Opinions about the word 'chink'

[kwonsang26]

Originally Posted by Cai_Niao

Hmmm... i hate to use these kind of words, but many chinese ppl are now referred to as "chinks" its not nearly as offensive as it used to be but i find it awkward being called one....
Chink was once a very racsist term to make fun of chinese people, like the word (excuse me for this) 'nigger', referring to ppl of african american background. now 'that' N word is used widely by ppl referring to themselves and friends. Its lost all offensive meaning. the word 'queer' was once a very offensive term used by straight people referring to homosexuals. Now many homosexuals call them selves queer ie. the hit TV show "Queer eye for the straight guy"... The word queer has lost its profanity and offensive-ness. Now to my point, has the word "Chink" lost all offensiveness aswell? I hear some of my friends referring to themselves as 'chink' and theres always lee hom's copyrighted saying "Chinked out"... is this the next 'nigger, (Sorry), and queer?
(I hope i haven't offended anyone)

Well the "N' word is the nickname for your homies if your black.But let another nationality come in & say it.You'll get a bullet so deep in you that your next generation will feel it.

Same thing with homosexuals.I believe today "fag" is the offensive word.They can say it to eachother,but let a straight guy say it & he'll get a make over so fast that his son will be gay.My best cousin & friend is gay & I always have to defend him also.Love you James.

Now with chink.It still has power & as an asian american.It still offends me.Because it's not just directed at Chinese people,but at all asian people.Many people who are not asian claim that we all look alike anyways.When another nationality says chink,they're trying to degrade the whole asian race in my opinion.

[hk-kc-jc]

im not trying to sound racist now but why does the term 'nigger' get referred to as the 'n' word or 'n****r*' as if its like forbidden to say but the word 'chink' is not like the 'c' word or something.. they r both as offensive as each other in my opinion so why not? and same for the word 'jap' as well (which i only found out was a racist term a few days ago)

i hate hearing these words being used, people should start to respect others' races and call them by their ethnicity group name.. i.e. chinese, indian, asian or whatever.. or just dont say anything at all!

ohhh and 'paki' is just as bad! uhhhhh.. i hate all form of racism! ¬¬

and everytime i hear the word chink.. i have this feeling this image in my head that they are alsoo mimicking the slitty eyes or doing some kung-fu moves and making bruce lee noises or something along those lines.. which really annoys me bad!

i hate it even more when chinese people refer to themselves as chinks.. i dont know why but maybe because ive been brought up to think that chink is a racist term and shouldnt be used by chinese people because that would be being racist to themselves which doesnt make sense.. ><

[hobielover]

I had never heard the word before until I started listening to LeeHom, and even then I didn't know what it was until I saw an interview. I thought it meant something else...but then again, I'm not Asian. I wouldn't use anything that can be taken as a racist slur, really.

I've never heard of any real equivalent for white people, probably because I'm from the US and most people here are white (or "Caucasian," which we don't generally call ourselves). I really can't relate, though I feel that a lot of people have this stereotype of ignorant white people because our media is stupid. (BTW, my family's been in the US for generations. I am such a mix of different nationalities that I don't really look like I'm from any particular place, so nationality isn't a matter for me, either, and won't be unless I leave the country. It's obvious I'm American.) Maybe if I leave the country someday, I'll have to worry more about discrimination and slurs.

[orangeman]

For white people, I've only heard cracker. Maybe gringo and guido but I see it usually used in a joking manner. Honky was used on SNL. Foreign countries use Yankee. Not sure if that offends anyone when used in normal conversation.

"Nigger" is a troublesome word in America because of the history of blacks and whites. Other terms would be "spook" or "porch monkey". Heck, if you say black, some people find it offensive.

There's way worse things than "paki". Anyone that comes from the Middle East is usually either "Arab" or "terrorist". "Raghead" isn't as common in my area, but it's used.

More examples:
Dune coon
Hajji/Haji (military term for enemy combatant, otherwise it's just someone who completes the journey to Mecca)
Sand nigger
Towel Head (similar to raghead)
Camel Jockey

"Gook" is a derogatory term for a Korean. Some take it as a joke, but others don't.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs

[jay_chou_fan]

yes i think its kind of offensive but only my friends say that. i live in a peaceful neighborhood(i think) and there's all kinds of races here. so we don't make fun of each other

[hobielover]

Originally Posted by orangeman

For white people, I've only heard cracker. Maybe gringo and guido but I see it usually used in a joking manner. Honky was used on SNL. Foreign countries use Yankee. Not sure if that offends anyone when used in normal conversation.

No one uses "cracker" in my area, though we used it as the name for an albino snake in one of my high school science classes, and we use "Yankee" in different ways in the southern part of the US. We only use it to refer to Northerners, but it could only ever refer to Americans. I've never heard of "Honky."

"Gringo" only ever refers to white people from the US. My friends call me "gringa," but only jokingly, of course, since I speak Spanish fluently and some Spanish-speakers think I'm a native speaker, not American. I don't really find it offensive, just funny, and most of the people I know use that Mexican-American War story to explain where it comes from.

[orangeman]

Cracker is probably outdated. Might've held more relevance 100 years ago.

Honkey might've only been a '70s term, and really only targets a small group of white-skinned people (Hungarians in Chicago). In retaliation for the word nigger, honkey was coined by the Black Panthers and some other groups. Not exactly derogatory, because few are offended by the word.

[alisadorsey@yahoo.co]

I thought this forum was about the word " Chink"? It has totally got off subject matter.

Any negative name given to anyone that is not a persons given name from their parents or ralatives, is just plain prejudice. There is nothing funny about it. So the word Chink is not acceptable in any shape or form, whether it is from someone Asian or other. It still does not make it right, nor will it ever be acceptable.

[Qinghe]

The word chink itself sounds kinda cute. Yet, I wouldn't be offended by being called one if it wasn't meant to be offensive. If it was, then I'd secretly get mad and walk away. I guess it depends on the context.

[hk-kc-jc]

^yh.. you're right.. depends what context it's used in that makes it seem offensive or make it seem alright

im not that much offended by it anymore.. i used to be SOOOOO against it but now i just think it's growing into an everyday term.. well not everyday but like a normal word..