I think everything would be different if we were standing up, pointing at Yossi Benayoun and shouting Yid at him in a threatening and derogatory manner. The reality of it is that we are chanting "Yiddo, Yiddo" at Jermain -fucking- Defoe. It's a word that symbolises solidarity and loyalty, that is a privilege within our club. What David Baddiel thinks is irrelevant because he probably buys into the "John Terry isn't racist cos he's mates with Ashley Cole" scapegoat. "racism" in the sense of Yid, is completely about context and tone, within the four walls of White Hart Lane it's a mark of respect, honour and togetherness. Shouting out "fucking yid"at someone from the other side of the street is not acceptable. Baddiel doesn't seem to understand the inherent duplicity involved. But that's because he's a cretin with an anti-spurs agenda. Daily Mail's the perfect outlet for him.
Couldn't agree more... it's ALL about context!
A Chelsea fan who takes his kid to the Panto this Christmas will probably encourage them to hiss for an hour-and-a-half... this is wholly acceptable, it's what the little'uns love to do... yet were he to start hissing at the next Spurs-Chelsea game he goes to, it takes a whole (and singularly unique) connotation, we ALL know what and who they're hissing at. (I hope Baddiel realises that were he to support ANY other team in the country, his words may not now be dripping with such sublime hypocrisy and irony as to almost be funny!)
The word Yid WAS taken away from its' origins and given a whole new, offensive meaning when used by venom fuelled anti-Semites, long before it was ever used inside a football stadium.
And talking of which, maybe Mr Baddiel wants to ask himself WHY Spurs fans have claimed the word as their own.
IF (as he so statistically points out) of the 250,000 Jews in England, only a small minority have ever claimed to support Spurs, or even been inside the ground, why was Yid ever even 'decided' it should be hissed at us...? We're no more 'Jewish' a club than ArseAnal, and yet they seem to have 'revelled' in calling us Yids on numerous occasions in the past.
The fact that Tottenham is now by and large one of the most ethnically diverse parts of London seems to have escaped Baddiel's attention, and yet we haven't adopted ourselves as 'N-word-Spurs' or "The Turks'n'Greeks" WE didn't decide to call ourselves Yids, that 'decision' was made for us long ago... we're just trying to make the best of a bad situation, and dilute whatever venom was aimed at us, so that it didn't sting as much... when did THAT become a crime?
The Yellow star analogy is VERY apt (albeit a little more heroic) surely it's the same mindset that has forged this to happen, and yet I don't recall Baddiel claiming the Danish Royal family should've been reprimanded for their actions!