May i ask a question?

Nfk - I'm sorry but I really don't think silly is an appropriate word to use about this evil system - which was supported by large swathes of the Conservative party, the British establishment and Thatcher

Ana, it would be an insult because it would be a denial of what is true would it not? Surely a person with black or very dark skin is just that, little point and rather silly to proclaim ' I am white if one is not white, just as silly as proclaiming i am black if one has white skin, so different is one is speaking of one's nationality, a friend of mine had a father who was white and from Holland, his mother was black and born in the UK, he is black because his skin is not white, he is British because he was born in the UK, it!s not a case of choice , one is the colour of the skin one is born with

Riverwalk. I agree with you. Where have these people been? A friend of mine who is in her 60s has just been hauled over the coals at work for using an old fashioned expression to describe gay people. She was shocked. I thought the same 'where have you been exactly?'

It's a minefield and I think it's best to never use slang nationalistic/ethnic expression. While one say, Irish person would be proud to be thought of as Paddy the next may find it offensive. In South Africa there are Whites, Blacks and Coloureds and during apartheid thre was apparently an official colour chart to decide which category a person was. This could divide families. How silly was that!

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

Of course it has been offensive for a long time. It may be used in all kinds of ways by all kinds of people but nevertheless phrases like "pakis go home" have been stock in trade of the out and out racist brigade for decades, hence the sensitivity around the word.
Anyone who drops it into a thread on a public forum is being either insensitive or provocative. I won't buy "naive" as an option.

I despair!

The word 'Paki' has been considered an offensive racist term for at least the past 30 years.

For those that don't know that - where have you been?

But don't the Indians dislike the Pakistanis so wouldn't it make sense there to use such a term in the same way as we had derogatory names for the Germans in WWII or the French in the Napoleonic Wars.

Surely it's not the same as using it here.

DH has travelled all over India and the term is used all the time.
Geordie comes from George Stephenson and his safety lamp "Geordie lamp" used in coal mines

I apologise Movedalot if I misunderstood your post.

It may not have been noticed/reported straight away.

BerylBee sometime what you've described happens here. In this case I can only assume that the offensive word was used in the OP so there'd be no point leaving just the replies.

I'm fairly new to the site.
Is this what happens when the Mods agreed that a post is offensive ?
By which I mean the whole thread is deleted, not just the actual post.
On other social forum sites I frequent, a whole thread would only be deleted if the discussion really turned nasty with a series of emotional name calling posts. And even then the thread header would be left with one post from the Mods explaining why it had been deleted.
PS I didn't see the thread so can't comment on the content.

Vampire if that was a response to me you have misunderstood. She makes observations that is all, they are based upon what she has seen and read. She is probably the kindest person I have ever met.

No she isn't allowed to say detrimental things about other people no matter who they are. She may not like a particular person but she can't generalise that into an entire nation or community.

I think it is common courtesy to treat people respectfully.

Using a term that is associated with denigrating a person's race, appearance, ability & deliberately belittling their faith/belief etc is simply rude. There is no need for rudeness.

It is sometimes difficult to know what is offensive and to whom. My DS's mixed race fiancée uses the word 'coloured' but I understood it was not PC. I won't go into some of the things she says about people who come here from the Caribbean, she is from Trinidad so perhaps she is allowed to say things we wouldn't dream of saying.

It is not up to me to judge but I have to admit to being offended by the use of blasphemy. I am so sorry to heap coals on this particular fire.

Nitty gritty means the quintessential. Its precise derivation is not known. The first record of its use is somewhere in the twentieth century but some group decided it derived from the detritus left in slave ships and had been transposed to mean the slaves themselves. That explanation is completely erroneous.

Please someone explain 'nitty gritty to me?

Iam64 That old chestnut about nitty gritty deriving from the era of slave trade is complete rubbish, not least because there is no record of the expression before the twentieth century.

My father was so racist I wasn't supposed to speak to anyone named Campbell! Now I don't know a more multi-racial family than ours!

I suppose if the word was used in the OP it would be a bit pointless to just leave the replies....

i think that makes a huge difference..if the abused ( racism is a form of abuse) takes control of the abusive language.

For example when black or Jewish comedians joke abut various sterotypes about colour/ religion then that is OK..They have the power/control of the situation. If similar sterotypical/racist terms are used by non Black/non Jews to belittle or denigrate either thoughtlessly or with thought then it is racist..the balance of power is wrong.

Racism is all about power.

Good question thatbags usually it is just the one post.