Reply to Is the refernece "he/she looks very Jewish" benign or an insult?

Forum Index » Religion

Reply to "Is the refernece "he/she looks very Jewish" benign or an insult?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We have a very outspoken friend in one of my friend groups. She has more than once said something like "he or she looks Jewish" if someone was asking for a description about someone I am not Jewish but another friend is and she confided in me that when x says this, she finds it kind of insulting because its the way she says it that implies its a very specific (and not so good) look. Is it worth saying something or is this in the politically correct bubble?[/quote]

Yeah context matters as others have said. But she's not saying this about a guy wearing a yamulke and Talis on his way to shul. It's been used MULTIPLE TIMES, as a way to describe a random person.
Listen, I'm a proud Jew. But you CANNOT ignore the history behind this comment. When people say "looks Jewish," they are referencing a specific ashkenazi look, yes. HOWEVER please don't ignore that [i]this was turned into a caricature[/i] and used in propoganda, not just by the Nazis but [i]throughout history[/i] in a specifically derogatory manner, and in a manner that was used to perpetuate negative stereotypes, oppress/remove rights from Jews, and yes eventually mass slaughter them. So even if it's meant in a benign way, it is NOT ok and yes you should talk to her about it. It's unequivocally not ok, because even if she means no harm or thinks the person is pretty - this is what she's referencing - the caricature or stereotype.

If you want a little pop culture reference...look no further than Cabaret. It's one of the most shocking/off-putting moments in the show. When someone says "that's funny you don't look jewish," or "she looks Jewish" - THIS is what I hear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEhHeILa3HE [/quote]

Ashkenazi Jew here.

Yes, of course it's been used in propaganda and by the Nazis to help them identify Jews to kill.

That doesn't mean that:

1. No one can talk about what MANY Jews look like in a benign way.

2. There are no similarities in how many Jews look. I hate that response because it devalues our history as an ethno-religious group. So many of us are Ashkenazi or Sephardic and I don't like people devaluing our identity or history by saying "oh Jews are such a melting pot and they all look different!"

I'm proud to be part of a group that has strong historical, ethnic, and religious bonds. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics