# tomndebb, please explain why I was noted for saying Jew-bros. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 31, 2015, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248 "2015-10-31T08:26:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [October 31, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/81 "2015-10-31T22:50:15Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > If Chelsea Clinton had a 4-inch long hairdo, it’d be a jewfro, not an Afro, not a whitefro, a jewfro. She’s not Jewish. I’ll join Mace and Colibri to add that I’ve never heard the term used in reference to someone who wasn’t Jewish. I’ll confess I myself wouldn’t feel comfortable using it but won’t get upset at Jews who like to make references to it. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/82 "2015-10-31T22:55:20Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > “Thug” became code for “n\*\*\*er” a few years ago. Part of it was when the Seahawks won a game which sent them to the Super Bowl, and Richard Sherman (who is no dummy) gave a bit of trash talk to the sideline reporter about an opposing player. The sports journalistica (mostly a bunch of old, fat, balding white guys) went all “thuggy thuggy thug thug.” After that pretty much any black guy involved in anything controversial was referred to as a thug. I never heard that, knew that, or thought that. Never. So “thug” goes the way of “gay” now, especially if the people doing thuggish things are black. Does that make me at fault? I mean, I’ve learned not to call Black men “boy.” At what point does my not being hooked in to the latest pronouncement of the language police mean that I (we, the people who are not aware or choose to ignore) am a racist, sexist, cis-genderist binary troglodyte? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/83 "2015-10-31T23:02:04Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I never heard that, knew that, or thought that. Never. > > So “thug” goes the way of “gay” now, especially if the people doing thuggish things are black. > > Does that make me at fault? I mean, I’ve learned not to call Black men “boy.” At what point does my not being hooked in to the latest pronouncement of the language police mean that I (we, the people who are not aware or choose to ignore) am a racist, sexist, cis-genderist binary troglodyte? People who say “thug” aren’t monsters. Having this discussion doesn’t mean you’re being called a racist (or anything else). Saying “hey, maybe you shouldn’t use that word in this way because of some things you maybe haven’t thought about before” isn’t calling anyone a racist. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/84 "2015-10-31T23:04:06Z")
BTW, a vote for Jewfro being appropriate to anyone who is not an African-American. Because a Jewfro on an African-American is called an Afro. Perhaps anyone with a Jewfro is then guilty of “cultural appropriation.” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/85 "2015-10-31T23:06:08Z")
Some people are so oversensitive that any suggestion that maybe possibly there’s a slight chance that they said or did something a little inappropriate or insensitive or even (gasp!) racist makes them think they are under attack and being called genocidal Nazi maniacs or something. Most people that I know and know of, including myself, have at some point in their lives done or said racist things. I think good people recognize this and try not to do it in the future. I want people to do me the favor of pointing out any possibly racist or insensitive things that I may have said or done so that I can learn from them. If it turns out that it was just a misunderstanding then it’s no big deal – we still might have had a productive conversation. It’s not shutting people down or trying to stop conversation – it’s just saying “hey maybe you shouldn’t say or do that because of a, b, and c”. Not a massive deal. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/86 "2015-10-31T23:06:27Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It’s about the 40th image on the page, not one of the first. > > People may occasionally refer to non-Jews as having jewfros, but it’s not at all typical, and not really what the word refers to. Google front loads your results with web pages the algorithm thinks you would enjoy. For some reason Google thinks **Grotonian** likes seeing pictures of Justin Timberlake. I’m not judging, just observing. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/87 "2015-10-31T23:07:19Z")
Y’know, if people are going to defend us Jews, I’d much rather have seen Scandic warned for his obvious anti-Semitic postings than to have MrDibble dragged over the coals for what, at worst, is an awkward word choice (and I repeat, as a Jew, I didn’t find it offensive) What the hell is wrong with the SDMB where a poster gets a mod-note for a bad word choice, but Scandic is given free reign to spew his sick modern variant of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”? ---
**Author:** ![Grotonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c2a13f/32.png) [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/88 "2015-10-31T23:08:39Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > [Urban Dictionary](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jewfro) disagrees. So does Wikipedia. So what? I can’t help it if people use jewfro for all whites, but they do. If Justin Timberlake doesn’t have a jewfro, what’s he got, a Baptistfro? ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/89 "2015-10-31T23:19:57Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > …at least, that’s how it’s used by everyone under 40. I’m 35. I don’t use it that way. I don’t use it at all, although I think that’s beside the point. If I did, I’d think that using it to describe the hairstyle of anyone who doesn’t identify as Jewish would be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/90 "2015-10-31T23:28:31Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > In what way is referring to a Jewish fraternity as Jew-bros [worthy of a mod note](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18819062&postcount=80)? > > They’re Jews, and they’re bros. It’s a nifty portmanteau. Or is all use of ‘Jew’ off the table? Would it have been acceptable to call them “Jewishbros”? It doesn’t scan as well. > > That this gets a mod note and the conversation around thug just goes on as it did is bad moderating. The use of the construct “Jew _noun_” is pretty much always insulting, (or has always been in so the U.S.). It is not insulting in the sense that kike is, but it is generally regarded as dismissive or disrespectful. Jew-bro looks enough like Jew boy to evoke a negative response. We received multiple reports from posters who were offended by the construction. Based on a construction that is always insulting and actual complaints from posters, I noted that it was not appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/91 "2015-10-31T23:34:33Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > … I’ve learned not to call Black men “boy.” Really? I am not a young person, and I never heard anyone do that; in fact, it had to be explained to me. > [@Grotonian](#): > > So does Wikipedia. So what? I can’t help it if people use jewfro for all whites, but they do. If Justin Timberlake doesn’t have a jewfro, what’s he got, a Baptistfro? I don’t know, very curly hair? