Spurs 2018/19

[Wotspur]

We do have a sizeable Jewish support, I was in the Main Stand at Maine Road back in the 90’s and we were playing the Spuds. One of “ours” stood up and made a reference to Spurs about showers and Belsen. The Police had to get him out for his own safety.

My boss going back to the 70’s was Jewish and a Chelsea fan, he lived in Prestwich and Called himself the Yiddish Blue and made reference to the Yiddish population where he lived. However, at the time Asians were “pakis” even though some were Indians, Bangladeshi, etc, times have changed and the Jewish community find the Yid word unacceptable even though some of them still use it, we have to be tolerant and understanding of their culture and wishes, it’s just not acceptable anymore.

I still call Dipper fans twats though.

How on earth could a Jewish fan , like your then boss support Chelsea, it’s why I have zero sympathy for David Baddiel. He’s roughly the same age as me , and also supports them, and yet in the 80’s they booed their own black players , and outside the ground they had numerous sellers of “ The Bulldog” the NF magazine , and yet in the last 5 years he’s moaned about us Using the Y word , affectionately , but never anything against his own fans , and yes we still get them hissing and “ Spurs are on their way to Belsen “ though it’s not as many these days , thankfully .
And when it went to court the judge agreed there was nothing wrong , in the context we use it in

 

[Crouchinho]

Baddiel was an idiot for sure, it totally backfired. Levy, Sugar and Lewis etc all Jewish have no problems with it at all

Anyway, this has been talked about ad nauseam

Are we stealing this battering song for the final?

 

[JimB]

Thank you very much for letting me know when I can and can't be offended by the use of an anti semitic word. Not sure you can refer to any players as that though seeing as none of them are Jewish but hey you know best as a leading authority.

I didn’t say that you couldn’t be offended. I said that if you choose to be offended regardless of context, then that is an issue for you, not for those who you deem to have offended you. Language is not set in stone. A word’s meaning can change. For better or for worse, the word yid in the context of football has come to mean Spurs fan or player. I would estimate that its use in this context is far more common and widespread now than its use in the context of anti-Semitism.

 

[Scottyboi]

OOOOOOO WHEN THE SPURSSSSS GO MARCHING INNNNNNNNNN

 

[hammocity]

How on earth could a Jewish fan , like your then boss support Chelsea, it’s why I have zero sympathy for David Baddiel. He’s roughly the same age as me , and also supports them, and yet in the 80’s they booed their own black players , and outside the ground they had numerous sellers of “ The Bulldog” the NF magazine , and yet in the last 5 years he’s moaned about us Using the Y word , affectionately , but never anything against his own fans , and yes we still get them hissing and “ Spurs are on their way to Belsen “ though it’s not as many these days , thankfully .
And when it went to court the judge agreed there was nothing wrong , in the context we use it in

It was going back to the late 70’s when racist behaviour was not uncommon especially at football and Chelsea in particular. I’ve no idea why he supported Chelsea but he really thought Micky Droy was the dogs bollocks.

I remember the magazines you mention, i was in a pub with a group of people for a birthday party, I didn’t know everyone but one of the others had a badge on with the Bulldog logo, I asked him why he supported the cause, he said he hated blacks, it didn’t matter where they came from he just hated anyone who was black. Later that night he was on the floor doing the “oops upside your head dance” by the Gap band, all black members, prick.

 

[JPBB]

Use of the word by Spurs fans to refer specifically to Spurs fans and players etc is emphatically, obviously and demonstrably not anti-Semitic. If you or anyone else chooses to ignore that context and insists on being offended, then that is your problem, not ours.

Sorry to be a bore about this but in this day and age it is no longer acceptable. It is offensive to some and we should no longer use it.

I don’t buy the argument it is a fundamental part of our history and identity.

 

[JimB]

Sorry to be a bore about this but in this day and age it is no longer acceptable. It is offensive to some and we should no longer use it.

I don’t buy the argument it is a fundamental part of our history and identity.

I repeat, there is no such thing as the right not to be offended. If someone chooses wilfully to ignore context and intent, just so that they can be offended, then that is their problem and theirs alone.

The word yid doesn't have to be a fundamental part of our history. But there is no question that it is a fundamental part of our fans' identity. It is what we call ourselves. There is an historical reason for it, of course (of which we should be rightly proud), but its continued use over four decades has seen its meaning evolve. In the context of football, it now means simply, Spurs fan or Spurs player.

 

[JPBB]

Surely the racism test is not whether we intended to offend but whether someone is offended by it and that it is reasonable for them to be offended in the circumstances.

I think we are in some difficulty here.

JimB , I respect you completely but we are on opposite sides of the argument on this one.

 

[JimB]

Surely the racism test is not whether we intended to offend but whether someone is offended by it and that it is reasonable for them to be offended in the circumstances.

I think we are in some difficulty here.

JimB , I respect you completely but we are on opposite sides of the argument on this one.

That is precisely the point. Given what everyone knows, or could easily find out, about Spurs fans' intent when chanting the word yid, it is wholly unreasonable to be and to remain offended.

If we are to ignore context and intent entirely, as you suggest, then any word could conceivably be offensive to someone - which would mean, among other more important things, that no football club could call itself anything. And then we really would be in some difficulty.

 

[Barcon]

I feel dirty but 100% agree with JimB here

I agree with him as well.