As a Christian I'm prejudiced in favor of Jews, so I can say "a Jew" without embarrassment. But I think the hesitation otherwise must be due to the fact that "Jew" has so often and for so long been intended, in some mouths, as a term of contempt. As a result, perfectly innocent people hesitate to use the bare term because they're not sure whether a) the contempt is implied in the term itself (it isn't), or b) it will be heard that way by the unduly sensitive (which is possible).
--- Bob Bridges, [email protected], cell 336 382-7313 /* Genius makes its observations in short-hand; talent writes them out at length. -Christian Nestell Bovee (1820 - 1904) */ -but then- /* In laboring to be concise, I become obscure. -Horace (BC 65 - 8) */ -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Paul Gilmartin Sent: Tuesday, June 7, 2022 18:55 Political correctness? Many people are comfortable saying "a Catholic", "a Buddhist", etc., but shy from "a Jew" and say "a Jewish person". I've asked Jewish friends about this. The modal response is a long pause then, "I suppose 'a Jew' is OK." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
