There's some Jew in you

[lavendertook]

Coworker: And your pocketbook is purple, too!

Me: Yeah, I like it. I got it from the street vender up the block. I actually bargained him down for it.

Coworker: So you got some Jew in you.

Me: I AM Jewish.

*nervous giggle from her and other coworker*

Me: Watch that stereotype there.

*she goes to talk about other coworker about business and ignores me*

Comments

[moondancerdrake]

Ah hell, more fail in the air. And then when you tell them they just pretend not to hear ya anymore. Frikken clueless and want to stay that way.

[morgan_dhu]

Wow. That's a heaping shovelful of very unpleasant fail.

I hope that this person is not someone you have to work closely with.

[spiralsheep]

Ew. I've certainly encountered people who wouldn't dream of using obvious racial slurs against black people but who'll cheerfully use "jewish" for "mean" and it's not as if that's an obscure slur.

::hates on them for you::

[darkrose]

It would probably be inappropriate for you tell her that she clearly has some Stupid in her, wouldn't it?

[trouble]

I would be jaw-droppingly shocked (and am most definitely jaw-droppingly appalled) if I hadn't spent last summer working with someone who thought it was awesome to say (to the only Jewish person working on our floor) "Don't jew me!" over and over and over.

I'm so sorry you have to work with such an unmitigated ass.

[mererid]

What a willfully offensive and ignorant jackass. I'm sorry that you had to deal with such asshattery today. *hugshugshugs*

[crantz]

Ohhh dear.

[sophinisba]

Ugh, I'm really sorry she said that and that neither of them acknowledged when you called them on it. :(

[shirebound]

My mom gets SO angry when she hears that stereotype. I hope your coworkers' discomfort will keep them from using it again.

[belleferret.livejournal.com]

*smacks her for you*

--Belle, also Jewish and pissed

[anneheart.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[brouhaha.livejournal.com]

Report her ass to HR. Wtf?! Who says something like that especially in a work situation??? *hug*

[delux-vivens.livejournal.com]

Heifer needs to siddown somewhere. Far from you.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

*smacks your coworker hard until she gets some brains*

Ah, stereotypes, what would we do without them? /sarcasm

[supergee.livejournal.com]

When we hear about newly fashionable stupidities like transphobia, it is well to remember that the old stupidities never die.

[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

I think you should hit her with your handbag.

[mews1945.livejournal.com]

The least she could've done is say Sorry for being a jerk.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Well done on your part, quite badly done on hers.
*hugs you warmly*

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

WHAT THE-- omg I am so enraged by this! How could anybody think that was appropriate talk *anywhere*, much less in the workplace? Thank goodness you had the presence of mind to call her on it. I would've resorted to spluttering and then slapping. *g*

[annwyn55.livejournal.com]

If you had smacked her one, I'd have said mazel tov. Jeez.

[seaya.livejournal.com]

Heh. You are better than I. I'd have gone OFF.

Ivanova is not amused.

Report her if she's not directly above or below you.

[maevele.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is some jerkass stuff.

[monkey5s.livejournal.com]

I was not familiar with that as... any kind of usage. Personally, I would associate bargaining with any kind of marketplace culture anywhere in the world, so I'm a bit nonplussed to see that it is supposedly associated with the Jewish religion? Sometimes, my small town Ohio whitebread upbringing works in my favor, I guess.

But still, how jarring, at your workplace where people are supposed to know better.

[strangemuses.livejournal.com]

That is outrageous and completely unacceptable. What's worse is that she didn't even apologize.

You should report her to the HR department.

[glaurung-quena.livejournal.com]

Bravo on keeping your cool and still saying what had to be said to stupid coworker. I know from bitter experience how hard that can be without making a huge fuss that derails everything and accomplishes nothing.

My mother likes to refer to her triumpths of haggling with merchants as "jewing them down," and responds to me or morgan_dhu pointing out that the phrase is offensive and racist by denying that it's offensive (she does the same when I try to explain to her that it's wrong to refer to taking back what has just been given as "being an indian giver"; that's my mom, an all-around bundle of clueless offensiveness) -- so I am sadly not shocked that you experienced this from your colleague. You can't buy "niggerhair" brand cigarettes anymore, but there's still a lot of prejudice that, for a lot of people, is totally invisible, part of the background, something they can't or won't see even if you point it out to them.

Hmm... is it possible for you to request a sensitivity training seminar for your workplace? That might be the best followup if your next conversation with your coworker doesn't have a satisfactory conclusion.