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/92 "2015-10-31T23:55:59Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Generally speaking those outside of a minority community don’t get to make up cute names for that minority community. Nor do those outside a minority community get final say on what language affecting that community is or isn’t offensive. However unreasonable you might feel someone’s reaction to be, usually the best thing to do is shaddup and console yourself with your favorite book of Polack jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/93 "2015-11-01T00:02:29Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > … Jew-bro looks enough like Jew boy to evoke a negative response. … Seriously? _Looks enough like_ is the new standard? Now that we’re going to start looking at words that look enough like other words to find defamatory comments? Species of the spiderwort plant are known as “Wandering Jew.” I suppose that looks enough like something else to warrant a warning now too? > [@tomndebb](#): > > … Based on a construction that is always insulting and actual complaints from posters, I noted that it was not appropriate. Have you searched the ADL website for what’s offensive and what’s not, or are you just going to listen to some members who may actually have an agenda? You might be surprised if you do. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/94 "2015-11-01T00:12:59Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Some people are so oversensitive that any suggestion that maybe possibly there’s a slight chance that they said or did something a little inappropriate or insensitive or even (gasp!) racist makes them think they are under attack and being called genocidal Nazi maniacs or something. > > Most people that I know and know of, including myself, have at some point in their lives done or said racist things. I think good people recognize this and try not to do it in the future. I want people to do me the favor of pointing out any possibly racist or insensitive things that I may have said or done so that I can learn from them. If it turns out that it was just a misunderstanding then it’s no big deal – we still might have had a productive conversation. > > It’s not shutting people down or trying to stop conversation – it’s just saying “hey maybe you shouldn’t say or do that because of a, b, and c”. Not a massive deal. Oh, bullshit. You try to soft-peddle your actions but you’re the truth is you try to shut down speech. Newsfuckingflash: Just because something _can_ be contorted and linked to a racist interpretation doesn’t actually _make_ it racist. How about you do this: try to read things with the non"racist" interpretation? That will bring us all together and make the world a better place. And just because you may have black family members, that doesn’t give you some special authority. When the question is “What do **iiandyiiii’s** black family members think about X”, well, then, you’re the one I’ll be sure to ask. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/95 "2015-11-01T00:18:15Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Species of the spiderwort plant are known as “Wandering Jew.” I suppose that looks enough like something else to warrant a warning now too? It looks like a botanical term that has long been due for retirement, along with [Kaffir lily, Niggerhead and Digger pine](http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/12072/title/Racist-Relics--An-Ugly-Blight-On-Our-Botanical-Nomenclature/). ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/96 "2015-11-01T00:20:03Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Oh, bullshit. You try to soft-peddle your actions but you’re the truth is you try to shut down speech. No I don’t. You don’t have the ability to read my mind. Just try to consider the possibility that I’m being honest. Maybe it’s indeed possible that we disagree honestly on this without some deceitful motive. Is this really that impossible to you? > [@](#): > > Newsfuckingflash: Just because something _can_ be contorted and linked to a racist interpretation doesn’t actually _make_ it racist. How about you do this: try to read things with the non"racist" interpretation? I can’t read minds, so I don’t try to interpret motives. I just point out the things I see in posts. If I think a post is or might be racist (or otherwise problematic), I might point this out. I hope people do this favor for me, too. I want to help people be better, and I want others to help me be better. > [@](#): > > That will bring us all together and make the world a better place. And just because you may have black family members, that doesn’t give you some special authority. When the question is “What do **iiandyiiii’s** black family members think about X”, well, then, you’re the one I’ll be sure to ask. When have I ever claimed some special authority? Someone asked the source of my information and I answered. I’m not claiming anything beyond the beliefs and opinions formed from my own experiences and those of the people close to me, including friends and family members of various races. We used to be able to disagree amiably, but for some reason you’ve got this thing that you always suspect my motives… I can’t just disagree with you; for some reason, I have to be lying and deceitful. Just try to consider that maybe I really believe what I say. I don’t think it’s that outlandish that this might be true. I do you the favor of assuming you believe what you post – why don’t you do the same for me? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/97 "2015-11-01T00:22:45Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Have you searched the ADL website for what’s offensive and what’s not, or are you just going to listen to some members who may actually have an agenda? You might be surprised if you do. Can you link to the part of the website where there is a list of offensive terms? And considering that **Dibble** says he, himself, made up the term he used, why would we expect to find it anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/98 "2015-11-01T00:37:38Z")
I think the mistake most of you are making is that the word “Jew” is offensive to some people. I could find no link on ADL that refers to “Jew” as defamatory. I’m going to accept that they are the authority on this matter. However, "Dirty Jew, " when used by a boss, describing an employee, was clearly offensive in their opinion. Hard to argue with that. Certainly words that are not defamatory can be used in a defamatory manner. I don’t think that’s the case here. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/99 "2015-11-01T00:40:43Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > So does Wikipedia. So what? I can’t help it if people use jewfro for all whites, but they do. If Justin Timberlake doesn’t have a jewfro, what’s he got, a Baptistfro? I find that the best approach when I am demonstrably wrong about something is to dig in my heels and insist that everyone else is wrong and I am right, and simply wait for the world to align with my beliefs. Okay, maybe not the _best_, but it certainly is one option. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248/100 "2015-11-01T00:54:11Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It looks like a botanical term that has long been due for retirement, along with [Kaffir lily, Niggerhead and Digger pine](http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/12072/title/Racist-Relics--An-Ugly-Blight-On-Our-Botanical-Nomenclature/). Hmm, what’s wrong with wandering? And does anyone still know “digger” as a racial slur? Not my call, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomndebb-please-explain-why-i-was-noted-for-saying-jew-bros/736248.md?page=6)