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Would you consider gringo a derogatory term?

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B

Boom Boom Pow

Banned
I mean, it's definitely not use in a positive light by latinos to white people. but i'm always curious if you guys would put it on the same level as someone calling a mexican beaner or a spic.

opinions?
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
It sounds like it should be offensive... but the greater issue is that ethnic slurs against whites don't "hurt" without institutional racism giving them power.

Cracker, gaijin*, honkey... all of them invoke smirks, not rage.

* I know it means all foreigners in Japanese, but I do know that many Japanese think of Caucasian first when they use that word
 
B

botty

Banned
Hazmat said:
Not to be a dick, but it's hard to make a white man feel bad about being white in the USA.
Click to expand...

It's not about feeling bad, it's about being rude. You are not just being a dick, you're being a small dick. Let's kill rudeness, shall we?
 
P

Pastry

Banned
I don't think so but then again I'm Hispanic so I'm not sure my opinion counts on this one. My family (Mexican-Americans) just use it to refer to white people, I don't feel like it's ever been used derogatory among them.

Could be used different in the Americas versus Spain I guess.
 
A

alfredofroylan

Member
As mexican that word is used so many times, and most people over there don't even think it's derogatory. Think on this most people in our country have a word to describe their brithplace, "Tapatios" are from Guadalajara, "Jarochos" from Veracruz, "Regios" from Monterrey, "Pipopes" from Puebla, "Chilangos" from DF, etc.

So yes, at least in Mexico is pretty much ok.
 
A

antonz

Member
How one is treated as a race has no bearing on the fact a slur is a slur. Just like its ignorant as fuck to say well they are white so it doesn't matter as if all white people have some amazing life
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
antonz said:
How one is treated as a race has no bearing on the fact a slur is a slur. Just like its ignorant as fuck to say well they are white so it doesn't matter as if all white people have some amazing life
Click to expand...

I don't think it's "right" or "excusable" because it doesn't hurt white people.

But it just doesn't have the capacity to hurt whites in the way that most ethnic slurs usually hurt.
 
M

Mechazawa

Member
It's a hokey ass word, in the same way that "cracker" is goofy as fuck, but it's definitely a slur. How much anyone actually cares is probably the real argument.

Which is weird, since it's original meaning was the equivalent to "gaijin", but in America, it's shifted to being a catch all term for native whites.
 
G

GYODX

Member
I'm a native Spanish speaker.

It can be used as such. It depends on the context, really. For instance, you will notice that whenever somebody has anything bad to say about Americans, they will inevitable use the term "gringo".

But it can be used affectionately, too. There was an American guy at my High School and his nickname quickly became "El Gringo". There was no ill-intent behind it, though. Everyone got along really well with him, even though didn't speak a lick of Spanish.
 
A

alfredofroylan

Member
Piston Hyundai said:
Reminds me of this.
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Oh boy trying to understand mexican surnames is interesting and hard. For example a "chino" is either any asian person or a person with curly hair, some "negros" are actually white, you can call your wife "vieja" wich translates to "old lady" oh and it's ok to said "wey" to your friends. (wich translates to bull)
 
B

Brakke

Banned
GYODX said:
I'm a native Spanish speaker.

It can be used as such. It depends on the context, really. For instance, you will notice that whenever somebody has anything bad to say about Americans, they will inevitable use the term "gringo".

But it can be used affectionately, too. There was an American guy at my High School and his nickname quickly became "El Gringo". There was no ill-intent behind it, though. Everyone got along really well with him, even though didn't speak a lick of Spanish.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's been used both ways toward me. In this way, it's unlike "spic" or "wetback" or whatever. Never heard "spic" used affectionately.
 
L

Lonely1

Unconfirmed Member
One of the factors of the word "Gringo" spread usage is that is not considered proper to use Americans, as it's believed that America refeers to the whole continent.
 
B

Boom Boom Pow

Banned
i actually find it offensive when a hispanic person calls me chino when I'm not Chinese.

