Use of the term Nazi.

[Phteven]

How does it make our Jewish members feel when they hear people using the term Nazi to describe people who aren't Nazis as in 'environmental nazi' or 'breastfeeding nazi'?
I'm looking at one member in particular because I know you've posted about it previously and you were really eloquent but I can't find it anywhere.

[mrsmac]

I am not Jewish but i really loathe the overuse and misuse of the word, I think we have taken the real horror of what they did and trivialised it.

[Arcadia]

I am not Jewish, but have worked in a largely Jewish business and TBH you would be seriously reprimanded for using it.

I know it has become part of Aussie jargon, but I think some conciousness around its use is a good thing. I know most people use it without any intention of offending anyone, but just like terms such as retard, or gay, we need to be mindful of the wider implications of using a politically and emotionally laden term so flippantly.

[Shanti]

I am not Jewish, nor do I know much about the Jewish way of life, however I know that I also don't like using the word "Nazi" therefore I never use it.

[Just Me]

I don't really use it (as far as I know) but I had never really thought about how inappropriate it was. I think it comes from the Seinfeld episode with the 'soup-nazi' - it just kind of caught on from there and I know lots of people who say it in relation to lots of things. When I think about it, I can totally see that it is offensive, but it is amazing that it is so normalised that I don't really bat an eyelid when I hear it.

Thanks for your post Onyx

[Beatrix]

Im not jewish either but funny this comes up..

yest i was at the tattoo parlour and the guy across me was getting a HUGE nazi sign on his chest.

I actually felt embarrassed for him and quite ashamed that he still had that belief. But in truth he also made me feel quite uncomfortable, and i didnt know where to look.

[Junglemum]

Not a fan of the word. I have a pretty foul mouthed at times, but do not use the word Nazi, unless it's in relation to the holocaust. A truly horrific time in history that shouldn't be associated with jokes and tongue in cheek comment in my mind.

Interested to read a Jewish person's perspective, so subscribing.

[ezymay]

I'm not Jewish but have a social conscience and find it offensive. To equate someone who feels strongly about breastfeeding with a political party that was responsible for the killing of millions of innocent Jews is just terrible. It may be slang and used for a number of years but so are lots of words used in the past until ppl realized how insulting they are.