I think that as Jews we should not join in in degrading one of our names just because it was appropriated and is seen as trendy to degrade.
I think that the author here needs to consider that using a real persons name as an insult could cause serious and lasting harm to people, not to mention it gives others implicit permission to bully others,and bullying is something we should be working against not towards.
I know the popular logic is that "if it doesn't describe you then it shouldn't bother you" but I would argue that the further it is from a description of you, the more it would bother you. A person who is a total jerk or bigot would not care about being called those things, but a person who wasn't would be thrown into a state of cognitive dissonance every time they heard it, especially if it was their own name.
Could you imagine the harmful effects of being hit with that kind of cognitive dissonance that frequently, maybe multiple times a day for months? Any psychologist would know that is a psychologically dangerous and potentially lethal situation, damaging a person's sense of self, their self-esteem, and their sense of safety. I'd say this is going to kill people, but it already has, including those very vulnerable folks known as teenagers, who, having few people with the name who are also their age, are left particularly vulnerable. This should be recognized as a potential mental health crisis in the making. People named Karen don't even have a safety net to turn to in these times of quarantine.
We should not be a part of this. It goes against everything we stand for. We should talk about privilege and entitlement, but we should not harm the innocent in doing so.
I think that as Jews we should not join in in degrading one of our names just because it was appropriated and is seen as trendy to degrade.
I think that the author here needs to consider that using a real persons name as an insult could cause serious and lasting harm to people, not to mention it gives others implicit permission to bully others,and bullying is something we should be working against not towards.
I know the popular logic is that "if it doesn't describe you then it shouldn't bother you" but I would argue that the further it is from a description of you, the more it would bother you. A person who is a total jerk or bigot would not care about being called those things, but a person who wasn't would be thrown into a state of cognitive dissonance every time they heard it, especially if it was their own name.
Could you imagine the harmful effects of being hit with that kind of cognitive dissonance that frequently, maybe multiple times a day for months? Any psychologist would know that is a psychologically dangerous and potentially lethal situation, damaging a person's sense of self, their self-esteem, and their sense of safety. I'd say this is going to kill people, but it already has, including those very vulnerable folks known as teenagers, who, having few people with the name who are also their age, are left particularly vulnerable. This should be recognized as a potential mental health crisis in the making. People named Karen don't even have a safety net to turn to in these times of quarantine.
We should not be a part of this. It goes against everything we stand for. We should talk about privilege and entitlement, but we should not harm the innocent in doing so.