Is it racist…

Swoon

eh?

I do recall that in less enlightened times going to one of the many Chinese restaurants for lunch was “going for a missing link”. Funny thing is, we weren’t even cockneys.

I would certainly have said chinky back in the 70s but it’s Chinese now.

What I find odd is how the vast number of Bangladeshi restaurateurs don’t seem to take offence at their establishments being called Indian – what with partition and all that.

You should hear what the Chinese call us !

Sweaty Socks?……..no. ….wait…..that’s the English.

As you were.

This is why I tend to go for Thai.

Don’t fret, Ton, he swooned at me not so long ago. I think he’s genuinely enamoured by some of us.

Just feel the love…

I’ll open with Chi take away.

People should stop shortening everything, I was watching a kids program* the other day and the presenter actually said “wow, that was redic”!!!

*with my kids by the way, I prefer much more highbrow things like Death in Paradise!!

my thing about the shop was not a proud boast. I just asked all in the building what they would call a Chinese takeaway meal. all said chinky.

I think it may be a northern thing.

the presenter actually said “wow, that was redic”!!!

Totes Unaccept.

Packie, pronounced the same as **** is another one of the million nicknames the yanks have for Patrick. It was a bit of shock to hear first time.

As for the Chinky thing, I have to admit it’s a word we use in our house to refer to the food / takeaway, not the people. Hadn’t considered it even rude up to now. I heard people in our local say aloud on their mobile “do you want anything from the Chinky?” No eye brows were raised on either side of the counter.

A lot of this comes down to how and why it’s said an in what context. **** as a shortening for Pakistani was taken and made a slur by the far right and the hard of thinking years ago, it’s sad really, I’ve no desire to use it anymore, but on the face of it, it seems a perfectly harmless shortening like Scott for Scottish, it’s arseholes using it as an insult and stealing word and making them nasty. I used that word in everyday use as a child without a hint of malice or hate, but now I wonder if I was upsetting people unknowingly.

So what aboot calling someone a Jock, or dare I say it a Sassenach?

I certainly don’t mind … 😆

Use whatever term you like otherwise life will be boring.

Is “Hamilton Accies” racist?

rushki, polski, frog, paddy, taff, jock. all racist?

Is “Hamilton Accies” racist?

It is in Motherwell.

‘rushki, polski, frog, paddy, taff, jock. all racist?’

Don’t forget Ginger too

rushki, polski, frog, paddy, taff, jock. all racist?

All can be replaced with a word that actually means where they’re from with practically the same syllables, so again whats the point?

Russian, Polish, French, Irish, Welsh, Scot…..

Surely no one actually says “so, there was this Polski….”

Yes it is racist and offensive. Back in the 80s at school I would hit someone for calling me anything derogatory based on race. But then that’s how schoolboys tend to deal with all issues.

Knowing that this would happen at an otherwise all-white school, I remember my dad teaching me how to punch properly. It was much tougher for my sister as girls didn’t resolve things with a fight.

A Chinese friend of mine considers it racist. That’s enough for me. Don’t use it.

No eye brows were raised on either side of the counter.

Did you ask the people behind the counter how they felt about it? My friend wouldn’t have said anything in public. Her brother would.

I do enjoy threads where a bunch of middle-aged white guys (yeah, I’m making that assumption) decide what is and isn’t racist.

Surely no one actually says “so, there was this Polski….”

I have a customer in Doncaster. his company name is Polskisat.

Calling a meal chinky: Not racist.

Calling a person chinky: Racist.

Technically it’s not racist, in the context of talking about food.. But still it’s 2017 no 1983 anymore. It’s no great loss to your lexicon if you just forget the word exists and stop using it..

yeah its racist down south.

The meal also implies where it’s from and the staff involved in preparing it. Therefore it’s racist too.

I do enjoy threads where a bunch of middle-aged white guys (yeah, I’m making that assumption) decide what is and isn’t racist.

