Are 'Gook' and 'Limey' racial epithets?

[manifold]

It seems there is a fair amount of disagleement on this question, so I figured it was worth a poll.

Please vote and discuss.

 

[manifold]

I voted yes.

I acknowledge that at once upon a time, everyone on the planet was considered to be one of three 'races': Caucasoids, Negroids or Mongoloids. And as such, it could be argued that for anything to be considered 'racist' it had to target one of these three groups in their entirety. If this were still the case, I would have voted no, since limey refers specifically to the English (a subset of Caucasoids) and gook refers to Koreans (a subset of Mongoloids). However, in modern usage, the term race is essentially synonymous with ethnicity, and in fact, the dictionary definition has been updated to reflect the evolution of the word's usage:

2 a: a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock

That said, if someone wants to stick to old definitions, I can buy the argument that neither is 'technically' racist even though they are both quite ethnically bigotted. However, I don't believe there exists an honest and well reasoned argument that one is racist but the other is not. If you believe you have one, I'd love to hear it.

 

[driveby]

They are racial, but small potatoes, if you're overly offended be either term, your panties are a little too tight imo.......

 

[Peach]

They are racial, but small potatoes, if you're overly offended be either term, your panties are a little too tight imo.......

Gook yes, Limey, UNSURE. My father used the term Limeys which comes from UK sailors taking limes on ships to prevent scurvy.

 

[manifold]

They are racial, but small potatoes, if you're overly offended be either term, your panties are a little too tight imo.......

and then some

 

[Unkotare]

It seems there is a fair amount of disagleement on this question, so I figured it was worth a poll.

Please vote and discuss.

No there isn't, you're just being an obsessive little douche about it.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Brits were called Limeys because British sailors used to eat limes to fend off scurvy it had nothing to do with race

Online Etymology Dictionary

 

[driveby]

Why is Unkotare so offended, but Political Chic isn't?.......

 

[PoliticalChic]

It seems there is a fair amount of disagleement on this question, so I figured it was worth a poll.

Please vote and discuss.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me"


That goes for every single ethnic euphemism....


There is a political philosophy which proceeds to thump it's 'collective' chest to show it's...'.appreciation'?...for its chosen 'authentic' minorities by banning and protesting in shock when certain terms are uttered.

The use of certain vulgar terms is a subject for a different discussion.

 

[manifold]

It seems there is a fair amount of disagleement on this question, so I figured it was worth a poll.

Please vote and discuss.

No there isn't, you're just being an obsessive little douche about it.

In case you hadn't noticed, this isn't the flame zone.

If you have something to offer to the discussion, by all means offer away.

 

[Amelia]

I think gook is but limey isn't.

More importantly, even if some social scientist might say I'm technically wrong about what constitutes a racial epithet, I personally think that gook is simply more offensive because of the contexts in which I've heard it. The insults which anglos toss around at their different subsets generally carry less offensive undertones than those which they use for other ethnicities.

jmho

 

[manifold]

Brits were called Limeys because British sailors used to eat limes to fend off scurvy it had nothing to do with race

Online Etymology Dictionary

I don't see how that matters.

 

[manifold]

I think gook is but limey isn't.

More importantly, even if some social scientist might say I'm technically wrong about what constitutes a racial epithet, I personally think that gook is simply more offensive because of the contexts in which I've heard it. The insults which anglos toss around at their different subsets generally carry less offensive undertones than those which they use for other ethnicities.

jmho

Clearly you've never heard my old man use the terms 'limey' or 'guinea'.

 

[PoliticalChic]

I think gook is but limey isn't.

More importantly, even if some social scientist might say I'm technically wrong about what constitutes a racial epithet, I personally think that gook is simply more offensive because of the contexts in which I've heard it. The insults which anglos toss around at their different subsets generally carry less offensive undertones than those which they use for other ethnicities.

jmho

"I'm Korean, not Chinese, that makes me a Gook, not a chink." ...
Margaret Cho

 

[manifold]

I think gook is but limey isn't.

More importantly, even if some social scientist might say I'm technically wrong about what constitutes a racial epithet, I personally think that gook is simply more offensive because of the contexts in which I've heard it. The insults which anglos toss around at their different subsets generally carry less offensive undertones than those which they use for other ethnicities.

jmho

Furthermore, your explanation is lacking IMO. You seem to think that gook is a racial epithet but limey is not, simply because in your opinion gook is more offensive. The question isn't which is the more offensive epithet, but whether they are both indeed 'racial' epithets.

 

[FuelRod]

I think gook is but limey isn't.

More importantly, even if some social scientist might say I'm technically wrong about what constitutes a racial epithet, I personally think that gook is simply more offensive because of the contexts in which I've heard it. The insults which anglos toss around at their different subsets generally carry less offensive undertones than those which they use for other ethnicities.

jmho

"I'm Korean, not Chinese, that makes me a Gook, not a chink." ...
Margaret Cho

She also claims to be a very good driver.

 

[The Gadfly]

One's a racial slur, the other an ethnic slur; there's not a whole lot of difference, when it's used in a hateful or derogatory context. It's like the discussion we had a while back about "cracker" and "redneck"; it's all about context. Broadly, if it's said with the intent to insult, disparage, degrade, or hurt someone, then it's a slur.

 

[manifold]

One's a racial slur, the other an ethnic slur; there's not a whole lot of difference, when it's used in a hateful or derogatory context. It's like the discussion we had a while back about "cracker" and "redneck"; it's all about context. Broadly, if it's said with the intent to insult, disparage, degrade, or hurt someone, then it's a slur.

How so? Gook applies to Koreans and limey to the English. How can one of those be a race while the other is not?

 

[PoliticalChic]

I think gook is but limey isn't.

More importantly, even if some social scientist might say I'm technically wrong about what constitutes a racial epithet, I personally think that gook is simply more offensive because of the contexts in which I've heard it. The insults which anglos toss around at their different subsets generally carry less offensive undertones than those which they use for other ethnicities.

jmho

"I'm Korean, not Chinese, that makes me a Gook, not a chink." ...
Margaret Cho

She also claims to be a very good driver.

No ticket for DWA?

 

[PoliticalChic]

One's a racial slur, the other an ethnic slur; there's not a whole lot of difference, when it's used in a hateful or derogatory context. It's like the discussion we had a while back about "cracker" and "redneck"; it's all about context. Broadly, if it's said with the intent to insult, disparage, degrade, or hurt someone, then it's a slur.

Ya' know, once you have to imagine that you can read the mind of the one using the term, you're on thin ice...
....like 'hate crimes.'

An amenable individual will try not to consciously hurt another's feeling...but if it happens, it's hardly cause for life-long enmity.
The correct response is to specify one's feelings at the time.

Of course, the use is compulsory on the USMB.