Long-time lurker, just thought I'd give my 2p's worth:
I'm Jewish. I love Spurs, but that's unrelated to my ethnicity.
I personally never use the word Yid, but I'm not terribly bothered by Spurs supporters who do. I know very well you mean no insult to me by it. It's all about intent, of course, and I know that when you say "Yiddo" or "Yid Army" you're not making any comment about Jews, and therefore I disagree with the Society of Black Lawyers calling it anti-Semitic
abuse.
The reason I could never say it myself is because I've been on the receiving end of anti-Semitism, and to me it's not yet a word that has lost its sting. Just down the road in Stamford Hill, Jews still get attacked because of who they are. Too much history, too soon, too stinging for me to just shrug it off and say we've taken it back.
Like many people have already said...You can only “take back” a derogatory term if you’re from the group being targeted by it. Yes, people used to use "Yids" as an insult against Spurs fans, but it refers first and foremost to Jews, and always has done. The vast majority of Spurs fans are not even Jewish, so it’s not as if they are reclaiming this term to take pride in their ethnicity the way someone like myself could if I was so inclined. If you're not Jewish, you have never had to be on the receiving end of its original meaning, never had to hear it being used as a way to denigrate you and your family, imply that you're cheating, swindling, devious, foreign-no-matter-how-long-you've-lived-here scum. The worst anybody ever did to you was insult your football club and perhaps what part of London you're from. Insulting your blood and bringing up a long, long history of hatred is an entirely different level of abuse.
If Jewish Spurs fans want to say Yid, that's another story. I'm of the opinion that non-Jews don't really get to decide when it's OK, the same way that a white person like myself doesn't get to decide whether it's OK for a black person to use the n-word. To me, "Yid" is pretty much unnecessary. We have lots of other words we can use to describe ourselves, none of which have ethnic connotations. It's pretty indefensible for us to use it and say it's a point of pride, and then complain if someone else uses it insultingly.
This may be a wishy-washy, semi-hypocritical position for me to take. :harryfacepalm: The Society of Black Lawyers' hearts are in the right place, but I think we should be drawing more attention to the truly bigoted and hateful things that are said at matches, like homophobic slurs, rather than a (possibly misguided) term of pride. Also, as a Jew I think we have a lot more on our plates, much more serious issues to be confronting. I can't bring myself to be terribly bothered by the use of "Yid" in this sense, it doesn't give me rage...but at the same time, I'd be happier if it wasn't around.
I'm really pleased with how this has been discussed here on TFC - a lot of good issues being brought up rather than knee-jerking on either side. I always think I'm being a killjoy when this topic comes up! As a Jewish fan, I feel obligated to weigh in with my opinion when it comes to this term. I wish I didn’t, but for as long as my people are getting stick – and worse – simply because of our background, I have to say something. I love Spurs and I want everybody to enjoy matches at White Hart Lane as much as I do (or did, because I moved far, far away two years ago). The way I see it is - Can we do better? Yes, certainly. We can and we should. Does "Yid" make anything better for anybody? No. I’m not going to jump on you if you really, really want to say "Yid," but I hold Spurs supporters to a high standard, and I think we can all live up to it. Think about it – if you respect the history of the club, and know the history of the neighbourhood, then you owe that tiny bit of respect to those of us tied to that particular part of history, those of us who have had to deal with the word “Yid” when it has been used in a not-so-casual way.