Surely part of the problem is the intention or at least the attitude behind it. Is ‘Jew’ a rascist insult? It is when a Nazi uses it. But times do change. I happened to be watching an early episode of ‘Yes Minister’ & it was cringe makingly embarrassing to see the attitude towards African countries. I doubt if many (white) people noticed at the time.

Gwai lo.

Gwai lo.

No, it’s pronounced, Gwai lo

‘Technically it’s not racist’ ‘It’s not racist when you’re talking about food’ blah blah blah.

My Chinese friend doesn’t see a difference and thus considers it racist whether she’s down south or up north (is that meant to be some sort of excuse?!). That’s enough for me.

No, it’s pronounced, Gwai lo

And your point is?

I think it rather depends on your audience. If you are certain of your non racist credentials and of your audience’s too and you are using the term in a semi ironic way I would say it’s ok.
But any doubt at all about who you are talking to and best stick with ‘a chinese takeaway’.

I don’t think I’d use the term chinky anyway but I wouldn’t necessarily find it offensive. Applied to a person thought – no dice!

The corner shop local to my work is run by an Asian family (Sorry, I’ve not engaged any of them in enough conversation to discover their country of birth. It might even be Scotland). The shop is called Chalkies.

Northwind – Member
terrahawk – Member
Do you also debate the rights and wrongs of the term, “**** Shop”?

What I kind of like is that around here, “**** shop” is pretty much interchangable with “corner shop”- our corner shop’s owned by a white scottish person and always has been but people call it the **** shop. So it’s just become completely connected from the racial slur it started with.

Personally I just say “shop”. I don’t really see the need to distinguish the nationality(however innocently or derogatorily shortened) nor indeed understand why it’s important to know that it’s located on a “corner”! (particularly when most of the time they aren’t even that!) 😆

My most important considerations are – does it’s sell milk, bread, square sausage, bacon, ginger, and a varied selection of munchies? 😆

tpbiker – Member

….to refer to a Chinese takeaway as a ‘chinky’?

Was debated in the pub last night. Been a term in Scotland

How come in Scotland you have Cantonese takeaways but Chinese carry outs?
Or is that distinction less of a thing these days?
I needs to know.

Don’t post a picture of your Chinese meal with the chopsticks sticking up from the middle of it, whatever you do.

Linky

Brown – Member
‘Technically it’s not racist’ ‘It’s not racist when you’re talking about food’ blah blah blah.

My Chinese friend doesn’t see a difference and thus considers it racist whether she’s down south or up north (is that meant to be some sort of excuse?!). That’s enough for me.

Racism for me requires intent. But anyhow, i’m not really defending usage of the word.

As i say it has potential to cause offensive, even if not intended. But it’s no reall great loss just to use the correct term.

I like slang as much as the next person, but I’m not tied to it.

Uncomfortable certainly. Why bother?
Unless you’re being (as many older folk of my folks’ generation are/were won’t to do) provocative and deliberately so – see also the occasional posts on FB about “why were the polliwogs ditched from jam jars” and so on.

Did you find it uncomfortable to say, TJ? or even a bit defensive?

People should stop shortening everything, I was watching a kids program* the other day and the presenter actually said “wow, that was redic”!!!

I detest the Americanisation of our language. It’s programme not program. Program is IT or information technology to you as I’m guessing you also don’t like acronyms? 😉

As i say it has potential to cause offensive, even if not intended.

Even if it is used without racist intent, it’s not a very nice word and carries a legacy of racist intent.

Until the word is rehabilitated, then best not to use it in such contexts.

“Don’t post a picture of your Chinese meal with the chopsticks sticking up from the middle of it, whatever you do.

Linky”

To be fair, she is right – Filipinos are culturally Latin, not Chinese. So chopsticks are hilariously ignorant, it’s like having British Fish and Chips with French fries – which I find **** offensive.

Although they do eat a lot of things on pandan leaves.

Racism for me requires intent.

I disagree. That implies there’s no such thing as casual racism.
If something’s said ‘without intent’ but still upsets people of a particular race based on their race, that’s racist, regardless of intent.