• Dear Guest, Please note that adult content is not permitted on this forum. We have had our Google ads disabled at times due to some posts that were found from some time ago. Please do not post adult content and if you see any already on the forum, please report the post so that we can deal with it. Adult content is allowed in the glory hole - you will have to request permission to access it. Thanks, scara

The Y word

lurker of old said:
Apologies if my post seems odd. I was thinking that no club would want to be a magnet for the attention of Jihadist terrorists. As for missing the point, isn't it relevant to say that this chant is really pretty obscure? Most people have not a clue that it is sung, so comparisons with the N word are wide of the mark.
Click to expand...

Fuûck the terrorists. We are a club with a huge Jewish support. And I am proud of that.

I’m proud of how we adopted the term of Yid Army to combat the racist Cûnts who tried to attack our Jewish supporters, and show solidarity. It’s one of the things I’m most proud of in this club.

not sure any other club that has done that? Birmingham maybe?

however I’m not Jewish and at least one of our Jewish fans in here are saying they are offended by it, so I will consider refraining from using the term. Which is a shame because genuinely I sang those songs and screamed Yid Army with a sense of fraternity with our Jewish supporters. And a sense of pride. I saw screaming yid Army as a Fück you to the the anti Semitic racists.

But I have to say this: I’m not a fan of Baddiel, what the Fück? stop your fans hissing and abusing our Jewish supporters you Cûnt.
 
Last edited:
Glenda's Legs said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1491700799264722947

https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/2022/february/y-word-review-findings-and-next-steps/

https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/2019/december/y-word-consultation-update/

Far too much to read whilst I am at work but from a quick skim through there's a huge amount of food for thought here from the focus groups (links half way down the page) :
https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/the-club/the-why-word/
Click to expand...


I'll read and digest this later.
I like that chant and have a certain amount of pride that our fans have turned it into a statement and something to be proud of.
A show that we won't be bullied or cowed.
But I'm not Jewish and my view isn't relevant. If it offends then its not right and we should retire it.
Not ban it, but acknowledge that it has had it's day, served its purpose and is now past its sell by date, and we move on.
 
glasgowspur said:
I'll read and digest this later.
I like that chant and have a certain amount of pride that our fans have turned it into a statement and something to be proud of.
A show that we won't be bullied or cowed.
But I'm not Jewish and my view isn't relevant. If it offends then its not right and we should retire it.
Not ban it, but acknowledge that it has had it's day, served its purpose and is now past its sell by date, and we move on.
Click to expand...

Yep, I think that's more or less where I am now. Tbh my ideal would be to keep "The thing I love most...", but move away from the "Yids" and "Yid Army" chants. And there are other use cases - the "yiddo, yiddo" goal celebration, the "yiddo" welcome chant like on Saturday and last night when new players make their debut. It really is so embedded now.
But I am not Jewish, so ultimately it's not for me to pronounce on and as you say, if it's offending fellow-fans in the ground (because it shouldn't be used elsewhere anyway), then that's not what I want to do.

It will take a very long time before use of the word ceases, but educating fans (myself included) as to why it is an issue is a good way to start the process.
 
Glenda's Legs said:
Yes, you are right.
There are already comments coming out from other groups and the problem is that the view is that Spurs fans are being anti-semitic in their use of the term, which we know isn't the intention.
And I must admit, despite what I said above, it immediately puts me on the defensive.
Click to expand...
Baddiel will no doubt be on Sky soon
 
Glenda's Legs said:
Yes, you are right.
There are already comments coming out from other groups and the problem is that the view is that Spurs fans are being anti-semitic in their use of the term, which we know isn't the intention.
And I must admit, despite what I said above, it immediately puts me on the defensive.
Click to expand...

Feel the same, that initial thought I (and many others I presume) of “But Chelsea fans do this!!! / West Ham fans sing this!!” doesn’t automatically mean we’re still in the right or change anything...

It’s a tough one to move on from, personally I love that community feeling of hearing someone shout “yiddoooo” in a friendly way once they spot a Spurs badge on my attire or the same happening the other way, but the reality is that other people in earshot aren’t to know the intention.

I have had it in a city not too appreciated on here where someone saw me in a Spurs shirt and muttered “fudgein’ yid” in a hateful way that did take me by surprise..
 
One thing never mentioned in the "anti" argument is how (certainly for the past 35 years) "Yid" used at WHL has the primary meaning of "Tottenham Fan/Supporter"... most newer fans see it as that and don't even know the historical Jewish connection.

According to the dictionary the word itself has existed for 100 years, and used by Spurs supporters for around 50 years.

