(no subject)

[butterfly]

So, the other day, one of my co-workers said, "That is so jewish," about something that was annoying her.

I was rendered speechless. I may still be speechless. I mean... the fuck? Where does that kind of stuff even come from in people's heads?

Comments

[ilanabean42.livejournal.com]

I suppose it's not much different from people saying "That's so gay", but I haven't heard even that much lately. I was kind of hoping society had moved past things like that...

[danamaree.livejournal.com]

Then there are terms like ´that´s so lame´ and you know, it didn´t even occur to me that that was offensive until I was older.

It´s a word that´s lost it´s context. Although, if anyone would say ´that´s so jewish´ I´d respond with something like ´it´s kosher, umm what?.´

It´s sounds so silly.

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

Is she, herself, Jewish? Someone else mentioned "that is so gay" - which odious, true - but there is a case that it's a case of slang. I've heard "so gay" lots of times. I don't hear "so Jewish" from anyone other than a Jew mocking themself for stereotypical behavior... without being bugged.

[danamaree.livejournal.com]

The gay term, I´ve seen that co-opted as a positive label in response to the negative term.

I think it might grow as well, I know when my brother says ´Oh that´s so gay´ I´m like ´you mean fabulous and sexy?´

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

WTF?

*sigh*

[iconis.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just. Wow, with the stupidity.

[therisingmoon.livejournal.com]

where do people come with up with this? i mean, "that is so jewish?" what the hell?

[fallingfortruth.livejournal.com]

Unless they were talking about Manischewitz, there's really no excuse. Really.

I'm sort of stunned.

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

The average person is a moron.

[nicole-anell.livejournal.com]

I wish I could say I never hear stuff like that, but... *sigh* It's always kind of shocking to me how blatant some people are with racist or anti-semitic comments (homophobic comments, sadly, still seem pretty socially acceptable and don't surprise me as much).

[xanphibian.livejournal.com]

*disgusted*

[lamardeuse.livejournal.com]

Among the kids in my area (the Maritime provinces of Canada) there's an unfortunate trend (I don't know if it's regional small-town idiocy or a growing trend among young people in general) to say "I was Jewed out of..." whatever, or to use Jew as a verb in a negative sense. Another teacher I know had one kid pipe up, "Jew means cheap!" when she mentioned the term in class. He had no idea there was something wrong with that - you could argue they're young, but I'm sure he learned it somewhere.

[emrinalexander.livejournal.com]

I think I would have said "Excuse me? What the heck does that mean?"

[emrinalexander.livejournal.com]

He may be young, but he heard it somewhere, and its never too early ( or late) to educate him on the fact that it's a rude, offensive, prejudiced thing to say.

[lamardeuse.livejournal.com]

Oh, knowing my friend, I'm sure she did. Don't worry. :)

[redthroatedloon.livejournal.com]

A couple of years ago, I was at the funeral of a friend's father. Afterwards, some of us stood around and talked. One of the people there was an old friend of her father's, but being me, I was talking to somebody next to me and trying simultaneously to figure out whether the bird in a nearby tree was a Downy woodpecker, so I was pretty oblivious.

In the car going back, my friend asked me worriedly if I was offended. I couldn't figure out about what -- it turned out that her father's friend had, in telling an anecdote about her father, said, "He really jewed us out of that money!" She was relieved when I told her that I hadn't heard it, and that I really didn't worry about a nice old guy (and he was a nice old guy) who had used a phrase that he'd probably been using without thinking since he was a kid. (From my friend's mother's expression, though, I had the feeling he'd be hearing from her again....)

If the guy had been 20 years younger, though, I think I wouldn't have been as forgiving.

[par-avion.livejournal.com]

Where does that kind of stuff even come from in people's heads?

From her parents, unfortunately.

[scary-lullabies.livejournal.com]

I heard that one from some 14 year old about a month ago. I hadn't even heard of that phrase until I was 17. Humans suck.

[sperrywink]

People slay me. And not in a good way.

[librarianstales.livejournal.com]

*takes out the wet noodle of beatings*

I'm sorta speechless here too. WTF?

[dakinigrl.livejournal.com]

yeah... i don't even know. My mom said something one day that about made my brain explode. In response to my commenting on how unbelievable it was that the Jews were persecuted all over Europe for like EVER, she said something to the effect of... well, they *are* kind of annoying to a lot of people. As if that somehow explained killing people by the millions!!!!! I just wanted to put my own eyes out.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, me, too.

Of course, if someone had said, "that's so gay", I'd be horrified on the inside, but prepared enough on the outside to say something about it. This was just so utterly unexpected. I've never actually heard someone in real life be all anti-Semitism before. I was pretty shocked.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

It really does. Because 'Jewish' is still a word that gets used, that's in general practice. I was just thrown by the use, completely thrown.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I don't think so, though, of course, it's certainly possible. She was very enthusistic about Christmas this last year, which is about all I know one way or the other about her holiday practices.

Situationally, she was complaining about a broken handle on our first aid kit thing.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it is to sigh. Really loudly and in a very annoyed, yet sad way.

People are frustrating.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, kinda a lot. Sometimes, the people at my work depress me. Of course, this is the same place where they thought "Holiday's Greetings" is correct (Does the holiday own the greeting? What are we saying here?). So, yeah.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's pretty frustrating. Some people are... really annoying sometimes.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

The handle on the first aid kit was broken. I'm pretty sure that those don't need to be kosher.

I was pretty stunned, or I would have said something like that to her. People can be just... impossible.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Sadly, true.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

This was the first time I'd heard a real-life anti-semitic comment (sadly, I've had to deal with both of the other two, and some of it from my dad). A milestone I really could have done without. People just kinda suck sometimes.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Some people just make no sense. Frustrating and disgusting and... sad.

[fallingfortruth.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just... Wow. I have no words. I admit readily that I occasionally use 'x is gay', but only occasionally is it appended with '... and not in the good way'.

But I realized a long time ago that I'm never going to be a good role model for anyone, yanno? That's just... Yeah. No. Words.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

You know, that's probably the sense she was using it in, as she was talking about something that was broken.

That is so intensely frustrating. And she's definitely old enough to at least start to know better.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

If I hadn't been so surprised, I probably would have (or been intensely sarcastic). I've dealt with people being homophobic and racist. I've just... honestly never heard someone being anti-Semitic before. I was completely floored.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, age can be a consideration. Some people really are set in their ways and have used phrases and words for so long that it would be almost impossible to change. But it's still frustrating.

The person at my work is very much young enough not to need that bit of understanding (she's a couple of years younger than I am).

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

Which makes me think of South Pacific, which has a pretty good, strong song about where kids learn racism (Carefully Taught). It's just... sad and frustrating that that's still happening, all over.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

They really do, very much sometimes.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Yeah. And that icon is completely appropriate to the moment.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I know! It's just... people can be so frustrating and depressing and...

*sigh*

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

That really is kind of horrifying. I know that my dad's said some racist/homophobic things that have made me go, "why am I related to him?"

[dakinigrl.livejournal.com]

sort of dispels the myth about water not rising higher than it's source, doesn't it?