I agree with Terr and share his frustration – Jew is usually not a slur (especially not in such mundane writing), and I’m continually annoyed by people who seem to think it always is.
In the Navy on the submarine I served with a guy who literally blamed every personal and mundane problem he had on the Jews. If he stubbed his toe, “goddamn Jews”. If he got yelled at for being an idiot on watch, “goddamn Jews”. He thought this was normal. I was occasional his superior on watch and after I got over my initial bewilderment I told him if I ever heard him say it he’d be relieved of duty, and he stopped (at least around me).
That it is considered a slur by many is a sign, in my mind, of the depth and ignorance and continuing survival of mundane, day-to-day anti-Semitism; similar to the way “that’s so gay” or “quit being such a fag” is a sign of ongoing homophobia (though obviously the two types of bigotry have different histories).
And then there are the Swedish and the Polish and the Spanish and the Frankish. Although if you are both Jewish and Frankish you could be a Frankenstein.
Mark the calendar, I finally agree with Terr on something.
Several classmates in my journalism class 20+ years ago refused to accept that “Jew” was not intrinsically an offensive term, despite the assurances of our professor, who happened to be one herself. I guess the reluctance hasn’t subsided.
You have my sympathy, honestly. That said, it’s tough to imagine any word, no matter how anodyne, that wouldn’t be rendered into a slur by prepending “you fucking…” to it while delivering a beating.
I work in a store owned and managed by Jewish men, and they use the word “Jews.” However, to me it rings of using the word “Jap.” But then, I’m not comfortable with using the word “gyp.”
The Jewish manager told me not to use the work “shiska,” pointing out it comes from the same root as “lice,” and is considered derogatory. I did not know that, and I no longer use it.
Okay! Anyone who uses “jew” or “gyp” as a verb within my range of hearing is going to get a lesson in word origins and plain odd fashioned manners.
Seriously, I haven’t heard the former in quite a while. Occasionally, people will use the latter in front of me, and I always ask “Do you know where that word comes from?” They think about it, realize it’s not a nice word, and generally stop using it.
Those who want to hang on to words like thug, Jew, etc.; aren’t you concerned that one day you will be like Lou?
Lou is a guy who frequents my bar. He is in his 70s. The other day he told us he was shocked by how young his new doctor was, and a colored guy, to boot! The rest of us quietly rolled our eyes and changed the subject. I don’t ever wanna be Lou.
Carol Higgins Clark always uses one syllable past tenses of verbs for her mystery book titles, always starting with a different letter from the previous ones. When she came out with Gypped, I remarked "Too bad she already used “Jinxed.” Of course, she hasn’t used “K” yet…
Agreed. The fact that one can utter the phrase “you fucking Jew” – my fingers didn’t whither when I attempted to type it just now, though that may be because I am a Jew – doesn’t make the word a slur.
“Shiksa” is derogatory, and is generally used by people who consider that a feature rather than a bug (so to speak).
Funny story, many years ago my Mother was chatting with one of her best friends and neighbors. At that point they had known each other maybe ten years. The woman (who was not Jewish) offhandedly said “…and so I Jewed him down to such and such…” My mother was aghast and said something which spiraled into an argument, the end result was they stopped speaking for years. They eventually reconciled but their friendship was never the same after.
Because it’s damn nigh impossible to keep up with which descriptive words are offensive to whom, particularly when writing a public message that could be read across the globe. People who know me know that if I intend to be offensive there will be no question and parse my words in that light. People who don’t know me will draw their own conclusions.
It was pretty late in my life when I made the connection between “gyp” (which we spelled “gip”) and “Gypsy”. Where I was raised “gip” was a common word used to mean “swindle”, but I never knew a Gypsy. The only context I had regarding Gypsies were from books I read, which generally depicted them as carefree caravan travelers with colorful clothing who danced a lot and had raven black hair.
I was told about a woman who used the ‘Jewed him down’ phrase. When confronted about it she claimed to be aghast and had no idea the word referred to Jews. She thought it was just some word pronounced ‘jood’.
“Jude him down”. Probably the origin lies with in some tight-fisted gal named Jude.
Obviously “Jew” used as a verb is offensive. There is no way NOT to use that inoffensively, and no way to euphemize it (as in “I Jewish People’d him down”?). That is not what the OP was about.
Actually, I think it’s other way round: “Jew” is a slur…when used as an adjective. Consider the difference between “a Jewish boy” and “a Jew boy”. Or, historically more ominous, “Jewish bankers” and “Jew bankers”.