Why are some words racist?

[Jedamethis]

I can understand kind of understand '******', but other words, like say, Paccy (Just the first thing that popped into my head) It's a natural shortening of Pakistani. You wouldn't be offended if you were called Samuel and someone called you Sam would you?. It's just as racist if you say 'Filthy *****' as 'Filthy chinese person'
Why do people get so upset over it?

 

[Radeonx]

Because people used them to negatively target races a long time ago, and, they stuck.

 

[WrongSprite]

Because people have used it in an offensive manner. That is all.

 

[AboveUp]

In the past people have used them in an offensive manner, so instead of blaming the people that did it, they blame the word.
Making all that use it "racist", whether it was actually meant offensively or not.

It's much easier to blame a word for the damage that people do than to actually look at the people themselves.

**EDIT** Wait, why am I quoting Wrongsprite?
Sorry about that.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

Yes, but angry racist British people use the word Paki(how it's really spelled) as a slur for ANY person from the middle-east or India... mostly people from the Indian subcontinent.

Some people think that words are simply words. They're wrong... Words have immense power, whether or not you realize it. Sure, you can't kill someone with a word... But with your words, used often enough... you can cause someone to kill themselves.

However, certain words only affect you if you let them, racial slurs included. As my father says: "It's all mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

 

[Grand_Pamplemousse]

Because it is a shortening of an offensive phrase.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

Because it is a shortening of an offensive phrase.

Pakistani and Chinese are offensive words to you? You sir are an ultra racist!

 

[avelmen1889]

because people are dumb

 

[Spacelord]

Context and association.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

There really is no such thing as a swear word or a racist term. It's just the way we annunciate it or pronounce it. And usually in a very derisive tone. That's what makes them an obscenity.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

George Carlin once summed this up in much better words than I could. Oh, and remember, these are his words not mine, so don't be offended:

Spoiler: uses the N word a few times

"For instance, you take the word ?******.? There is absolutely nothing wrong with the word ?******? in and of itself. It?s the racist asshole who?s using it that you ought to be concerned about. We don?t mind when Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy say it. Why? Because we know they?re not racist. They?re niggers! Context. Context. We don?t mind their context because we know they?re Black."

 

[Dyp100]

They grown into what they were used as.

Humans have a way of resigning meanings so other words, and then it spreads and the hate generally rises in the community because of the combine power of the word to each person.

 

[AboveUp]

Some people think that words are simply words. They're wrong... Words have immense power, whether or not you realize it. Sure, you can't kill someone with a word... But with your words, used often enough... you can cause someone to kill themselves.

Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can break hearts.

 

[AboveUp]

I wonder how long it takes before this thread gets locked.

I don't see any immature posts yet, so I don't think it will any time soon.

Also, that's a terrible post to make. Stating your question of when the thread is going to be locked is nearly as bad as posting "report and move on".

 

[Grand_Pamplemousse]

Because it is a shortening of an offensive phrase.

Pakistani and Chinese are offensive words to you? You sir are an ultra racist!

Heh,

I can see how that can be misconstrued

What I meant was that "Filthy Pakinstani" or "Dirty little Chinese man" are pretty much just words like Paki and *****, the words paki and ***** are the shortenings of these words.

 

[murlo360]

i never use theses words any way so nothing to worry about

 

[Russian_Assassin]

Words are not racist, people who interpret them as racist are. As for words like Paki or *****, they are meant to be used in an offensive way. So it's like asking why does a freezer freeze things.

 

[Nu-Hir]

Like George Carlin says, it's not really the words themselves that are bad, it's the asshole using the words that is racist. Like in Blazing Saddles, was the sheriff a racist when he called himself the n word? No. Were the people in the village racists for calling him it? Yes. It's all about the context of the word, not the word itself.

 

[bjj hero]

Words become offensive when racists use them for years and years to stigmatise, insult, put down and dehumanise a particular race.

You can blame years and years of racist white Brits for making the word Paki a racial slur.

 

[traceur_]

Because people want them to be, that's it.