Jew Jokes

Earlier in the semester we discussed making fun of different ethnicities and the idea of sensitivity towards it. Classmates made good points about if a comment or a joke about an ethnicity was made in good fun then it should not be taken too seriously or seen as being derogatory. And the same was said about dressing up in costumes of other ethnicities. However, I think there are certain subjects that should never me made fun of, such as the Holocaust.

Last year the heat in my dorm room was extremely high unless we turned the entire furnace off. During the winter one day my roommate walked in a said, “it’s as hot as Auschwitz in here.” She was referring to the crematoriums of the concentration camp. I immediately told her she should not joke about that and her response was, “it’s ok I’m Jewish too”. Although I will admit I am a pretty sensitive person I do not believe that no matter if you are Jewish or not that the Holocaust is a joking matter. She did not mean to offend anyone and it was said in a lighted hearted manner but I did not think it was appropriate.

Her response of, “it’s ok I’m Jewish too,” also brings up another point we have discussed. In class we watched a video about the teacher who called his student the “N” word. The teacher said that there was a difference between the words “nigga” and “nigger”. He also said that the black students call each other this all the time in the hallways so why can’t he use the word as well. I do not believe that anyone should be calling anyone else the “N” word regardless of race. I went to an extremely diverse high school and walking down the hallways on any given day you will hear this word used in conversation, which made me very uncomfortable. Girls are taught at a young age not to call each other sluts or whores because it makes it ok for boys to call girls by these names. I think this is true of any derogatory word. I am Jewish and I would never go around calling my other Jewish friends Kikes and not expect a non-Jew to think its ok to refer to Jews in this manner as well.

There are racial slurs for every ethnicity. When people began to immigrate to America many ethnicities were referred to by these racial slurs. They worked hard to create a new name for themselves. In the twenty first century we should not be erasing the accomplishments of our ancestors.

People crack jokes about their “own kind” all the time and find it funny but once someone else makes the same joke that is different than them it is not so funny anymore. You can’t have it both ways. If you want to continue to joke then you cant be offended by other people making the same jokes otherwise don’t make them.