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What do you think of the phrase "He jewed me down"?

What do you think of the phrase 'He jewed me down'?

  • I'm highly offended by the phrase!

    Votes: 7 10.8%

  • It's an insensitive choice of words

    Votes: 34 52.3%

  • It depends entirely on the context

    Votes: 10 15.4%

  • As long as it's not refering to real Jews

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • It's just an old expression that perfectly expresses its meaning!

    Votes: 14 21.5%
  • Total voters
    65
MyOwnDrum said:
. He was talking about how some customers try to jew him down on prices, and other aggravations of running his business.
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200px-Sheila_broflovski.jpg

What What What?!​

Kandahar said:
Did you guys know that the word "gyp" (as in "the fraudster gypped me") is a racial slur against gypsies?
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Sadly I learned this watching an episode of House.

I kind of agree with Tashah on this. Unless you've never routinely or even repeatedly on occasion used a stereotype....from a stereotyped idiom like gypped or indian giver to more generalized things like irish drunks or italian mafiosos...I think its kind of hypocritical to be screaming at others for being closet racists and such. In general, intent matters, and often I'd probably say racially insensitive than purely racism
 
I'm half Jewish and really find nothing offensive about this. Intent is much more important than wording.
 
Dav said:
I'm half Jewish and really find nothing offensive about this. Intent is much more important than wording.
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And your other half is Christian? :2razz:
 
Blackdog said:
I tell you what. As soon as someone crosses the street rather than walk near you because they are afraid you are going to mug them. Or a little girl no more than 5 yells get of my yard nigger, you come see me.
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Ever been repeatedly mocked, insulted, publicly shamed, and laughed out of classrooms – by your teachers - because of your race/ethnicity?

Blackdog said:
No you don't.
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Yes, I do.

That said, I'm not trying to convince anyone that the ethnic disparagement I've experienced is any worse than anyone else's. I'm saying exactly the opposite – EVERY racial/ethnic disparagement is equally wrong and equally hurtful. To say that the Rom are less offended by negative/hateful slurs than African Americans is patently absurd – no one can possibly know the level of personal offense felt by someone else. And frankly, to insist that gypsies aren't capable of feeling just as much hurt from bigoted derision as Black people, is, in itself, a form of ethnic slur.

The bottom line: Any person that uses derogatory words/phrases to demean or belittle an entire race or ethnicity is guilty of perpetuating ugly, untrue, racial stereotypes and should be called on it.

To quote Cardinal:

once you use a phrase in an angry manner that paints an entire race/ethnic/culture in a negative light, you really are part of the problem, as it were. It creates a racist undercurrent that allows much bigger and badder racism to climb onto its shoulders… using bigoted terms in a negative manner contributes to the groundwork that makes institutionalized racism possible.
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Glinda said:
Ever been repeatedly mocked, insulted, publicly shamed, and laughed out of classrooms – by your teachers - because of your race/ethnicity?

Yes, I do.

That said, I'm not trying to convince anyone that the ethnic disparagement I've experienced is any worse than anyone else's. I'm saying exactly the opposite – EVERY racial/ethnic disparagement is equally wrong and equally hurtful. To say that the Rom are less offended by negative/hateful slurs than African Americans is patently absurd – no one can possibly know the level of personal offense felt by someone else. And frankly, to insist that gypsies aren't capable of feeling just as much hurt from bigoted derision as Black people, is, in itself, a form of ethnic slur.

The bottom line: Any person that uses derogatory words/phrases to demean or belittle an entire race or ethnicity is guilty of perpetuating ugly, untrue, racial stereotypes and should be called on it.

To quote Cardinal:
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Have you bothered to read any of the other posts here?

I doubt it as it absolutely verifies what I was saying.

The poor downtrodden white man. :roll:

To Quote Partisan...

I agree, it can be quite effective...... ;)
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Blackdog said:
The poor downtrodden white man. :roll:
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That's not what I've said or implied at all. Try reading this again without prejudice:

That said, I'm not trying to convince anyone that the ethnic disparagement I've experienced is any worse than anyone else's. I'm saying exactly the opposite – EVERY racial/ethnic disparagement is equally wrong and equally hurtful. To say that the Rom are less offended by negative/hateful slurs than African Americans is patently absurd – no one can possibly know the level of personal offense felt by someone else. And frankly, to insist that gypsies aren't capable of feeling just as much hurt from bigoted derision as Black people, is, in itself, a form of ethnic slur.
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MyOwnDrum said:
And your other half is Christian? :2razz:
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You have no idea how many times I have had to say this, but: Jewish the ethnicity and Jewish the religion are two different things. You can be an atheist Jew (Karl Marx, for example) or even a Christian Jew.

I am assuming you didn't already know that, in which case you would likely be in the majority.
 
Glinda said:
That's not what I've said or implied at all. Try reading this again without prejudice:
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Right...

