Ed Do you like your cheese?

angrysoba said:
Yeah, I think that is what zooterkin meant when he said it was an offensive word anywhere except in the US.



Remember George W Bush at 0:50?











Phew! Somehow calling people from Pakistan Indians does not sound any better. :runaway
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Tbf British people call Indians Asians. Which is a bit weird when you aren't used to it and move over for a bit
 
PursuedByABear said:
The thing about Paki is that, in origin, it is exactly the same as, for example, Aussie.

The reason it is an term of abuse in the UK is that it was used as a term of abuse - and not just for people from Pakistan, of course, but anyone of South Asian origin. It just happened to be the word "paki" that got adopted for this. It could have been something else.

It's certainly believable that in another country that had never used it except "properly" as a short descriptor for people actually from Pakistan, and generally connected to sport, it would not have any such connotations.

In today's world, of course, borders are blurred and people are far more aware of what happens elsewhere, but why are people in Pakistan offended by it? This is a genuine question; I am not disputing that they are, but I am interested to see how it came about. Is it because they are aware of the UK usage, or is there another abusive usage where people actually apply it negatively to Pakistanis as a national group that they are aware of (and I am not)?
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One of reasons in the UK is that it isn't used for people from Pakistan, it's used as a catch all label for a wide range of different nationalities based on a perception of what "they" look like.
 
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Darat said:
One of reasons in the UK is that it isn't used for people from Pakistan, it's used as a catch all label for a wide range of different nationalities based on a perception of what "they" look like.
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Yes, I did say that. In fact "Pakistani" can in itself be offensive in the UK if used indiscriminately in this way.

That doesn't explain why Pakistanis in Pakistan would see "Paki" as offensive though.
 
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PursuedByABear said:
Yes, I did say that. In fact "Pakistani" can in itself be offensive in the UK if used indiscriminately in this way.

That doesn't explain why Pakistanis in Pakistan would see "Paki" as offensive though.
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Have never heard of "Pakistani" being offensive any where personally
 
Skeptical Greg said:
As long as the customer isn't an american black..

Otherwise, it's probably funny..
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That doesn't square with what some of our British and Australian members have said, Greg.

Meadmaker said:
I've never heard anyone in the US say the word "Paki".
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Seems like no one can really agree on what the common interpretation is even in their own country.
 
lionking said:
And nothing. The link you posted had the word wog. I pointed out that it’s not universally offensive. Nothing further to add.
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I don't think it's possible to make any sort of case for the word "wog" ever being intended as anything other than negative and dismissive. Perhaps you could try.
 
Darat said:
There exposure to the label.
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Exposure to its use in the UK? Is there, and how does that come about?

Or do you mean exposure to its uses in other contexts/cultures of which I am not aware, in which case, can you tell me what they are?

These are genuine questions. I am not sure that UK popular culture is very evident in Pakistan, certainly not the way it would be in the USA or Australia.
 
PursuedByABear said:
I don't think it's possible to make any sort of case for the word "wog" ever being intended as anything other than negative and dismissive. Perhaps you could try.
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Perhaps you could read my earlier posts about the word being reclaimed and “Wogs out of work”. It’s all there.
 
lionking said:
Perhaps you could read my earlier posts about the word being reclaimed and “Wogs out of work”. It’s all there.
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No it isn't. You can't "reclaim" a word that isn't negative.

Short of ironic use, which reclaiming is, is there any way "wog" can ever have not been derogatory?
 
PursuedByABear said:
In itself, no. But calling a group of Indians, Sri Lankans and Bangladeshis "You Pakistanis" is offensive. Surely you can see why.
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Well yeah. But that is just stupid people not understanding there are different countries.

A bit like people mixing up aussies and kiwis, as they can't understand kiwis are similar, but just cooler (sorry my Aus brothers. Had to put that in) :)
 
cullennz said:
Well yeah. But that is just stupid people not understanding there are different countries.

A bit like people mixing up aussies and kiwis, as they can't understand kiwis are similar, but just cooler (sorry my Aus brothers. Had to put that in) :)
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Well no, it isn't, not in the UK. it is a deliberate refusal to see them as anything other than an outsider group, just "not us". "Paki" has come to be an offensive word from exactly the same usage. If the official name for people from Pakistan had only one syllable and had come to be the catch-all insult for South Asians in Britain, there wouldn't be a distinction.
 
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PursuedByABear said:
Well no, it isn't, not in the UK. it is a deliberate refusal to see them as anything other than an outsider group, just "not us". "Paki" has come to be an offensive word from exactly the same usage. If the official name for people from Pakistan had only one syllable and had come to be the catch-all insult for South Asians in Britain, there wouldn't be a distinction.
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I was talking about the word Pakistani
 
And if you want to get all technical about it. If you a British stop calling Indians Asians
 
cullennz said:
I was talking about the word Pakistani
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So was I.

If you need me to say it again, I was pointing out that "Paki" is not innately offensive. It is all about context. The only reason racists yelled "Paki bastard!" at Indians, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis becuase it is shorter and easier to say than "Pakistani", if the official term was shorter, it could have come to be used in the same way. Indeed, it frequently was, even so. The less violent racists would happily tell you "There are too many Pakistanis here" interchangeably with "Too many Pakis here", in neither case using the word for people of actual Pakistani origin.
 
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