Hail, the Wandering Jew-Dude!

There's so much going on these days which differentiate the generations.  Sexual innuendos and overtures were much more accepted, not acceptable, back when I was young; but we've gotten to the point where we're afraid to say, touch or do anything which could be misconstrued.  It seems so isolating, at least at 65.  Statues are being torn down, sports teams and icons re-named, gymnasts testifying before Congress at dizzying, yet appropriate, speeds, but who'duv imagined a mere 10 years ago?

So recently, at our yard sale, I was having a friendly chat with a customer.  For some reason we were discussing plants toxic to pets, like Poinsettias, when I said,

"My dog once ate a Wandering Jew and I had to call the Poison Control Center."

I was horrified at myself. "I guess that's p-p-Politically Incorrect, but I don't know what else to call it," I stuttered at the man's amused but questioning expression.  I tried to describe the plant but had no idea about the origin of the name.  Here, from the Bloomboxclub is one explanation:

Why We're No Longer Using the Name Wandering Jew

"In this blog, we explain why we love this plant family, and why we've decided to use the name 'Dude,' in favour of the (anti-semitic) name 'Wandering Jew.

"We assumed the name referred to the Israelites, sentenced to 'wander' through the desert in search of the promised land until the last member of the original generation (Moses) dies. 

"But further research revealed ‘Wandering Jew’ to be connected to an apocryphal myth, one that has been used to justify anti-Semitism since at least the 13th century. 

"The story goes that one of the men who taunted Jesus on his way to be crucified was cursed to walk the Earth until the Second Coming. In the context of the observable Jewish diaspora; the displacement of Jewish peoples from the Southern Levant in ancient times, and subsequent statelessness from anti-Semitic regimes, we are profoundly uncomfortable with using this moniker.

"Unfortunately, most of the internet doesn’t seem to feel that way. Although Tradescantia zebrina has other common names, including Spiderwort and Inch Plant, 'Wandering Jew' seems to be the only one that's stuck."

When I was developing my semi-green thumb in my 20's, the only plant I could keep alive was the Wandering Jew, correction, Jew Dude.  I never intended any insult, just as I never thought twice about saying Indian-giver or French Toast. My late husband, from Holland, was quite insulted after I explained the term I'd used as a condition of our first date, "Dutch-treat".

I guess it's not only a Generational-thing, my bad, but who knew?!