"Paki" as a derogatory term

Hangout GupShup Cafe
1

Ok so in another thread i realized some didnt know how derogatory this is . Some said the word itself means “paak” and there is nothing wrong with it. Some said, its only considered derogatory in the UK etc etc ..

I want to shed some insight to it, walking on the road some racists raise their middle finger and call us Paki! its as derogatory as someone calling a black the “n” word! Sometimes , words get associated with wrong meaning, no matter what the word itself means ..

For example , Stupid , means , unintelligent, brainless etc .. its not even a gali of the medium order, just a word, but can you say this to anyone in any social setting? nope you cant. coz its considered a gali.

If a word is considered a gali, in any country, we should refrain from it , as we dont want to come across as ignorant.

Last week a friends friend got fired from work . Guess what the reason was! yup he joked but didnt know how bad it was ! he used the word “knob” quite innocently ! The word knob in the dictionary means a button for controlling a machine. But in british slang it got quite a vulgar meaning ..

So I am of the opinion that we should remain careful with the use of such words …What do you guys think?

2

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

I find it amazing when Pakistanis using ‘‘Paki’’ too, I find it extremely offensive as I find any word with racism attached to it.

3

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

I think in most cases they dont know the meaning of it maybe?

4

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

Yeah, it’s considered offensive here but not in some other countries..

On the flip side of the coin ‘black’ isn’t considered an offensive term in the UK but obviously is in many other places..

5

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

I think they know but see it as ok when they themselves are using it.. Like black people using the ‘n’ word..

6

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

It was through GS that i learnt that “paki” is an offensive word for folks from the UK.

Grew up using it in Australia and it did not carry the negative connotation it does in the UK… to us, its like calling an Australian “Aussie”.

7

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

I thought it was an abbreviation of the word Pakistani and used it often until in 2011 a guppy told me its derogatory.

8

It’s not a derogatory term elsewhere. In the same thread, I also mentioned that on GS, we have couple of hundred nicks with the word paki in it. It’s like the word Gay. In many parts of the world, until recently, the word was still used for happiness. Now homosexuality has hijacked that term.

9

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

First of all, thanks CB, for bringing it as a thread. I myself, was planning to discuss it here today and saw you opened it up already.

Yes, it was no other than me who didn’t know about it and discovered until waleed pointed it out and TLK cleared it… so… my feelings are quite like… :sid: :bummer: & :cb:

anyways, of course I will refrain from using this word !!

10

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

No deeba, I didn’t have a single clue about it.

11

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

exactly!!

12

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

queen_24: for black people in UK, you can use the words Habshi or Makrani or Syah Faam. No one will understand it and consider it a slur not even McPendo

13

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

I didn’t mean you, queen_24.. I meant British Pakistanis..

I think a lot of people outside the UK wouldn’t have a clue about it being offensive..

14

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

Russell Peters grew up in Brampton Canada and was called Paki quite often. And that was way back in the early 80s. So it’s not just a UK thing, yeah?

15

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

i the 70’s of Canada, it ws used as a derogatory word towards both Indian and Pakistanis. it was more prevalent in Toronto . a few sardarjees took retalitory action and beat up those calling them “Pakis”. then, by 80’s, these racial slurs completely stopped. now, since 2000 when i came to Canada, i haven’t heard this slur EVER!

thank God it’s all over!

16

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

:hehe:

oh.. ok :slight_smile:

17

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

It is a deogatory term

I will get offend if someone says me Paki

Just like if we say the “n” word to a black guy

18

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

well then, thanks Waleed for pointing me out :hehe:

19

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

I learned “Paki” was a slur from watching Bend it Like Beckham :slight_smile:

20

Re: “Paki” as a derogatory term

Exactly what I was going to say. It doesn’t have ANY negative connotation in the US, unless it gets adapted from the UK.