Jewish group chides Biden for using 'offensive' term

[closeupready]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- Vice President Joe Biden "should have been more careful" in a speech when he used a term that some consider anti-Semitic, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League said Tuesday.

At a conference marking the 40th anniversary of the Legal Services Corporation, Biden recalled anecdotes from his son's experience serving in Iraq and meeting members of the military who were in need of legal help because of problems back at home.

"That's one of the things that he finds was most in need when he was over there in Iraq for a year," Biden said, "that people would come to him and talk about what was happening to them at home in terms of foreclosures, in terms of bad loans that were being...I mean these Shylocks who took advantage of, um, these women and men while overseas."

ADL National Director Abraham Foxman issued a mild reprimand later Tuesday.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/17/politics/joe-biden-jewish-term/

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Aside from the term itself, it's ironic to me that Biden is chastising bankers when, while the Senator from Delaware, he was known as the bankers' best friend in the Senate.

[GeorgeGist]

1. Poutrageous!!!

He should have said shysters.

[TexasProgresive]

3. I thought that slur was specific to lawyers. n/t

[candelista]

20. Usually reserved for Jewish attorneys

Actually, I believe the slur "shyster" is generally reserved for Jewish attorneys. I believe the proper slur for someone like myself would be "eggplant."

--Will Smith
Enemy of the State

[TexasProgresive]

22. I have heard it used against any generic crappy lawyer.

shyster |ˈ sh īstər|
noun informal
a person, esp. a lawyer, who uses unscrupulous, fraudulent, or deceptive methods in business.
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: origin uncertain; perhaps related to German Scheisser ‘worthless person.’

[candelista]

25. By extension. But the origin is Yiddish.

Last edited Wed Sep 17, 2014, 02:22 PM - Edit history (1)

Scheisse, scheiss, sheisse, sheiss, shice n., v.i.from Scheiße "excrement": droppings < German Scheiße "dung", perhaps by way of Yiddish, related to English shit and to shed. See further example under schmier. See also shicer, shyster.

http://germanenglishwords.com/rlgs.htm

[Enrique]

35. shyster is a lawyer, and it's ok as far as I know

Shylock is different, and the ADL is right, and I'm a little shocked that Biden used the word.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. That's a good 'chide'.

I expected from the title in scare quotes it was going to be 'occupied territories'.

But yeah, 'shylocks' does have a nasty anti-jewish association, and he should have gone with a different term.

[MADem]

5. I agree--it was an awful comment, and he shouldn't have said it.

Of course, they don't "do" Shakespeare in high school anymore, so the reference will go over plenty of heads....

[elleng]

8. Right,

no.more.Shakespeare.
Does.ADL.boycot.THAT?

[MADem]

9. Huh?

It's all about teaching to the test, that's why they got rid of the more difficult topics.

[elleng]

12. Exactly,

but.as.I've.got.to.get.on.the.road,I.won't.get.into.that.conversation/thread.now.

[Iamthetruth]

23. He is a dumbass

Sorry folks, the guy is a walking mistake.

[MADem]

28. Oh, you are not at all "sorry" and he isn't a "dumbass." He made a terrible error.

That doesn't obviate the good he has done over the course of a career.

He shouldn't have said it. That's that.

[Iamthetruth]

30. Well we will agree to disagree

This is not his first verbal screw up and you're right, I'm not sorry I said nothing wrong.

[dballance]

4. Wow, When I saw the title I thought it was probably just "Poutrage"

I was wrong. Using the term "Shylocks" is not a good thing at all. I know this and I'm a fat, old, white guy from TN.

Gees, Joe. What the heck were you thinking?

[MosheFeingold]

13. Slow Joe

Is our counterweight to Bush II and Dan Quayle.

He's not an anti-Semite; he's an idiot.

No clue how any of these guys get power, on either side of the isle.

[yurbud]

15. He's not in the same league of stupid as baby Bush and Quayle

He just likes to hear his own voice and doesn't filter well.

[MosheFeingold]

19. Probably a fair comment

But we can do better. We are the "smart" party. No need to have second-raters anywhere near the top.

[yurbud]

44. I'd take someone baby Bush stupid if they pursued progressive policies as hard as he

Did the bidding of the one percent

[MosheFeingold]

18. Huh?

Your post doesn't make any sense.

Cruz?

What does that whacko have to do with anything?

Cruz just got booed off the stage at a John Ashcroft-sponsored event, which is the base of the Republican party. He's a non-issue.

