for it when they were 12? > > Was I wrong? > > Also what did you mean by saying your grandmother was “definitely Jewish” and why did you feel the need to italicize the “definitely”? Some start earlier. Starting at 10 is possible. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/156 "2014-04-17T01:24:18Z")
Say “Jew” in the SDNB and be very, very careful. Not that I think this wasn’t an asssholish comment. Fact is the SDMB is openly pro-Israeliete. Just have the balls to say so. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/157 "2014-04-17T01:38:01Z")
Things just got weird. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/158 "2014-04-17T02:05:45Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > Say “Jew” in the SDNB and be very, very careful. > > Not that I think this wasn’t an asssholish comment. Fact is the SDMB is openly pro-Israeliete. > > Just have the balls to say so. Yes, they did. RedFury, I think you’d best justify that or take it somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/159 "2014-04-17T02:06:28Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Most kids start Hebrew school at 5-6 years old, learning Hebrew, prayers etc. the official bar/bat mitzvah training will start the year before, but it’s been 5 or 6 years leading up to that. Thanks for the answer. Same to Hajario and Ranger Jeff. > [@](#): > > **RedFury** > Say “Jew” in the SDNB and be very, very careful. > > Not that I think this wasn’t an asssholish comment. Fact is the SDMB is openly pro-Israeliete. > > Just have the balls to say so. Huh? Are you saying that Israel=Jews? Also, what does “pro-Israeliete” mean? Serious question BTW, I’ve never seen anyone use the term “Israeliete” before? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028/160 "2014-04-17T02:29:18Z")
On the other hand, I’m not sure how this: > [@What to do? My daughter saw her Easter Bunny presents](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-my-daughter-saw-her-easter-bunny-presents/686253/22): > > Kill her before she has a chance to tell the other children. Its for the greater good. even gets a note: > [@What to do? My daughter saw her Easter Bunny presents](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-my-daughter-saw-her-easter-bunny-presents/686253/24): > > Try not to be a jerk, Simplicio. It’s for the greater good. Unlike the “Jews” comment it was really obviously a joke, and I’m not aware of any tragic historical epidemic of parents who murdered their children for learning about the Easter Bunny. Compared to calling Jews “vermin” this seems like an incredibly mundane joke. I understand that what constitutes “offensive” is subjective, and all, but it doesn’t strike me, personally, as being in any way shocking, edgy, or tasteless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explicitly-saying-the-jews-are-vermin-earns-a-note-and-not-a-warning-wtf/686028.md?page=9)