The little jewish smiley icon is called “happyyid.gif”
Yid? Yikes!
hrh
Bizarre. My dictionary states it as “usually offensive.” Strange it would be labelled that…
I thought “yid” was Yiddish for Jew – I don’t see why that would be offensive. Terms like “yiddisha kup” and “yiddisha mazel” come to mind. Is this (Yid = offensive) a new development, or am I just out of the jewish-relations loop here in goyisha Arizona?
From the AOL dictionary:
Main Entry: Yid
Pronunciation: 'yid
Function: noun
Etymology: Yiddish, from Middle High German Jüde, from Old High German Judeo, from Latin Judaeus —more at JEW
Date: circa 1874
usually offensive
Yeah, I believe you, I’m just surprised. Why would a yiddish word for a jew be ‘usually offensive’?
I’m unsure, but I do know that white supremacists use it quite frequently.
I guess I know more Yiddish-speakers than white supremacists, then. I’ve always heard it used in a neutral way.
Anyway, I would have been neither surprised nor offended by the smiley name, so I’m going to assume the creator of it was just as clueless as me of the potentially offensive implications. I like the lil’ guy too much to think his creator had any bad motives.
;j ;j
Oh heck, I thought that was the “homeless smiley.” ;j
So, hrhomer, why are you shocked but not offended? It sounds like you were familiar with Daoloth’s provided connotation, nu?
can’t…stop…using…Yiddish…terms…
I am going to guess abreviation to fit the 8.3 file naming system.
8 letters in the filename, and 3 in the file ending is an (old) standard.
I’m not offended because, although I’ve heard the word used in a negative connotation, I’ve heard it used neutrally by Jews as well. I’m shocked because I find The SDMB to usually be free of this type of terminology, not counting racist posters. Perhaps “surprised” is more appropriate than “shocked.”
hrh
Then why couldn’t they just call it “yiddish.gif”? If there was an asian one, and they called it smilejap.gif, would that be offensive? How about smilewop?
What Iteki said. Plus for those straining mightly to find some shred of anti-semitism in this, the last time I hear the word “yid” used in any form or fashion was as a Radio Shack trainee over 23 years ago listening to a Jewish, 70 year old Radio Shack store manager happy that Tandy Corporate had promoted Bernie Appel, a high level buyer, and it sounded old and musty then. He said “It’s good to see a hard working yid get ahead!”
I am not straining mightily to find anti-semitism in this. It could conceivably be found, with little straining, although I belive without a doubt that the file was named innocently. “Yid” IS a term that DOES HAVE negative connotations. I hate to sound PC, because I’m not an enemy of freedom, I’m just stating a fact, and expressing my surprise that the term was used by the coders at SDMB.
hrh
;j ;j
I think it’s the coolest smiley, but I don’t actually see an instance where you would use it.