Context : I was re-re-re-listening the integral of Michael Jackson while practicing my english, in the song “They don’t really care about us”, he said “Jew me, sue me”
I looked for translation (I’m šŸ„–), and all translation sites seems to said *it’s an inappropriate expression to talk about negotiation*, someone to enlight me ?

EDIT : Thanks to all people for the responses ! And for other people : there’s no need to dwnvote me I’m just asking because it is not my language, so I’m curious and aware of the discrimination problem so I don’t want to be disrespectful
EDIT 2 : I know my question seems pretty naive but in my head, as it was a MJ’s song, I thought “oh maybe it’s a expression related to the WW2, like a really angry expression to tell that your opponent is ostracizing you and he’s no better than n*zis or smth”

36 comments
  1. Yes, it is inappropriate. It wasn’t appropriate when Jackson used the lyric almost three decades ago either. I never paid much attention to the lyrics of the song, but know it is supposed to be about hate.

  2. While people understood what he meant (iow the song’s message is to say it is bad to say these words) he still eventually replaced the lyrics.

  3. Very inappropriate (and that’s putting it lightly — very offensive, god forbid he said that to a Jewish person). Stay far away from someone who says anything even remotely like that.

  4. In the 90s, I heard this a lot. I probably even said it. Much like the R word or using “gay” as a derogatory term, we’ve learned it’s not appropriate and don’t say it anymore. Well, most of us. I was somewhere with my boyfriend where I girl told us she wouldn’t “jew” us. After the interaction, we walked away and asked each other if she had just said that.

  5. In general, referring to any activity by an ethnicity or group is not advisable.

    Consider, ā€œHow very white of you.ā€ Nothing positive is intended.

    And ā€œJew me,ā€ is intended to promote negative and harmful stereotypes.

  6. It means to cheat or short-change someone. I don’t think I need to explain how that would be offensive, so I’ll just confirm that it is.

  7. It’s an anti-semitic insult. The implication is that Jews are cheap and petty.

  8. It has been used, most recent about 2 years ago infamously by an antisemitic New Jersey politician, as meaning getting the most money or the cheapest cost. Because Jews have centuries of experience being forbidden from participating in economies, they often do what they can to protect their financial interests, which is spun as Jews being money hungry.

  9. I think it was the point of the song, he sings about verbal and physical oppression based on race, ethnicity, color of the skin.

    I always interpreted it as ā€œgo ahead, bully me for being a Jewā€

    I donā€™t know, maybe I actually misinterpreted it all this time.

  10. Jew is a noun. Anyone who uses it as an adjective or, especially a verb, is usually trying to be racist.

    Yes, this is an inappropriate expression in almost all instances.

  11. To use Jew as a verb is an anti-Semitic slur describing the practice of haggling (negotiating for a lower price).

    As a Jewish person myself, I know some folks that jokingly use ā€œour peopleā€ as a phrasal verb instead.

    Example:

    Me: ā€œSo the seller said it was $100ā€.
    Friend: ā€œthat is a lot for a used applianceā€.
    Me: ā€œyeah, maybe we could ā€˜our peopleā€™ him down to $80?ā€

  12. It’s only appropriate if you want people to know you’re a dumbass as soon as you say it.

  13. It’s usually a phrase used to vall someone cheap. Offensiveness depends on who you say it to

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  15. To “jew me down” means to talk me into selling something at a lower price and is pretty racist.

  16. I have never heard of it. But using “Jew” as a verb is inherently racist and insulting so no it would be appropriate to use.

  17. I love how OP described themself as being “šŸ„–” and we all just accepted that and knew what they meant

  18. Itā€™s offensive . If you can watch South Park , any interaction between Eric Cartman and his friend Kyle Brofloski (not sure on the spelling) youā€™ll be able to learn what not to say.
    Hell, any interaction between Cartman and anyone else on the show, you can figure out what not to say.

  19. Yeah, it’s pretty inappropriate. If you hear someone using it, they’re *probably* an asshole. Or worse.

  20. My mom had to tell her boss once that it was potentially offensive. Weā€™re recent Tennessee transplants and the boss was born and raised, so it was a slight culture shock

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