An open thread to discuss the wave of antisemitic attacks in the New York area and around the US. No trolls.
Here are a couple of useful Twitter threads that help to put the attacks in a broader context.
–DF
Categories
Open thread: The wave of antisemitic attacks
I definitely think that white supremacy
Is at least partially to blame for current anti-Semitism even when people who aren’t white engage in it. Wealthy white Christian people are the ones currently mainstreaming it.
A couple years ago my supervisor used the phrase, “Jewed him down.” When I called her out on it, she said she didn’t realize it was antisemitic. It floored me. I mean, the phrase isn’t exactly a dog whistle. And, of course, she’s the kind of person who’d insist she doesn’t have a bigoted bone in her body. The kind of people who are happy about the way Trump is “owning the libs”, well…
I have a friend who worked with someone who told my friend, “I would never call anyone a Jew!” because she’s just so anti-anti-semitic.
[a friend of mine also just told me that someone we both know reacted badly to her use of the word “jewfro”. The badly-reacting person isn’t Jewish.]
@Crip Dyke
Ugh.
TBH I preferred “Jewish person” or such well into my 20s, just from hearing “Jew” as a noun almost entirely in jokingly antisemitic contexts. These days I own it, but like… I spent most of my life hearing the word as a dehumanizing insult.
It’s horrifying how much this stuff is just, IDK, floating around in the air in US culture. Almost every practicing Christian I’ve met, and a good chunk of secular ones, have been at least somewhat casually antisemitic.
@Joseph Zowghi
Of course, the generally rule with bigotry is that if someone has to say they’re not a bigot, they probably are.
@Cyborgette
And it’s generally invisible to non-Jewish people as well. I‘ve met so many people who think antisemitism no longer exists. It obviously does.
I understand that as well.
@Cyborgette
I’m sorry if my use of the word has been offensive. I’m used to using it in contexts where it wasn’t considered offensive, but if it’s offensive to you I will make sure not to use it.
Fast question – what the heck is a ‘Jewfro’, and is the use of that word offensive to Jews? The way I heard it used the one time I stumbled across it in the wild, it seemed to mean ‘white person with a mop of curly hair’. Which led me to wonder why that particular hairstyle got that name, given curly hair is quite common among whites, regardless of religion and ethnicity.
Any ideas?
@Naglfar
No your use of it is fine! Not offensive at all. Since a) you’re also Jewish, and b) like I said, I own that word these days; I have no problems calling myself a Jew.
But yeah, for me the process was definitely kind of akin to reclaiming a slur like “queer” or “dyke”, and I still bristle a bit if a gentile calls me “a Jew” instead of “Jewish” – because the intent behind that, or at least the mind-state, tends to be antisemitic.
@Redsilkphoenix
A Jewfro is a hairstyle common among Jewish people (I’ve only heard the term used in reference to men) with medium-length hair that is curly and expands outward, similar to an Afro. My hair’s not quite curly enough to form one without additional manipulation, but a few people in my extended family sport it. I’m guessing the name comes from it being most commonly worn by Jewish men and its resemblance to the Afro, hence the name “Jewfro.”
I personally don’t find the term offensive but other people might.
@Cyborgette
I see where you’re coming from, and I understand that perspective. I could see it as a reclaimed term. For me, I’ve used it my whole life to refer to myself, but I do agree that it’s best if gentiles use other terms, it’s too close to nouning the adjective.
A jewfro is, indeed, like an afro, but when the tightly curled hair occurs on the head of someone Jewish.
I think that there are a lot of communities who would probably find that disrespectful, but AFAICT it originated within Jewish circles and there are plenty of Jews who use it to refer to themselves – often with a twinkle of humor.
It’s an in-joke that not everyone likes or finds respectful, but it’s still an in-joke and not some outwardly-imposed label, or at least that’s how it has been in my communities. I pretty much never hear it from non-Jewish people except one friend of mine who spent 5 years employed at the local Jewish Community Center (JCC) doing child care. (She’s an early childhood development specialist now, but for a long time was doing more general child care until she could complete her degree.)
While working at the JCC she picked up a lot of insider-speak that other non-Jews probably don’t ever hear.
My dad had similar hair in the 70s. But he’s neither black nor Jewish so I’m not sure what to call it. LapsedCathlfro?
Re terminology :
I’ve always called myself a Jew. I didn’t know (until a few years ago) that some people heard it as a bad word, or one that’s in need of reclamation.
A fair number of boys I knew in 1970s called their hairstyle a jewfro. African-American kids weren’t offended.
I’ve never met a Jew who thought that either word was insulting or a slur. That may be age and location.
I’ve very occasionally seen “Celtfro” when the person is of Irish descent. Does that apply?
I have enough on my plate when it comes to helping/protecting my “own people”, the LGBTQIA+ community and the sex worker community. And at the very minimum the former are going to get targeted in the event of a Nazi uprising, even if they’re not the primary target. It’s a little too much for me to worry about all of the other potential targets.
That being said, if things get bad and I come upon a Jewish person or Muslim person or *any* person who needs help or hiding or whatever, I’m not going to turn a blind eye to that.