It's all politics imo. The club don't want any negativity or anything that may flare up and risk business reputation etc. Ultimately Levy can now stand in a meeting and say "Well the clubs stance is that fans should move on from using the term, however we respect their historical use of it".
 
I think the club is handling this pretty good. I believe they fully recognize and in a sense appreciate how Spurs fans use the word, while on the other hand they have to respond to massive outside pressure (and probably from some of our fans too) to ban the use of the word. It's a delicate balance.

I'm torn on the issue too - for me, there's absolutely no negative connotation in Spurs' fans use of the word. For me the word is simply a positive appreciation of fellow Spurs fans. However, I'm not Jewish and being a privileged white male, I also have no experience of racial hatred or bigotry, so I don't really have the full picture here.

I can see why some people, Jews in particular of course, react negatively to it. If the general consensus among Jews are that they are offended by our use of the word, then that opinion carries a lot of weight for me. There's no simple, straightforward solution to this though.

BTW, does anyone know when the joint Chelski/West Ham "Gas chamber hissing noise"-review is due? :smirk:
 
I wish as part of the club's findings, they'd recorded certain away supporters and shown why fans still use the term. To anyone without the whole picture, this just looks like the club is outing it's own rascist fans. And worse still, it makes it look like Baddiel was right.
 
Glenda's Legs said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1491700799264722947

https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/2022/february/y-word-review-findings-and-next-steps/

https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/2019/december/y-word-consultation-update/

Far too much to read whilst I am at work but from a quick skim through there's a huge amount of food for thought here from the focus groups (links half way down the page) :
https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/the-club/the-why-word/
Click to expand...

I'd recommend reading the focus group sections. There are a wide range of views there and plenty to reflect on. I personally won't use it any more and came to that conclusion a while ago. I find the argument that it isn't my word to reclaim very persuasive and the impact of its use goes wider than our fan base. I think that we should be mindful of the views of non-Spurs supporting Jews and well as Jewish fans.
 
Not a fan in the least of the provocative use of the Y word. I would condone it in response if idiot fans like Chelsea's or West Ham's were spouting anti-Semitic abuse.

But when rival fans aren't creating religious abuse - and surely most don't - then there's no reason to use it, to initiate it as a match day element. Nothing makes Spurs and their fans look like a small - and small-minded - club like the repeated use of this word in songs and chants, no matter how noble the purpose.

The league is now a worldwide phenomenon. When we drag religious overtones into telecasts it makes Spurs look as insignificant, tawdry and unappealing as Rangers or Celtic.

The standard retort is 'Look at how well Spurs are doing financially. The Y word hasn't hurt us in the least'. Well, we have about one third the social media followers of Arsenal and even less of Chelsea, Liverpool, United or City. No one invokes religious overtones into any major club in Europe.
 
I am Jewish (at least, my parents are - even if I don't particularly associate with any religion) but don;t feel that gives me more right to comment than anyone else or that my thoughts are somehow more valuable. For the record, I am not offended by the yid chant and have often sung it myself when I used to get down the Lane but I know some Jewish non-football fans who can;t understand how and why I can use the word even if I explain the context.

My stance has softened somewhat recently, I used to staunchly believe we should be allowed to sing it but now kind of feel maybe it's the time to quietly drop it. I don't think that will happen though, if anything some fans will dig their heels in and sing it even more forcefully and often than they would have done
 
greatwhitenorf said:
Not a fan in the least of the provocative use of the Y word. I would condone it in response if idiot fans like Chelsea's or West Ham's were spouting anti-Semitic abuse.

But when rival fans aren't creating religious abuse - and surely most don't - then there's no reason to use it, to initiate it as a match day element. Nothing makes Spurs and their fans look like a small - and small-minded - club like the repeated use of this word in songs and chants, no matter how noble the purpose.

The league is now a worldwide phenomenon. When we drag religious overtones into telecasts it makes Spurs look as insignificant, tawdry and unappealing as Rangers or Celtic.

The standard retort is 'Look at how well Spurs are doing financially. The Y word hasn't hurt us in the least'. Well, we have about one third the social media followers of Arsenal and even less of Chelsea, Liverpool, United or City. No one invokes religious overtones into any major club in Europe.
Click to expand...
The use of the Y word has nothing got to do with the amount of social media followers, it's simply the fact that they've been a lot more successful than us.
Being successful attracts more fans
 
It really is a difficult subject and I'm not sure where I really sit on it. The club have a difficult job with this and they are tip-toeing their way through it as well as can be done.
Trying to look like they're attempting to make progress on the issue while not tinkling off large portions of the fans by trying to outright ban its use is about the best that can be done.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back