This week the Prime Minister took time out to wade in on the continued debate over the use of the word Yid, from Tottenham Hotspur fans and opposition fans that may still use the racist term.
The word Yid originates from a time when racism was accepted, a time when black people were used as slaves and the N word was used at its most frequent. Time has changed many things but mostly, and rightly so it has changed the attitude towards racism. No longer is it acceptable to use any racist language towards anyone.....or is it?
Tottenham adopted the term Yid Army as a defence mechanism after opposition fans regularly mocked the club for it's Jewish following. Around 5% of all Tottenham fans today have Jewish roots, but yet the clubs fans see themselves as the Yid Army.
In the past week the debate has become quite heated after the Football Association commented any fans using the racist term, whether a Tottenham fan or not should be prosecuted, this was after the continued battle from Jewish, Chelsea fan David Baddiel who continues to fight for the Y-word to be banned.
The debate however has taken an unusual twist this week after David Cameron, yes the Prime Minister of England, declared that the use of the word from Tottenham fans was acceptable, as they were not 'motivated by hate'.
So this opens a scenario where the FA are fighting for the banning of the word, while the Prime Minister says it's ok. So who is going to win this battle that no one really wants to have?
The answer? Nobody. The lobbying for the banning of the word is frankly pointless as Tottenham fans class themselves as the Yid Army and that will never change, but what about the Jewish section of the Tottenham fans that find the term offensive? Where do they stand in this debate? Is the Tottenham fans chanting the word offensive to them, and is it 'motivated by hate'
The fact Cameron even got involved is a baffling one, the fact he said what he said, was even more strange. As a politician, we would have expected him to sit on the fence and let others deal with it. He spoke openly about the term and even went as far as almost giving Tottenham fans the green light to continue using it. So debate over? Again, maybe not.
With black friends myself, I ask the question if I was to walk up to one and use the N word, would it be welcomed by them, or would they view it as 'motivated by hate'? Of course this scenario wouldn't happen amongst my group of friends but up and down the country we regularly hear stories of racism in society.
We don't have to stray too far from the football field to find cases of racism either, both John Terry and Luis Suarez were recently handed bans after being found guilty, yet no legal prosecution. Both cases were condemned by football fans up and down the country, even by some that still use the racist Y-word to either describe themselves, or another person.
Rapper Jay Z recently released a new song in the charts with the N word featured several times, some listeners, white and black will take offence to that, however it appears to be fine as it is not 'motivated by hate', yet some people that are offended by the word, myself included are just left to deal with it as it apparently is acceptable in the context of his song.
My final point is that a racist term is a racist term and that nobody can say otherwise. What can be argued is the motivation behind the use of the word. Tottenham fans don't use the word to abuse others, in fact they use it to endear themselves. Does it make it right? Unfortunately not in my view.
What may offend you, may not offend others, that is the world we live in today, however, we would all agree there is no room for racism in society, let alone football. As mentioned previously, if a group of people branded themselves with the N word, it certainly wouldn't be accepted, and even more certainly, David Cameron would not be defending them in his weekly parliament speech.
Do you think the word Yid is still a racist term? Are the FA right to try and force the banning of the word, or is Cameron right, should Tottenham fans be allowed to continue to use the word?
Let us know your thoughts.
