# What is the concept of "Jewish guilt" supposed to mean and why is it so culturally pervasive? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 14, 2010, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944 "2010-02-14T10:33:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/41 "2010-02-15T21:27:01Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Well, there’s also that Pope thing. I can think of about 95 more. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/42 "2010-02-15T21:37:44Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > I disagree that this in the “lynchpin”. As many, if not more, Jewish guilt jokes are “about” making your kid choose an approved career (doctor or lawyer). The linchpin of Jewish humor, however, largely _is_ centered on being a male child. This tradition carried over quite neatly and seamlessly into sitcoms, light comedy movies and such - helped along by the demographics of the TV and film industry. The result: any Jewish lead characters tend to be male, and their leading ladies tend not to be. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/43 "2010-02-15T21:38:59Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > The result: any Jewish lead characters tend to be male, and their leading ladies tend not to be. Don’t all leading ladies tend not to be male? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/44 "2010-02-15T21:48:44Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > The linchpin of Jewish humor, however, largely _is_ centered on being a male child. This tradition carried over quite neatly and seamlessly into sitcoms, light comedy movies and such - helped along by the demographics of the TV and film industry. The result: any Jewish lead characters tend to be male, and their leading ladies tend not to be. I dunno if that last sentence was deliberate, but it’s funny. 😉 It is true that the typical object of the Jewish joke is the relationship between a Jewish mom and her son. Jewish daughters, not as much, though there is a whole seperate stream of Jewish jokes about the “JAP” stereotype that mostly refers to young Jewish women - the term can also me used to mean “Jewish American Prince”, but far more often refers to “Jewish American Princess”. In the jokes, non-Jewish women are irresistably attracted to Jewish men, giving those men’s mothers conniptions. Alas, in reality, being Jewish isn’t of itself much of a turn-on to women, Jewish or not. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/45 "2010-02-15T21:59:40Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Alas, in reality, being Jewish isn’t of itself much of a turn-on to women, Jewish or not. 😉 No, but the giant penis and astounding sense of humor that come with it are. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/46 "2010-02-15T22:12:42Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Don’t all leading ladies tend not to be male? I walked right into that one. I love it when others do it, though, so fair’s fair. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/47 "2010-02-16T03:13:52Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Because the last time she was separated from members of her family, 85% of them ended up murdered. But that doesn’t explain the Hispanic moms, Chinese moms, Italian moms, Portuguese moms, Irish moms, Lithuanian moms… who wield guilt like a claymore and wish their children were never more than one foot away from their skirts, or the occasional Puerto Rican girlfriend saying “[stick to your own, girl](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055614/).” Yes, that’s a movie, but boy have I heard that speech irl! (“But, but, but… he’s anglo!” “Well, yes, he’s very nice, but he’s not Vietnamese” etc) ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/48 "2010-02-16T04:02:32Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > I disagree that this in the “lynchpin”. As many, if not more, Jewish guilt jokes are “about” making your kid choose an approved career (doctor or lawyer). Can we split the difference and say the lynchpin is getting your kid to marry a Jewish doctor or lawyer? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/49 "2010-02-16T04:10:25Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > But that doesn’t explain the Hispanic moms, Chinese moms, Italian moms, Portuguese moms, Irish moms, Lithuanian moms… who wield guilt like a claymore and wish their children were never more than one foot away from their skirts, or the occasional Puerto Rican girlfriend saying “[stick to your own, girl](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055614/).” Yes, that’s a movie, but boy have I heard that speech irl! (“But, but, but… he’s anglo!” “Well, yes, he’s very nice, but he’s not Vietnamese” etc) Let’s just say that the default orientation of creative media culture is not Hispanic, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Lithuanian, Puerto Rican, or Vietnamese. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/50 "2010-02-16T04:26:41Z")
1.Comedians will often mine their personal lives for yucks. 2. Overbearing mothers are funny. 3. A large percentage of comedians are Jewish. 4. Thus, you hear a lot of jokes about Jewish uber-mamas. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/51 "2010-02-16T07:06:14Z")
