I don’t see how “Jew” is any more offensive than “Scot” for Scottish or “Swede” for Swedish would be. And I’m Scot/Swede.
When a people have been historically oppressed, some usages can become more loaded than others based on patterns of usage. It’s not a matter of just matching them up with other terms and using them the same way.
It is fine if they are from Mexico. But not for people more South.
The Waste Land, by TS Eliot.
Have you never Kippled? I learned Kipling in high school.
This all sounds like that Diversity Day episode from the NBC sitcom The Office.
Michael asked his Latino colleague Oscar, “Is there a term besides Mexican that you prefer? Something less offensive?”
By merely asking the question about something as objective as a person’s heritage or religion, you are inserting your own prejudices.
Bottom line: Jew is not a derogatory term.
Like ‘Paki’ (offensive) and ‘Aussie’ (fine). Some nationalities don’t even have a noun form though, I always wondered why.
Jew is not a derogatory word, but it can and often is used in derogatory ways. As a noun, it’s rarely derogatory. As an adjective, it’s usually derogatory.
Depends on what the person means by “Mexican”. I’ve heard people ( in the past) talk about going to a particular street location and hiring a “Mexican” to mow their lawn or something. What they really means was something like “day laborer” - because 1) Most of the people there looking for work were not Mexican and 2) Some of them weren’t even Hispanic
This. I’m not even in tune enough with their historical oppression to even believe on a deep level that anyone even can be antisemitic, but I’m aware enough of it on an intellectual level that it seems to me more like the word “Negro” and less like the word “Swede”. Neither Negro nor Jew was meant as derogatory, but both seem tainted by their use by bigots.
So when I’m forced to use a term for them, I say “Jewish people” because it doesn’t matter how much people tell me differently, it still seems wrong. However, usually it isn’t necessary to single out people for their religion, so my need to do so is minimal.
I’ve heard Norwegians say ‘Swede’ in a a derogatory manner.
It’s our name. You’re refusing to call us by it.
Do you see the problem now?
(To the best of my knowledge, with the exception of historical contexts, nobody is currently saying that “Negro” is the correct term for themselves.)
Forgive my poor quoting style.
Ludovic said, “Neither Negro nor Jew was meant as derogatory, but both seem tainted by their use by bigots. So when I’m forced to use a term for them, I say “Jewish people” because it doesn’t matter how much people tell me differently, it still seems wrong.”
thorny_locust replied, “It’s our name. You’re refusing to call us by it.”
Excuse me, thorny_locust, but you don’t speak for all Jewish people (see what I did there?) I find the word “Jew” offensive, as does my family.
Everyone has different experiences in life, and mine has led me to prefer to be called either Jewish, or a Jewish person (actually, I’d rather not be called anything, since rarely should my religion be a topic of conversation to anyone).
So, thank you to Ludovic. I appreciate your consideration of other’s feelings.
[quote=“Wallet, post:93, topic:928328”]
Ludovic said “it doesn’t matter how much people tell me differently, it still seems wrong”. So apparently they’re refusing to use the word “Jew” for people who have the reverse reaction to yours, and find it offensive to act as if there’s something wrong with the word.
Yes, I’m aware that there are others of Jewish heritage who disagree with me; and, if I remember your preference, I’ll be careful what phrasing I use when referring to you, though I agree that most of the time it just isn’t relevant. But please recognize that yours isn’t the only opinion, either.
Yes, and some Irish use “Brit” that way, but in general “Brit” is not derogatory.
In the South “Yankee” is a Bad word, but not in the North.
United Negro College Fund.
Negro Leagues.
And a few blacks prefer it. Some prefer “colored”.
But yes, “negro” is generally a word to avoid, but it’s not as bad as the real N word.
Ask a Red Sox Fan. 
Yeah. Round here we say it with a sneer and spit when we’re done.
I don’t understand this. I hesitate to comment further because I feel like I must be misunderstanding you. To be clear, I’m referring to the first half of the sentence, but I didn’t want to quote only half a sentence.
Some part of me finds it hard to believe that some people have such a deep hatred that they hate other people they don’t know based on an irrelevant and less obvious characteristic, while I can understand it on an intellectual level. All of me, however, is cynical enough to believe that people can hate others based on how they look, as it takes less energy to do so.