Hello! I have always wondered about the term "Jew". My mother forbade me to use that term and said that it was just like calling a black person the N-word. She said that I am to refer to Jewish people as Jewish people. Period. Is "Jew" a slur? How do you feel about the word?
(I know that those who answer the question cannot be responsible for answering for ALL Jewish people, but I wanted to collect some opinions. Thank you for your responses!)
2007-05-31 04:52:26 · 7 answers · asked by YSIC 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
OK, I can give you my personal opinion. The word "Jew" itself has historically been used in a very derogatory sense. Not all the time, but enough to taint the word. If it is used respecfully, that's fine, and the context should make that obvious. For example, "What about that Jew who said..." is derogatory; "What about that Jewish guy who said..." is not. On the other hand, "What do Jews believe" is fine. It almost boils down to what word is used before the word "Jew". If it's something which is clearly meant as an insulting or isolating word, such as "that", "dirty", "stupid" etc., then it's insulting at the least. On the other hand, something like "a stupid Jewish custom" or "that Jewish custom about..." would be fine, whereas "that Jew custom" would not.
To me, all these examples make sense; hopefully they sound internally consistent to you as well. Google had a nice piece on this subject about a year ago in response to why an extremely anti-Semitic website popped up as #1 when "Jew" was entered into their search engine. Go to the link below for some more info on the use of the word "Jew". And thanks for asking!
2007-05-31 07:22:05 · answer #1 · answered by Mark S, JPAA 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, the word Jew is not a slur, nor is the same as calling a black person the N word. It simply means a person who is Jewish. Sometimes anti-semites use it in an offensive way, but there's nothing wrong with the word itself.
2007-05-31 12:13:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
It depends on the context it is being used in.
For example: "The Jews control Hollywood " That would be considered a slur.
If you were to say: "The Jews have had a tough time lately in Israel because of the bombings" then it would not be considered a slur at all.
2007-05-31 11:58:55 · answer #3 · answered by nycguy10002 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
It really does depend on tone and context.
If someone says "Oh, he's a Jew" - that's fine. If someone says, however, "Oh, man, why do the Jews have to be like that." - not OK.
My quick and dirty rule of thumb is that "A Jew" is usually OK, while "The Jews" is not.
2007-05-31 12:04:54 · answer #4 · answered by paradoxyducks 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I agree with the other ppl; if it's used in a bad way, then it's a bad term....other than that, me and my friends/family used to call each other 'Jew bagel' or whatever - I was a 'bagel bite' (I'm Italian Jew and bagel bite was pizza on a bagel)
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2007-05-31 13:14:53 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good question you get a star.
2007-05-31 12:17:41 · answer #6 · answered by #1clone 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
nah ha ur a jew
2007-05-31 11:56:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 9⤋