[groundloop]

6. I'd definitely used a different term.... "Assholes" comes to mind

And I'm not sure I agree that 'shylock' specifically refers to those with a Jewish background merely because the character in The Merchant of Venice happened to be Jewish.

[Adrahil]

7. Hmmm... use a different word, Joe.

The use of the term "Shylock" might not be overtly racist, but The Merchant of Venice does have a long history intermingled with antisemitism. I don;t doubt that Joe didn't intend it that that, but best to use another term. For example, I find that a lot of people don't know that saying you've been "Gypped" is actually a slur against Gypsies.

[Iamthetruth]

24. I doubt Joe reads Shakespeare

So you want to cut him a break because he most likely was not a member of Mensa.

[Adrahil]

46. <snicker> I like the guy, but yeah.... NT

[TexasProgresive]

10. Perhaps these would've been better choices

Loan sharks
Usurers
Gombeen men (Irish usurers who lent money at high rates during the great famine)
Hornswogglers
Bunco artists

[Travelman]

34. And Methodists!

[Omaha Steve]

11. Senator from Delaware, he was known as the bankers' best friend in the Senate

Look at the list of national banks that are chartered there.

http://banking.delaware.gov/reports/financialinstitutions/DEFinInstitutions.pdf

[closeupready]

14. Right. So how can he now criticize the same 'people' (i.e., banking corporations)

for abusing the middle class?

He helped them get into positions of dominance over the middle class (to the extent that complaints from working people are what prompted these offensive remarks).

He's a hypocrite, and this is probably the #1 reason I don't trust him.

[SoapBox]

17. What ever...

Sheesh...seems everything offends.

Just get the whining over.

[Iamthetruth]

26. I'd be willing to bet

That if I used terms to degrade certain races, nationalities or other religions you would have a different view.

[candelista]

21. Joe runs his mouth. Everyone knows that.

That doesn't make him a mean guy. Just a loose cannon.

[daschess1987]

45. I like the guy, but for chrissakes...

can't we just have him play video games at an undisclosed location until after the election?

[Feral Child]

27. Yeah, pretty much of a gaffe.

The term could be deemed appropriate, and has been in the past because Shylock was a Shakespearian character, a money-lender who engaged in usury.

"Shyster" as used by another poster isn't a suitable substitute; Biden was discussing mortgage holders; ie, "money-lenders", not lawyers.

He was also Jewish and this reflects the antisemitism common in Elizabethan England.

Since then, the term has been used to characterizes Jews as a people as avaricious and untrustworthy. The anti-Semitic usage has become more pointed and strident since Willy penned "The Merchant".


Don't mind me, I know everybody knows this, I'm just extra loquacious today due to a recent harvest.

Anyway, I don't think Biden was thinking about Israel or Jews when he made the comment, he was probably just showing off his academic flair.

Still, the term was unfortunate, especially in reference to the ME where antisemitism can be deadly.

Not as bad as W's "Crusade" blunder, but definitely not diplomatic.

[marble falls]

29. When I think of 'shylocks' I think of Mafioso collecting 'vig'.

[reorg]

33. I learned about that use of the term

through one of my favorite movies, "Get Shorty", by Barry Sonnenfeld.

[marble falls]

38. American organized crime films of the '60's and on: gotta love them!

[unblock]

31. why use quotes in your title? even biden acknowledges that the term is offensive.

[closeupready]

32. Ask CNN - it's an exact copy of their headline.

At least that's how it appeared when I posted it this morning. (I realize you may not be asking ME, but positing a rhetorical question for readers here to consider.)

[Ash_F]

36. Sigh...our leaders still pulling their insults from the sixties. /nt

[NaturalHigh]

37. That was a really crappy thing for him to say.

I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he wasn't aware of the offensive nature of the word though. I don't think most people who use it are. Hell, I still hear people say they "jewed" down the price of a car. I often get blank stares when I explain why that is offensive.

[bigwillq]

39. The GM at it again!

GM=Gaffe Master.

Can't wait until he is out of politics.

[NaturalHigh]

40. Well, he's often good for a laugh...

and The Onion loves him.

[bigwillq]

41. I laugh at all our politicians

And then laugh at myself for voting for them. lol

[NaturalHigh]

42. I generally vote AGAINST someone, not for the other.

An oldie but goodie.:

Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Whom To Vote Against

http://www.theonion.com/articles/poll-many-americans-still-unsure-whom-to-vote-agai,1177/

[bigwillq]

43. That's sad. We have such bad candidates that we must vote against someone

instead of voting for someone.
This is why I laugh.