For reasons I can’t explain, I have always considered the term “Jew” to be slightly derogatory. For example, if for some reason I had cause to tell someone that my BIL is Jewish, I would say “My BIL is Jewish”…I would never say “My BIL is a Jew”. That just sounds somewhat offensive to me (though I can’t articulate why exactly).
However, I recently had a discussion with said BIL and he uses the term Jew rather freely in reference to himself or other Jewish people. Furthermore, he’s never considered the term in any way derogatory.
So where did I get this impression and do others share it? I am from California, if that matters, and my BIL is from NY.
*You’ll pardon me if this has been asked a thousand times here. I tried to search, but the search feature here leaves much to be desired…
Yes, it’s considered derogatory where ever bigots are. The term Jew sounds more definite in meaning than Jewish. Jewish might be mistaken to mean someone who simply belongs to a religion instead of a horned Christ killer, or cheap ass bastard, or someone to be derided for simply belonging to the wrong religion, or belonging to a ‘non-white race’.
AFAIU, it’s just English usage. In English it is more “normal” to say “he’s French”, “he’s German”, “he’s Irish”, “he’s Polish”, rather than “he’s a Frenchman”, “he’s a German”, “he’s an Irishman”, or “he’s a Pole”. Thus the preference to “he’s Jewish” over “he’s a Jew”. In all of the examples above, using a noun instead of an adjective could be perceived as slightly pejorative - probably because the listener wonders why the slightly non-standard usage was preferred by the speaker.
The language is so fluid. I was raised a Jew. Am I a Jew or am I Jewish or am I of the Hebrew persuasion as far as my upbringing and ethnicity? It’s a sticky wicket.
By comparison, a person who has dark skin who was born in the United States whose parents and grandparents were born in the United States whose ancestors were all born in Ghana would have been:
Born in 1904 and been called Colored
Born in 1954 and been called a Negro
Born in 1971 and been called Black
Born in 2003 and been called an African American.
Finding the phrase that fit the era can be regarded as deeply racist, somewhat offensive or historically accurate but now out of vogue. All depends on who you talk to.
While it’s true that paleontologists used to say Brontosaur and now say Apatosaur, it’s fair to say that they won’t become as deeply angry as folks will when discussing descriptors used in regards to race and religion.
I grew up in Philly. Seemed that being asked " are you a Jew " had a whiff of anti-Semitism, whereas being asked, " Are you Jewish? " did not. No clue why.
IMO it has to do with using a noun to define someone as opposed to an adjective which merely describes their characteristics. (Like a previous poster mentions.) In other words, using the term “Jew” has more of an implication that that is an essential, unchangeable element of their being which defines everything about them, rather than just another fact about that person.
I agree with your post but do not at all understand the example you used.
Because your example is defining a large group, and the OP refers to a personal descriptor. You might take offense because you identify fiercely with a group and an appellation that you feel is derogatory is used, but for me, I’d take a lot more offense to a descriptor used aimed solely at me.
All the Jews I know (including my wife, kids, and other members of our temple) call themselves Jews. It’s not considered any more derogatory than “Christian” or “Muslim”.
“Jewish” is okay too, but it’s seen as a little precious, like someone is trying way harder than they need to.
Yep - “A Jew” is a label. “Jewish” is a description. Remember the great SNL routine of many years ago (that’s redundant - that’s the only time when the show had great routines)? They did a game show, “Jew, or Not a Jew?” The panel would be given the name of a celebrity and they’d have to buzz in to make their guess. And when Kevin Nealin hit his buzzer on, maybe Michael Douglas, he said, “He’s a Jew, Bob!” It was hysterical, because the way he said it parodied that usage - as a pejorative label. It would have lost a good deal had he just said, “He’s Jewish, Bob!” It would have just sounded informative, but not judgmental.
And, as with many other difficult matters of nomenclature, it is a lot easier for me (he’s a Jew, Bob) to hear someone referred to as a Jew if the person making the reference is, himself, Jewish. I guess we have a built in bigot-dar that turns on when an anti-semite is speaking.
My BIL is Hebrew??? That doesn’t sound pejorative, necessarily, but it does sound weird…like I’m describing an elderly Israeli Rabbi rather than a 30-something American.
And thanks for the input Cartooniverse and The Hamster King. I was hoping to hear the perspective of some of the Jew Dopers*.
*See what I mean? It just doesn’t sound kosher when I say it. It sounds like I’m goosestepping…
It’s also looked at a bit askance to call somebody “a black” or “a gay” these days, for the same reason. Everybody else says it differently except your onion-on-the-belt grandpa, so if you don’t then I wonder about you.
Well, it would have been, “My BIL is a Hebrew.” But otherwise, yes, you’ve got it exactly, in that you’re associating the usage with the time period when it was commonly used. (That is, “elderly”= a century ago, and 30-something= today)