[QUOTE=Hello Again] The truth is, the survivors of the concentration camps, gulags, and ghettos were permanently scarred by the experience, especially in having separation fears. The vast majority were not at all introspective about it, and simply acted out their terror of loss by manipulating their children into doing what they felt was necessary to keep them close. [/quote] I think this might apply for all the Jews in Europe because they were all persecuted one way or another by either the Nazis or their home country. And when you face that kind of persecution from society you learn to rely your on family because that’s probably all you’re going to get. [QUOTE=Hello Again] You think a person who will risk getting shot on sight for the sake of keeping her family together, is scared of you _thinking_ she is mean? Oh, hell no. [/QUOTE] Another reason for the guilt comes simply from living with Jews who survived World War II. There isn’t any complaint that comes out of my mouth that isn’t countered with grandpa going, “well the car ride isn’t as long as when me and other soldiers had to walk through the forest in the Russian winter. Four guys died on that route…” When I was younger I would just roll my eyes. As I got older all those stories started to sink in. All my grandparents survived through so much bullshit to get me to America that I’d feel foolish if I amounted to some mediocre schlub. That’s just one Jewish boy’s perspective, but I suspect that other Jews who had relatives who survived the War or the Holocaust feel the same way. And then there’s my Great Grandmother who’s somewhere around 95 years old now. Her memory isn’t well, but this how our conversations go every time we see each other: GG: So where is your girl friend? Lakai: I don’t have one… :o GG: So how are you going to get married? You know I’m not going to be around much longer. _At this point my mom will try to stop her_ GG: Nonsense! He need to get married soon. I’m not going to survive a lot longer. _Turns to me_. I need to go to a big party before I die. Are you going to get married soon? Something like that. I got to find myself a bride soon or GG will be upset the next time we meet… ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/52 "2010-02-16T14:14:46Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Can we split the difference and say the lynchpin is getting your kid to marry a Jewish doctor or lawyer? 😉 Reminds me of the old joke - Two Jewish moms met for coffee and were talking about their kids. The first mom said, “my boy is just finishing law school, he’s already got a job lined up!” The second mom said, “Oy, I had such a shock the other day. My boy came out to me - he’s gay” The first mom sympathized “That’s such a shame” The second mom said “Shame? Not at all! He’s going with a nice Jewish doctor!” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/53 "2010-02-16T17:25:52Z")
I don’t buy the Holocaust connection because my grandmother, who was born 50 years before WW II, did it to my mother in spades. (She had no sons to bug.) I think Jewish guilt comes from high expectations and the difficulty most people had in meeting them. I personally never had a problem, but then I became a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/54 "2010-02-17T00:19:27Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I swear, in all my 23 years of interacting with Jews I have never run across one of these stereotypical “Jewish mothers.” I’m a 53 year old southern Methodist & I used to wonder how my mom found time to raise all those Jewish comedians. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/55 "2010-02-17T02:15:02Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > A Jewish teenager opens a Hanukah gift from his mother. It’s two neckties - a red one and a blue one. He says “Oh thank you so much Mom! These are wonderful! I love them!” He runs upstairs, and comes down in a few minutes wearing a dress shirt and the blue tie. His mother says, > > “You don’t like the red one?” In his book, “How to be a Jewish Mother,” Dan Greenburg has a similar line. You give your son Marvin two sports shirts. He wears one. You say, “The other one you didn’t like?” I was never Jewish, but understood from an early age about Jewish guilt, mainly from Jewish comics (Borscht Belt era). And Catholic guilt, which to me is very similar. Nitpickers will differ, but it’s all guilt when you get down to it. Henny Youngman: Why do Jewish men die before their wives? They want to. Why do Jewish divorces cost so much? They’re worth it. Also, someone mentioned atonement. In “Annie Hall,” Woody Allen has Annie’s parents talking to his parents. His parents fast to atone for their sins. (From memory). “What sins? I don’t understand.” Alvy’s parents: “To tell you the truth, neither do we.” So Jews are guilty of something, but even they don’t know what. They just know it’s their fate to carry (and spread) guilt. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/56 "2010-02-19T16:35:31Z")
No one’s said the obvious? . . . . . . . . . . . . you guys killed Jesus! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/57 "2010-02-21T04:13:30Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Don’t all leading ladies tend not to be male? Well, I can think of one exception… [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104036/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104036/) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944/58 "2010-02-21T18:47:58Z")
\ Jewish Mother:Oh, whoever it is, thank you for calling, I thought the bell on this phone was broken, it never rings… who’s there then? Jewish Son: Hiya ma, It’s Irving. JM: Irving? JS:Yes, ma, your son, Irving. JM:Oh Irving my son! So nice to hear from you, I had nearly forgotten I had a son. JS: OK, OK, ma, I know I should call more, but great news! I have a week off, and I’m going to bring Naomi and the girls to The City to visit. JM: Oh Iriving, you made my day! It will be so wonderful to see you! …But who’s this Naomi person? JS: Ma, thats not funny. I know you never liked her much, but Naomi is my wife, she makes me very happy, is a wonderful mother, and I wish you could try to be nice to her for a change. JM: Well heaven knows you deserve better, so many pretty girls you dated, but I know that horrible woman who took my son away from me is named Hannah. JS: Naomi! JM: Hannah! JS: Nao…Uh, wait a second, is this 555-4579?? JM: No, it’s 4597! JS: Oh ma’am I’m so sorry I’ve called the wrong number, sorry to have troubled you. JM: What, so now you’re not coming? …probably my favorite joke evah! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-concept-of-jewish-guilt-supposed-to-mean-and-why-is-it-so-culturally-pervasive/528944.md?page=2)