Posted on 08/17/2005 3:52:43 AM PDT by Pharmboy
Jersey identified them as "Jew Couple." August 17, 2005 -- Two diners on a date at a fancy Jersey Shore restaurant were furious when they saw the check — which listed their table as that of the "Jew Couple." Brooklynite Elliot Stein says he was shocked that a waitress at the Parkhill's Waterfront Grill in Allenhurst printed the slur instead of a table number on his $36.75 bill. As if that weren't bad enough, the 23-year-old shoe buyer told The Post, the offensive phrase then turned up on his credit-card statement two weeks later.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
The Irish Couple, The Italian Couple.....Ouch
Ummm... is "Jew" a slur?
Some people can't wait to be offended. In fact, I think they are offended if no one is offending them. I bet this couple fits that description.
It is considered polite to refer to people of Hebrew persuasion as "Jewish." The derogatory feeling of "Jew couple" prolly derives from the classic "Jew boy" although I am not an expert on this. Let's ask Dennis.
Well, maybe "Jew" is a slur, then. Certainly "Christian" can be. Helps to hear the tone of voice, doesn't it?
Well...why identify them on the check that way? Not very nice or appropriate.
Substitute Black, Gay, etc.
next time go to a kosher deli
It is not common now, nor does it work in print media these days, but in many spoken contexts, the word "jew" is spoken in the same sneering tone as the now verboten N-word.
In the context/tone used in the story, there is no doubt the term was used in its perjorative tone.
Now, even tho I am Jewish, I brush this stuff off as a sign of ignorance, and view the other guy more with pity than anger. Typically, such folks are blue collar types with no life upside.
Finally, I have been known to jest with friends in restaurants: Jew want to split a plate of fries?
Was the waiter exercising his "write to Jews?"
Thanks for the advice, 'vile.
Oh ya? How do you figure that?
Two written words (no context) have "tone"?
LOL...
HA!....just thinking of my 3/4 RC Italian decent Brother (same as myself). who had been called out in a road rage incident where some young lady told him to 'Learn how to drive, Jewboy'. and according to him that was not the only time he was slurred that way....go figure.
and then I think of 'Kinky Freedman and his Texas Jewboys'....and I say to myself....WTF????
The planet has gone mad.
Jews and Italians are often mistaken for each other on sight. It's that Mediterranean thing goin' on...
'Juice'.... I said "juice" couple.
Yeah, THAT'S the ticket!
At least it wasn't "Jooooooo Couple" ...
All things being equal, though I think you would be better off just using table numbers. What if another Jewish couple had come into the restaurant?
Why didn't the stupid waitress just use the table number? I personally think it was meant as a slur and I am not Jewish.
Two written words do indeed have tone, in that there was absolutely no logical context for this identifier to be used in the first place.
Are many in our culture too quick to take offense? You bet, but when it is staring us in the face, no reason to deny it. Does it deserve a monetary settlement or diversity training? no, that's silly.
You have a radio controlled Eyetallion brother? Neat!
And it's a good thing he's decent. One of my brothers is indecent. But he's not radio controlled.
If we look at other checks, and they say "Black Couple", "Puerto Rican Couple" et al, then although it may be stupid, IT'S NOT A SLUR.
To Mr. Stein, grow a layer of skin and get over it!
Probably it was meant as a slur. But if I saw "Old Fat White Couple" on my check, I'd probably laugh my head off.
Is he radio controlled???? I dunno...I do know he is Roman Catholic, but still he might also be radio controlled. I know he had a radio controlled plane once...
The guy is handsome and could be Jewish, Italian or even Irish. The woman could be anything. It's obvious the waitress saw his last name and wrote the "Jew Couple" based on that. Why not just put his name or the table number? It's pretty obvious that Karina doesn't like Jews.
Well, my brother ain't radio controlled or Roman Catholic. He ain't even 3/4 Italian.
But he is indecent.
";^)
I'm not one to smell racism, anti-Semitism, christianophobia out of every incident. But this one doesn't pass the smell test. Table for two, becomes table for Jew Couple. Who would write such a thing?
I'm not going to register to read this story, but I call bull**** on "the offensive phrase" appearing on the couple's credit card statement. Whenever I put a restaurant meal on plastic, it just says "XYZ GRILL - POSSUMTROT, GA" and then the amount, maybe with a string of numbers.
WOW! It's actually printed on the check. I mean the waitress had to key it into the order computer. Why? I delivered pizza during college. I had to key in orders and I can't imagine typing something like that on an order ticket.
On top of that she has to be an idiot of epic stature. I guess the 2 or 3 bucks an hours must work for her, but when I delivered pizza, I worked for tips.
Well, it surely was an unpleasant notation, esp since it came out printed on the bill.
Waitresses often use their own shorthand in writing up orders, as long as the cooks can interpret. It's possible that "Jew Couple" was her way of identifying customers/tables, and using Jew instead of Jewish was just her shorthand, an abbreviation, with no slur intended.
No "normal" restaurant would allow a waitress to intentionally insult customers, written or verbal. It kills business, not to mention all the commotion when a customer complains.
Not to mention the phrase 'to Jew the price down'...
There's no excusing this.
The first question you must ask is, How did the waitress know they were Jewish?
Unless the couple TOLD her they were Jewish, the waitress was treading on dangerous ground identifying them as Jewish or any other Relgion, Nationality, Ethnicity, sexual orientation etc.
Is "Jew" a slur these days? The Jews I know are proud to be known as Jews, and rightly so.
I guess the context is everything. It seems to me at least possible that the restaurant was identifying these people on their order slip/bill in order to serve them better, no lobster tail in the paella and that sort of thing.
This is some story, isn't it?
In a strange way, this is actually kinda humorous to this southern boy. I mean, this happened in New Jersey? Heh, heh, heh... What THEIR excuse?
You ever wonder what those big towers behind the Vatican are for?
Yeah, right... Radio Vatican... Likely story...
We have no shortage of racists, Jew-haters, etc in the northeast. Don't believe the hype...
I guess "Pole" is a slur too.
Waitress trained by Billy McKinney?
Jew as an adjective clearly is. Not for any particular reason other than people that use it that way almost always do it with malice.
So that's why my Waffle house checks say "Charming Gentleman" on them. I was wondering. Good to hear from you FP hope all is well for you and yours.
It depends. A lot of Jews, as my parents did, take offence in particular when Jew is used as an adjective, not a noun. So the "Jew couple" would be offensive, yes. Whereas the "Jewish couple" would not necessarily be.
I think the term "Polack", as in "Polack couple" would be more analogous. The ocuple wasn't being oversensitive - sometimes people do intend to be offensive and people should be offended. I can't say it's worthy of news print, however.
I once asked a very close friend whether he preferred "Jew" or "Jewish." After much thought, he told me that he preferred "Jew" because that is what he is. Being called "Jewish" was tantamount to being called "Jew-like."
I thought that was a well reasoned answer.
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