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Behind the Aegis

(53,823 posts)
Tue Oct 6, 2020, 02:41 PM Oct 2020

(Jewish Group) 'Jew' isn't a slur. You don't have to avoid saying it

As Jews around the world prepared for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, two weeks ago, President Trump wished his “Jewish brothers and sisters” a happy holiday.

In 2019, he extended a version of the same greeting to “those observing Rosh Hashanah.” In 2018, it was “Jewish people.” In 2017, it was “Jewish families.”

With one exception, a word was missing from the texts of all four annual greetings: “Jews.”

The syntax speaks to a strange phenomenon: People often seem to be afraid of using the word “Jew,” a word that, simply, describes the people they’re talking about.

Discomfort with the word “Jew” exists across the political spectrum. In 2015, a Democratic official chastised Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for a campaign sign he advertised reading “Jew for Rand.” Articles about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on CNN, USA Today and elsewhere last week described her as “the first Jewish person” to lie in state. (Notably, Jewish newspapers felt fine calling Ginsburg the “first Jew” to be given the honor.)

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(Jewish Group) 'Jew' isn't a slur. You don't have to avoid saying it (Original Post) Behind the Aegis Oct 2020 OP
the word is fine. derogatory use not so fine. bullimiami Oct 2020 #1
That's the crux of the article. Behind the Aegis Oct 2020 #2

Behind the Aegis

(53,823 posts)
2. That's the crux of the article.
Tue Oct 6, 2020, 02:46 PM
Oct 2020

Even here, I have seen people avoid the word "Jew" and even comment, TO ME, that it is actually an insult; it is not. Sure, there are times when it can be used as an insult (as outlined in the article), but other words fall into a similar category, two pop into my mind immediately, "thug" and "queer". Both can be used in ways that are not bigoted, but they can also be markers of bigotry and it depends on the speaker and context.

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