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Still not offended and use the word to describe myself.
Still am not OK with the term "Yid" which has been used as a slur against me. I'm sure it's fine when speaking in Yiddish, but in English it always sounds offensive to me. I am equally not OK with shiksa or goy.
I'm 27 and work in the Jewish world, if that makes a difference.
fwiw Yid is not a slur. It is short for yiddishkeyt.
Quote:
... literally means "Jewishness", i. e. "a Jewish way of life", in the Yiddish language....
Offensive. In principle there's nothing offensive in the definition, but whenever people make an adjective into a noun and call people that, I raise my eyebrows, especially if it's something about the person that they don't have control over.
Sort of like calling a woman a female, or a disabled person a cripple. Not okay. But calling somebody a Democrat or an American isn't as offensive to me.
When I'm in Toronto, Jews (including Secular) commonly use the words Yid/Yidden as part of normal English conversation.
That might be true in the Jewish community, but I have not once used it heard in my own Jewish community (aside from online). In fact, the first time I saw it used here made my heart race a bit. I've heard it used as a slur by anti-semites in my rural Southern community (directed at me) and a handful of times in Europe (overheard by me - those using it were not aware I was Jewish).
I grew up in the New York City area. Yid was a derogatory term despite Yiddish and Yiddishkeit being terms used within the secular Jewish community. Sometimes Yid was used within the secular Jewish community but still as an insult to those it was being applied to.
In the Orthodox Jewish community (Ashkenazi), it's the preferred way to describe a Jew. We self label ourselves "Yidden." Charlo, I will be careful not to call you a Yid if you'd like, but I hope it doesn't offend you if I refer to other G-d fearing Jews as Yidden?
I don't understand why Jews think its offensive if we call ourselves Yidden (Yid), when it simply means Jew in Yiddish.
Yes, I understand the negative connotation it used to have when HaGoyim called us that, but it is our own word.
When it's used in the context of a cross burning on your lawn, maybe you'd change your mind.
Then again, I don't understand why Jews think it's not offensive to label others as goyim or shiksas so there's that.
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