inside, i found a rack of knitted dolls that uselessly doubled as keychains. there were knit frankensteins, knit ninjas, and all sorts of other characters hanging about.
but what got me was this fella':
i immediately recognized him to be jewish. after all, he was carrying a dreidel. but the longer i stared at the knitted jew, the more amazed i grew. he had a decent jew-fro and seemed to be the only doll who actually had a nose-- but why was he carrying cash?and then it hit me: jewish people are all about money.
i'm not sure if i was offended as much as i was a bit dumbfounded. there weren't any other awkward racial stereotypes like little knitted chinese kids slaving over a pair of nikes. it was just the jew, waving his cash, and silently continuing a degrading message.
i asked the store owner if he found the doll to be racist and he informed me that he did not. so we left and i looked the doll up online.
what i found quickly was that i am not the only one who has seen this doll and felt confused. in fact, an organization known as ADL (anti-defamation league) had already written an upset letter illuminating a similar thought.
yes, the doll is really named "the dreidel hustler".
i'm glad ADL wrote this letter of complaint. because it helped me change from confused to completely amused and to remember something my dad told me when i was younger.
there's a lot of truth in that statement. if every race has at one time been picked on, segregated, or generally murdered for no reason, i think those who survived were able to do so by finding their peace. a lot of japanese folk in internment camps turned to poetry (though most of america still considers haikus to be utter and complete bullshit). and jewish people survived by having a sense of humor.
after reading ADL's letter, in which they awkwardly refer to the dollar sign as "the universal symbol for currency" (which is not just awkward, but also untrue) i started laughing. ADL seems to have forgotten what it is to be jewish. if i may be blunt: they're a team of babies.
a money-hungry jew-doll is not exactly something that will gradually lead back into a holocaust.
and look, i've held this one in for a long time, but jewish people are historically cheap. or thrifty. or frugal. the fact remains whatever word makes it easier for you to hear. if you need proof, take a look at the story of hanukkah:
there was only enough oil to last one day and the jews were fucked. (you will find in most jewish holidays, the story goes "the jews were fucked") but they managed to make the oil last eight days. they called it a miracle, but i call it being thrifty. hanukkah, as great as it is, remains a celebration of making shit last during the hard times. if that's not being cheap, then i've got an entirely misconstrued definition of the word.
but seriously, there's nothing degrading about having that associated with your race. that same stereotype has been reconfirmed by the extensive number of wealthy jews with an amazing accounting background. it's something more of a talent than a curse.
so back to the doll.
the problem-- if there is one-- is not that the dreidel hustler has been depicted as thirsty for cash and therefore spreading a stereotype. the issue is that it seems the jewish doll was the only doll with a blatant stereotype. and it's for that reason my noticing the doll left me so dumbstruck and confused.
but, again: if you're going to be jewish, be prepared to laugh at yourself. ADL needs to remember that. they need to sit back, have some manischewitz, and just laugh a little. the amazing ability to always find good humor in bad situations is one of the greatest gifts jews were ever handed. that and being cheap.
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