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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
Try calling a Scot a Mick and he'll rip your fuck'n head off.
Nationality and race are two different things.
Perhaps, except for the fact that in modern parlance the two are used almost synonymously.
Unkotare, would you consider it racist if we referred to you as Victor Charlie? Or even Charlie?
The dictionary definition I posted conflicts with your opinion.
Definitions change etymology doesn't.
You mean like the etymology of gook and that it refers specifically to Korean nationals and not all Asians?
Definitions change etymology doesn't.
You mean like the etymology of gook and that it refers specifically to Korean nationals and not all Asians?
The reality is that the term was later applied to Vietnamese people and today is used generally as a slur directed at anyone of Asian descent. The same cannot be said of 'Limey.' No one calls French or German people 'Limeys.'
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
This has been explained to them time and time again. You could explain that a black person who happens to be British could be called a 'Limey' (as archaic as it would sound) but a black person who happened to have say, Korean citizenship would never be called a 'gook.' They don't really care, because what they are really after is an excuse to 'play' at being racists while coyly claiming just the opposite.
In other words, they are fucking idiots.
You mean like the etymology of gook and that it refers specifically to Korean nationals and not all Asians?
The reality is that the term was later applied to Vietnamese people and today is used generally as a slur directed at anyone of Asian descent. The same cannot be said of 'Limey.' No one calls French or German people 'Limeys.'
So your argument rests on applying the common usage of the term 'gook' and ignoring it's etymology, while applying the etymology of the term 'race' and ignoring it's common usage.
Seems conveniently inconsistent to me.
The reality is that the term was later applied to Vietnamese people and today is used generally as a slur directed at anyone of Asian descent. The same cannot be said of 'Limey.' No one calls French or German people 'Limeys.'
So your argument rests on applying the common usage of the term 'gook' and ignoring it's etymology, while applying the etymology of the term 'race' and ignoring it's common usage.
Seems conveniently inconsistent to me.
Not ignoring its etymology at all. The two are not mutually exclusive. YOU happen to be mistaken in what you believe to be the common usage of the word "race." YOUR misapplication of the term does not equate to "common usage," whereas the actual use of the slur 'gook' is precisely as I laid out.
You seem to think you've found a 'loophole' or something that can justify your use of a racial slur, but it's not working for you at all. Your motivation in even wanting to is most telling of your lack of character.
It seems there is a fair amount of disagleement on this question, so I figured it was worth a poll.
Please vote and discuss.
So your argument rests on applying the common usage of the term 'gook' and ignoring it's etymology, while applying the etymology of the term 'race' and ignoring it's common usage.
Seems conveniently inconsistent to me.
Not ignoring its etymology at all. The two are not mutually exclusive. YOU happen to be mistaken in what you believe to be the common usage of the word "race." YOUR misapplication of the term does not equate to "common usage," whereas the actual use of the slur 'gook' is precisely as I laid out.
You seem to think you've found a 'loophole' or something that can justify your use of a racial slur, but it's not working for you at all. Your motivation in even wanting to is most telling of your lack of character.
The dictionary is on my side. The moment you learned that you've done nothing but dance around it and post poorly crafted ad hominems. Contrary to popular myth, it's no necessarily a sign of weakness to admit when you're wrong. But if you can't admit it, at least have the good sense to keep your trap shut. Or don't.
Not ignoring its etymology at all. The two are not mutually exclusive. YOU happen to be mistaken in what you believe to be the common usage of the word "race." YOUR misapplication of the term does not equate to "common usage," whereas the actual use of the slur 'gook' is precisely as I laid out.
You seem to think you've found a 'loophole' or something that can justify your use of a racial slur, but it's not working for you at all. Your motivation in even wanting to is most telling of your lack of character.
The dictionary is on my side. The moment you learned that you've done nothing but dance around it and post poorly crafted ad hominems. Contrary to popular myth, it's no necessarily a sign of weakness to admit when you're wrong. But if you can't admit it, at least have the good sense to keep your trap shut. Or don't.
Speaking of "dancing around," I notice you do not address my points at all. You are like a dim-witted child who thinks he has 'discovered' some special 'permission' to act like a racist shit just because you read the second or third listed item in one dictionary entry. "The moment you learned that"? LOL. Maybe dictionaries are a new discovery for YOU... Makes you look stupid AND tellingly eager to engage in racist rhetoric.
I heard many from my father, including "frogs"; he called spaghetti "wop slop". He had a salty tongue at terms but mainly explained what words meant when I pestered him with "EXPLAIN THIS TO ME, I heard/read it". My mother was not to be disturbed in such matters though one of his nicknames for her was "the gray ghost of the Korean coast". I learned from him this was a US ship in the Korean war. Any insights as to the USS Begor?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.
I used the term with a student from GB in college; I knew him well. I would NOT ask someone I just met with a British accent "Are you a limey"?Gook, yes. Limey, meh, depends on how sensitive the Brit is... Limey was certainly used as a pejorative way back when, but I am of the opinion that it has pretty much lost its sting...
When it was understood that sucking lime juice prevented scurvy, it was a compliment. "The limeys know the seas"Gook, yes. Limey, meh, depends on how sensitive the Brit is... Limey was certainly used as a pejorative way back when, but I am of the opinion that it has pretty much lost its sting...
