Malik Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 Hey all, As you can probably tell by the name i am from foreign descent. Well to be honest im Pakistani. I am in England studying whilst staying at relatives. I am in the town with a cousin and someone shouted Paki at me... i waved and shouted thank you .. big mistake ...... the person who shouted at me suddenly went mad .. swearing and calling .... my cousin was even worse calling them racists as well as swearing at them as well as me... VERY CONFUSED !! When i have been to different countries i am a Paki ( Short for Pakistan ) . The country before i came here was Australia , in the news it refers to the Pakistani cricket team as " The Pakis " Am i offended ? No , for a number of reasons In my language " Paki " means beautiful Pakistan or Pakistanis are not a race ... Negros, Caucasians, Latinos, Asians, Arabs.....these are races Surely for something to deemed "racist" has to be linked to the route word "race" Why apologise for using abbreviated words such as "Paki" for Pakistani? According to dictionaries online (in this case - the Merriam-Webster Dictionary).....racist is termed as..... - "Racial prejudice or discrimination" How is calling someone "beautiful" in their own language being prejudiced or discriminatory? It further confuses me when i hear other terms in the media as well as daily life such as Afghans, Ruskis, Serbs , Croats, Poles, Scots ... which are acceptable. I have come to my own conclusion that it is British Pakistanis which deem this offensive as well as governments ,media and people trying to look cool because they are diverse..... England has a lot going for it but sometimes she loves to shoot herself in the foot. A bit long winded i know. Just something i find weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 Think yourself lucky, you could have been a scouser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 England shoots itself in BOTH feet all the time. The white person makes decisions without finding out whether people are offended or not. Still, ity is not as bad as it was, because Political Correctness now rules the country where "Frre" speech is no longer allowed. And you left Australia to come here? You must be mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 I was dragged up around here am English and still trying to get rid of one or two prejudices which were imprinted on me from my upbringing and even I find it weird what the PC brigade find to label as offensive or racist. (I have worked at one time or another for/with people from just about every country/continent on the globe which has helped to get rid off a lot of my prejudice.) The big problem I suspect comes from the English/British attitude to learning a "foreign" language, which tends to be "if they are in our country they should speak our language and if we are in their country they should be able to understand us as there are so many in our country". As a result the sense of superiority over a person of different race needs to be bolstered by to what the PC brigade have branded as a "racist comment" regardless of what that comment may mean in the persons own language. Perhaps you could educate some of the louts by giving them the word for ugly in your language then you would know when you are being insulted. A very informative post by the way. Today I can say that I have learnt something new even if it is only what the Pakistani ?( here I will show my ignorance and ask what is your official language called?) word for beautiful is. (unless you are doing a bit off leg pulling that is) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 Nice one Malik, I've been pushing that common sense against the liberal luvvies on here for yonks! They use "racist" as a catch all, shout down; without any understanding of racial groupings or nationality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 Indeed, why "paki" is considered racist I will never know, like why describing someones skin colour as brown is "racist", while describing a negro as "black" is perfectly acceptable I must admit I darnt describe someone as "paki" (Pakistani) or "brown skined" for being branded a "racist", its newspeak at work! the idiot who shouted at you and your cousin probably wanted to offend you, but ofcourse you took it as a compliment, which is the best way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 An excellent post Malik and one that has certainly made me think. I'm not racist in the slightest but I have a bit of a dilema now.... In conversation recently my son referred to a young man at college as a 'Paki'. I went mad with him.. telling him that it was a word he should not use to speak about one of his fellow students and he thought I was going a bit over the top. You have made me think now and I question why, and indeed when, I suddenly got the idea that the word 'Paki' was offensive to people from Pakistan I think my problem with the word stems back to where I once worked about 20 years ago and there was a really nice young chap who was Pakistani in appearance. Sometimes people would call him a 'Paki' and it really upset him as his parents were born in England and so was he so he was 'English'. I don't know why it bothered him but maybe it was the nastiness of the people rather than the word at first but the two soon became associated. Is it just you who feels like this or does it not actually offend any people from your home country? Do you think it makes a difference depending on wether a person was actually born in Pakistan or elsewhere as to wether they feel offended. I think certain people like those I mentioned and the idiot you came across have used it so much in a derogatory way over time that people like me have concluded that it must now be offensive just as shouting 'fatso' to an overweight person is . As for your reaction well done but when you, me or anyone are dealing with idiots like him they will often go off on one as they have not got the reaction they wanted. I tend to refer to people like him as 'scum'... (that is not offensive when said about certain people )... although it is definately not something that should be shouted across the street or said face to face with people like him unless you want a thump. Don't be too hard on your cousin though as he/she was only sticking up for you.. not that you needed it of course but I know what you mean and sometimes it makes things even worse. Does 'Paki' really mean beautiful and if so what does 'stani' mean Sorry for my ramblings and questions but like I said you have got me thinking now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 And you left Australia to come here? You must be mad. From what I've read about Australia recently, they are even worse than us (and I don't mean me and you of course, just the rest of the bigoted peasants ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 At least there's a bit more room in Australia and they're getting a grip anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 Actually Obs, they aren't "getting a grip" thanks to their Labour politicians who, in the age old traditition of Labour politicians, live in a strange world divorced from reality. Carry on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fugtifino Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 "Context" is a good word to bear in mind here. I can give you a cast iron guarantee that, if things happened the way you say they did, then this pillock wasn't calling you "beautiful": it was meant as a racial insult. Good for you for turning the other cheek though. Like you, I'm a bit confused too. I can't make my mind up whether you're: a) incredibly naive deliberately disingenuous or c) trolling I could be wrong about any and all of these. I hope I am. On a completely unrelated note, anyone know what happened to former poster punjabiboy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 Yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fugtifino Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 Spill, dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 Sihk and yee shall find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 That's Sikh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 you found it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted May 19, 2011 Report Share Posted May 19, 2011 Pakistan in Urdu means land of the Pure Paki as a urdu word does not exist I think you been had Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted May 19, 2011 Report Share Posted May 19, 2011 Not to worry If we have been 'had' though I'm glad I didn't tell my son it was perfectly acceptable and somewhat of a complement to call Pakistani people that .... and even gladder (is that a word) that I didn't start calling them it either as I can't run as fast as he can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted May 19, 2011 Report Share Posted May 19, 2011 "Paki" is a shortened form of Pakistani, which is a NATIONALITY NOT a race. It may, in some cases be used with intent to offend, but is actually no more offensive than calling a British National - a "Brit" or indeed a "limey" or a "Tommy". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted May 19, 2011 Report Share Posted May 19, 2011 It was not me who said it meant beautiful, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 It was not me who said it meant beautiful, There is life after death!!! Welcome back, obs has missed you. Did you get incarcerated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 Ah 'Beautiful Bashing' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 "Paki" is a shortened form of Pakistani, which is a NATIONALITY NOT a race. It may, in some cases be used with intent to offend, but is actually no more offensive than calling a British National - a "Brit" or indeed a "limey" or a "Tommy". not your call Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 free speech? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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