Usually, when this happens, i would call them something else, like if they're non-Mexicans, i'll call them Mexicans.

if they're Mexicans, I'll call them Honduran.
 
V

Vulcano's assistant

Banned
To refer to Europeans? Never seen this before, to be honest. Gringo is American only as far as I know. .

edit: I imagine you are referring to a situation where someone from England, for instance, may feel offended by being called American?
 
C

Charles Foster Kane

Rosebud
I've never heard anyone here (Costa Rica) refer to Europeans as gringos. Ever.

Gringo is only used for Americans. Because we in Latin America don't call Estadounidenses "Americanos".
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Lonely1 said:
One of the factors of the word "Gringo" spread usage is that is not considered proper to use Americans, as it's believe that Americe refeers to the whole continent.
Click to expand...

Charles Foster Kane said:
Gringo is only used for Americans. Because we in Latin America don't call Estadounidenses "Americanos".
Click to expand...

Bravo to Mexico for drawing a line in the sand over this "USA citizen =/= American" issue. Us Canadians totally caved in on that point. lol
 
A

andrerobot

Member
In Chile we pretty much call gringo to every American.

What I don't understand is that there a lot of fellow chileans that use that term for british or even worse, german people. Stupid idiots.
 
H

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
It can be used negatively, but I don't think it's at a level of hate speech.

It can be used as a general form for "an American person" without ill will.

Boom Boom Pow said:
i actually find it offensive when a hispanic person calls me chino when I'm not Chinese.

Usually, when this happens, i would call them something else, like if they're non-Mexicans, i'll call them Mexicans.

if they're Mexicans, I'll call them Honduran.
Click to expand...
Do you have curly hair or are you Asian? If you're Asian, then yeah, they're just being ignorant because "Asian" is not a very common word. Otherwise, as mentioned, chino can also mean curly.
 
R

RM8

Member
In Mexico it's absolutely not. Actually, because of GAF I learned that it was kind of offensive in the US :x As I've said before, here it's used to say that something comes from the US, it's not even exclusive for people and it has no negative meaning behind it.
 
G

GYODX

Member
Boom Boom Pow said:
i actually find it offensive when a hispanic person calls me chino when I'm not Chinese.

Usually, when this happens, i would call them something else, like if they're non-Mexicans, i'll call them Mexicans.

if they're Mexicans, I'll call them Honduran.
Click to expand...
I always thought Latin Americans are really hypocritical like that. I can't tell you how many times I've heard Puerto Ricans whine about how Americans always assume they're Mexican, and use that as proof that "most Americans are racist", and yet see nothing wrong with calling anybody who looks remotely Asian "chino". It's frustrating just how common it is to hear shit like "hey did you see that funny Chinese guy in the Gangnam Style video?".
 
C

Charles Foster Kane

Rosebud
BPoole said:
It is meant to be buy I don't find any derogatory term for white people to be offending
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. I'm not saying that it can't be, but more often than not it's just how we refer to them.

We call them that or Estadounidenses. But gringo is quicker, so you can see how it can easily catch on. :p
 
F

Flynn

Member
Half Cuban, half American.

I always get called gringo in situations with family/when I am visiting family in P.R. and it makes me feel like I don't belong, like no matter how hard I try I will always be an outsider.
 
C

CountAntonius

Member
Flynn said:
Half Cuban, half American.

I always get called gringo in situations with family/when I am visiting family in P.R. and it makes me feel like I don't belong, like no matter how hard I try I will always be an outsider.
Click to expand...

Pretty much exactly what its intended use is as well.
 
E

EBE

Member
im mexican. growing up i never heard that word spoken with any sort of negative connotation attached to it. it was like guero. gringo just means american, guero is white guy, or light skinned guy, or whatever.
 
R

RM8

Member
EBE said:
im mexican. growing up i never heard that word spoken with any sort of negative connotation attached to it. it was like guero. gringo just means american, guero is white guy, or light skinned guy, or whatever.
Click to expand...
Exactly.

I'd advice not assuming you're being insulted if you come to Mexico and get called "gringo", lol. It's just informal for "American".
 
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