Fortunately Germans and their descendents are fairly well-off, otherwise we'd have to come up with an alternative word for jerrycan that doesn't contain an ethnic slur.
Eh. I feel like that diminishes why hurtful names fall out of favor. I also think while it's interesting slang, I wouldn't lose sleep if it was replaced. To your point, afaik it hasn't really been used as hurtful slang since the war.
I can't speak for the world, but in my experience descendants of Jews are fairly well-off and there's quite a few slang words people don't use anymore.
I don't think Jerry is a slur as much as a slang demonym like "Tommy" was for British soldiers. I think "kraut" would be closer to a slur but I don't know how that's received - it seems too quaint to be offensive in my eyes.
I've been at the receiving end of stuff like that. Here's how it works. If the phrase is meant to make the recipient feel like a target, or feel inferior, and it does, then it's a slur. It's highly contextual.
If you peel things back a layer, it's all about someone being made "other." This is why some people in 2021 who tell themselves they are standing against racism read just like the racists who bashed me when I was young: They are the ones self-righteously justified in demoting someone from full human status. Yes, racists often convince themselves they are making the world a better place! It's that aspect that's key!
One doesn't fight othering by targeting a fellow human being as "other." One doesn't fight hate by promulgating more hate. The right side of history is about empathy, compassion, and convincing. The wrong side tries to disguise the opposite of the above as compassion.
Yeah obviously offense is derived in part from intent as well as historical and current cultural usage. I don't think anyone is shouting "damned Jerry!" while spitting at Germans in the street though. There are plenty of words in the world that are used that way, that we should be concerned about and avoid using (and criticise/educate others for using, depending on usage). At the end of the day it all comes back to "don't abuse people".
In the context of 1930, you would expect that any such name for the Germans would tick most of those boxes. However, "Jerry" still doesn't feel like a slur.
I'm not talking about the omniscient, timeless textual context. I'm talking about the people when the slur is being spoken and heard, and the community in which they live.
As a German, I find "kraut" more amusing than offensive. I can only speak for myself, of course, but I think a majority of Germans would find the term more humorous than anything else.
Full disclosure, though, I like Sauerkraut a lot, which might play into it.
Just because you don't like this person's comment doesn't mean it's incorrect. Try and keep an open mind. But I don't agree that it's due to being "well off". If it were called a "Japcan" there would be backlash.
