The other S-Word

I saw it coming, and I'm tired of it already.

Jackie Mason got into trouble using the S-word to refer to the President. I heard it at shalosh seudah (Saturday afternoon third meal) Feb. 28. "It's a (s-word) world we live in," the man sitting next to me lamented, referring to the new administration.

It's mostly old guys, but they teach it to their children, and kids think it's okay to say it too. The Yiddish word means "black" and is used to refer to black people. Jews who use it insist it's benign, but in usage it's always derogatory. Always. No one ever says, "I voted for that (S-word) Barack Obama, and I'm proud of it!" It doesn't carry the same racial charge as the n-word, but the idea is very similar.

This needs to stop. I realize what I'm suggesting: I'm suggesting that old Jews change their habits. Yeah, right. It's deeply embarrassing for the Jewish community when people talk like that. It makes us look like a bunch of racists.