"I am a "white" woman and have felt "the sting" of ethnic slurs my entire life." - Glinda

:lol:
 
Dav said:
You have no idea how many times I have had to say this, but: Jewish the ethnicity and Jewish the religion are two different things. You can be an atheist Jew (Karl Marx, for example) or even a Christian Jew.
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I'm not sure if you were aware of this notion, but in, I believe, modern (1700s) Jewish thought, there is the idea that:
Jews are unique, they are neither a race, nor a religion, but both.
This has presented some problems for Jews over the years, namely Hitler's misconception that Jews were a race...
 
Kal'Stang said:
Why is it so hard for you to believe that white folks get discriminated against also?
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Every single race is discriminated...

If they weren't, we would perceive all races the same - which we all know isn't true. On such objective things like applications, they often ask for race/ethnicity, that blatantly discriminates; why should it matter if we are all equal?

On can make the argument that discrimination is a fact of nature -> human beings are by nature xenophobes.
 
Dav said:
You have no idea how many times I have had to say this, but: Jewish the ethnicity and Jewish the religion are two different things. You can be an atheist Jew (Karl Marx, for example) or even a Christian Jew.

I am assuming you didn't already know that, in which case you would likely be in the majority.
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I was just kidding actually.:lol:

You do know that, under Jewish law you are not a Jew unless you were born of a Jewish mother, I'm sure. If your mother is Jewish you have the right of return.
 
MyOwnDrum said:
Sometimes political correctness can rob our language of its richness.
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I agree. For myself, I probably wouldn't use it, since it can be seen as insensitive and I am not fond of offending people. However we, as a country, have become so caught up in being PC that we are losing our identity. If you don't like it, don't use it. If others say it and it offends you, don't associate with them.
 
Kal'Stang said:
Why is it so hard for you to believe that white folks get discriminated against also?
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I believe they do, just not on the same level.

Hell I think affirmative action is discrimination, but it does not compare to the discrimination I personally have faced. This is without even going into my father and my fathers father.
 
Blackdog said:
I believe they do, just not on the same level.

Hell I think affirmative action is discrimination, but it does not compare to the discrimination I personally have faced. This is without even going into my father and my fathers father.
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I've seen some pretty ****ed up race-based **** happen to white people in my life. If someone gets their ass kicked for being a certain color in a certain neighborhood, it isn't worse when it happens to a black person.

The assumption that it isn't on the same level is a bit disingenuous. In general, it's probably not on the same level, Probably not even close. On average.

But each individual case is different. A white guy growing up on the West Side of Chicago is probably going to have a rougher go of it than a black guy growing up in a mixed middle class suburb will.
 
Tucker Case said:
I've seen some pretty ****ed up race-based **** happen to white people in my life. If someone gets their ass kicked for being a certain color in a certain neighborhood, it isn't worse when it happens to a black person.
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It is the exception and not the rule. Being that whites pretty much run the country or are the majority, it changes the odds.

Tucker Case said:
The assumption that it isn't on the same level is a bit disingenuous. In general, it's probably not on the same level, Probably not even close. On average.
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Then why is it disingenuous? You just countered your own argument?

Tucker Case said:
But each individual case is different. A white guy growing up on the West Side of Chicago is probably going to have a rougher go of it than a black guy growing up in a mixed middle class suburb will.
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I agree, but it does not change the fact that the racism against a person who is not white is much more prevalent in our society. It is getting better and has been for years, but it is alive and well.

We see examples of this everyday with posters here.
 
You know guys, I'm not a big fan of comparing who has been hurt by ethnic/racial/religious prejudice more. I am a white man... and Jewish. I have been discriminated against, called names because of my religion, and had a swatika painted on my locker (as did a friend of mine who happened to be an Auschwitz survivor!!!). I think ANYONE who has been victimized by any of these types of slurs and attacks knows what it feels like. It's not worse, it's not better... it just is. I, myself, don't understand the motivations to participate... mostly because I have no desire to get into that mindset enough TO understand it. But the point is, whenever it happens, it harms all of us.
 
Tucker Case said:
I've seen some pretty ****ed up race-based **** happen to white people in my life. If someone gets their ass kicked for being a certain color in a certain neighborhood, it isn't worse when it happens to a black person.

The assumption that it isn't on the same level is a bit disingenuous. In general, it's probably not on the same level, Probably not even close. On average.

But each individual case is different. A white guy growing up on the West Side of Chicago is probably going to have a rougher go of it than a black guy growing up in a mixed middle class suburb will.
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To me, it actually seems more disingenuous to point out racism against white people and try to draw some sort of equivalency. Like Black Dog mentioned, there are, by comparison, far fewer situations where white folks are going to encounter significant discrimination.

