It’s also the preferred descriptor for some. I’ve had friends with dwarfism that thought “little people” was condescending as hell and hated it.
None of this is ever black and white. Especially when it’s just interjecting into comments on the Internet talking about the fantasy race that’s either Jews with battle axes or persons from Svartálfheim.
The way Tolkien-style dwarves embody stereotypes about Jews makes me really uncomfortable. I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees it.
It’s a mostly standard view of Tolkien scholarship. They’re much more a medieval view of jewishness then something straight racist like say, JK Rowling’s goblins. As makes sense for an Old English scholar like Tolkein.
Ancient people, separated into familial tribes, outcast from their ancestral home, not really welcomed anywhere but tolerated some places, warrior poet tradition, noble ‘in their way’, beards, gold, noses.
Sprinkle on some Norse/Germanic for flavor and there you go. Though then you can get into the side conversation of Yiddish being a Germanic dialect/language.
