PSA FOR GENTILES: The worst slur in the English language for Jewish people begins with the letter K. This means that every time you jokingly refer to words like kill, Karen*, etc. as "the K word" or "the K slur," you are inadvertently giving all your Jewish followers a collective heart attack. Please keep this in mind before accidentally implying that you'd like to say something antisemitic (or otherwise offensive, as other languages/regions likely also have actual slurs that begin with K).

For those not familiar with the antisemitic term, I am linking to an informational page from a Jewish organisation about its usage and origins here. Please do not click on the link unless you are comfortable seeing the word uncensored.

*If you're not joking about Karen being a slur ... get well soon, I guess

tikkunolamorgtfo

#am i the only one who hasn't heard or seen this term outside of tumblr?#like i'm not arguing it or anything#i just wonder why i've never heard of it before#even with studying the holocaust and everything

I saw these tags, and I thought it might be useful for me to address them!

So firstly, I think it's important to reiterate that this particular slur is predominantly found in English. It's not commonly seen in other languages, many of which (sadly) have their own pejorative words for Jews. Therefore, it's not a term you would be likely to come across in texts about the Holocaust, as that was an atrocity carried out across continental Europe (and arguably parts of North Africa and the Middle East, especially with regard to areas under Vichy control). Instead, you would see the derogatory terms used by speakers of German, Polish, French, etc.

That being said, if you were educated in an English-speaking country, you probably have seen this word before, albeit without realising what it meant. That's because it pops up in several famous literary works often taught in secondary schools, including The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises, The Sound and the Fury, and Main Street. For example, this is from Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby:

“'I almost made a mistake, too,’ she declared vigorously. ‘I almost married a little k*ke who’d been after me for years. I knew he was below me. Everybody kept saying to me: "Lucille, that man’s way below you!” But if I hadn’t met Chester, he’d of got me sure.'"

And your teachers probably never mentioned or explained this, because schools have a habit of only teaching about antisemitism through the lens of the Holocaust. They don't teach students about the centuries of antisemitism pre-dating Hitler's rise, and they certainly don't share that the letters and diaries of famous authors like Ezra Pound, Patricia Highsmith, T.S. Eliot, H.L. Mencken, and—of course—H.P. Lovecraft, are riddled with antisemitic slurs (at least when it's used within the dialogue of a novel, you can argue that the word choice is reflective of a specific character, rather than the author; when it ends up in your letters or diaries, not so much). If it's not the Holocaust, it's just not part of the curriculum, and that's that.

In some ways, it's good to know a lot of people haven't heard of this term, because it means the casual use amongst gentiles is down. On the other hand, it's usage amongst white supremacists and other antisemitic extremists is still going strong, so people should know to look out of for it, and understand that "the K-word" is always going to imply something bad to English-speaking Jews.

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creekfiend

A friend of mine from around here who is Very Christian and has never had a Jewish friend before was asking me some stuff about antisemitism today, and it made me realize that the ways people talk about various types of bigotry and racism are so designed to stump people about the nature and purpose of systems of oppression. "Why do people hate the jews so much?" is such a common refrain and while there have been many books and articles written pulling apart all the important contextual and historical things that can help people understand antisemitism SPECIFICALLY, what I ended up saying to my friend was this:

"Something to understand about antisemitism is it isnt just ideological. The expulsion of jews from various countries was very often a method of "legally" seizing their wealth when the church needed money. It has been historically an incredibly convenient source of both a group of people to blame and also an easy way to just... Be able to steal from people, lmao. It has served very concrete material purposes for churches and governments throughout history. Sometimes you have to approach asking those questions from a different angle because it often isnt about the hatred so much as it is about ... Redirecting energy and attention, right, like upholding structures that benefit those in power. The hatred is convenient because it allows those in power to take actions that would not be tolerated if the group in question were not considered to be Exceptional in their inhumanity. Like the undocumented immigrants now, asking "why do they hate the immigrants so much" isnt always a productive avenue of thought because the hatred is usually just... Useful. Rather it is more helpful to ask "Who does it benefit for these people to be treated this way" -> "what do they need to make the general public believe about that group of people in order to justify this treatment". I think sometimes we are made to think hatred of jews is special and rooted in something different than other hatred... It's not. I mean all types of racism etc are unique. But it very much is about justifying actions that benefit a ruling class in all instances, imo."

And she like totally got it!!! She was like "OH I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT LIKE THAT BUT THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE THANK YOU" I am very proud of myself lol :')