Just an offhand example: for a couple of years, I lived in a predominantly black neighborhood, and my daughters attended a neighborhood summer camp. My younger daughter was the victim of racially motivated bullying at the camp. We moved, and the problem has never occurred again.

You can't tell me that a move one town north is going to solve a problem for someone who finds that they have a hard time getting hired over equally qualified white job applicants.

CaptainCourtesy is right in that there isn't much to gain in throwing a victimization olympics. However, I feel we do need to honestly acknowledge which areas of discrimination are the most widespread.
 
Blackdog said:
I believe they do, just not on the same level.

Hell I think affirmative action is discrimination, but it does not compare to the discrimination I personally have faced. This is without even going into my father and my fathers father.
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I disagree with this completely. I have a black husband. I have mixed children. Racism against you is 99% of the time what you make of it. I have been called horrible things many times by black women. I have been told that I am stealing their men and threatened. But really, So what? Oh well. It isn't that tragic, my feelings aren't hurt and I really don't care if they are ignorant.

My husband is sick to death of his own race and other minorities still using racism as an excuse. He was a single dad of two mixed children, whom we got custody of from their white mother, he went to college while working full-time and raising his kids without any monetary or physical help and now has his bachelors and a great career.

The focus should not be on who is discriminated against the most. Stop whining and work together and get things accomplished. That is more likely to change the still-ignorant minds than anything else. How my parents and grandparents acted in the past, doesn't give me an excuse nor hold me liable for their actions today. I am responsible for myself.
 
MyOwnDrum said:
I was just kidding actually.:lol:

You do know that, under Jewish law you are not a Jew unless you were born of a Jewish mother, I'm sure. If your mother is Jewish you have the right of return.
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Interesting... especially since it happens to be my mother who is Jewish.
 
Dav said:
Interesting... especially since it happens to be my mother who is Jewish.
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From a purely classical religious and orthodox standpoint, you, too are Jewish.
 
Dav said:
Interesting... especially since it happens to be my mother who is Jewish.
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Sooo, you aren't 'half' Jewish. You are Jewish.
 
ds4159 said:
I disagree with this completely. I have a black husband. I have mixed children. Racism against you is 99% of the time what you make of it.
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Tell me that the next time some one says "you sounded white over the phone." In a meeting during a job interview.

ds4159 said:
I have been called horrible things many times by black women. I have been told that I am stealing their men and threatened. But really, So what? Oh well. It isn't that tragic, my feelings aren't hurt and I really don't care if they are ignorant.
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You just don't get it. This is not just about someone calling you a name. This is about being denied service or a job, things that really makes a difference. This is about being a second class citizen in your own country, the one you served. This is about being literally run out of a neighborhood because you are the wrong color.

ds4159 said:
My husband is sick to death of his own race and other minorities still using racism as an excuse. He was a single dad of two mixed children, whom we got custody of from their white mother, he went to college while working full-time and raising his kids without any monetary or physical help and now has his bachelors and a great career.
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Please point out where anyone including myself has used it as an excuse? I asked a question. :roll:

ds4159 said:
The focus should not be on who is discriminated against the most. Stop whining and work together and get things accomplished. That is more likely to change the still-ignorant minds than anything else. How my parents and grandparents acted in the past, doesn't give me an excuse nor hold me liable for their actions today. I am responsible for myself.
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Right over your head. :roll:

Next time maybe read what has happened before jumping to a conclusion.
 
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Kandahar said:
Calling Jews Jews is offensive? What else does one call them? Maybe it depends on the individuals...all the Jews I know refer to themselves as Jews. I've never even thought about it as an offensive term.
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I believe it was so if it was in a derogatory context that I was told this. Of course, I didn't hear it from the official Jewish Offense League either. Believe it or not, Jewish people do not agree with each other all the time or on everything. They are just like everyone else.
 
CaptainCourtesy said:
You know guys, I'm not a big fan of comparing who has been hurt by ethnic/racial/religious prejudice more. I am a white man... and Jewish. I have been discriminated against, called names because of my religion, and had a swatika painted on my locker (as did a friend of mine who happened to be an Auschwitz survivor!!!). I think ANYONE who has been victimized by any of these types of slurs and attacks knows what it feels like. It's not worse, it's not better... it just is. I, myself, don't understand the motivations to participate... mostly because I have no desire to get into that mindset enough TO understand it. But the point is, whenever it happens, it harms all of us.
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I got my first taste of prejudice 47yrs ago when we moved to a Christian school, we were called Christ Killers ect. My wife and I were on a flight to Europe just before Christmas, it was a Hungarian Airline with Ukrainian stewards, they were fine until they noticed my star of david, Juden with a snarl was uttered by the women, my wife speaks german, I lost my temper, we were still on British soil, so when she said she would have the police remove us I reminded her of that fact, the Captain came out and moved them to the other end off the plane.

I reported it to the Police when we returned home, they are taking it very seriously.
 
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