Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

It was not PERSONAL, and no one saw fit to report it... I didnt take offence at it, although I did observe that no good would come of it. Somehow I suspect if the mods had dissapeared it then there would have been far more wringing of hands anyway. Damned if we do , damned if we dont.

Anyway, there has been more than enough discussion of moderation on this thread, if you lot want to defend yourselves from the scurrilous accusations against you go ahead, but leave us mods out of it now.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Im inclined to agree, and there have been complaints, so thats why its gone...

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Nothing wrong with it if an Australian says it because in Australia it always has just been a shortening....like we shorten all words....but in the UK the term Paki has been hijacked and taken on a much more sinister race based tone with a lot of British...so is best avoided there IMO....but then I'm not British so you lot may know more about it...

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

IMO it should be avoided in Canada also. Regardless of its origins, it is now a racist word almost in the same realm as the N word. Non Pakistanis use it as a word used to denigrate and has no place in the lexicon of an educated society.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Interestingly, i personally hear the term used much more frequently from non white British people.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

I don't totally agree....Britain uses the word in that fashion but the UK does not have the cultural influence the USA does through movies so I think it is unfair to say all educated societies should stop using it as they do not think of it in that way....it has not become a world wide meaning.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

I guess they can be racist too...or maybe using it in its more benign way...I'm sure it would be a case by case basis....personally I mainly met white people in the UK and heard it "spat out" from plenty of them, though by no means the majority as the majority of people were decent like anywhere.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

I agree. In this instance, it's all about the context.

I do agree with Auld Yin about the N word in such that it is derogatory in any context, even when it is being self imposed, in my opinion.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

You will see the word Aussie, Brit, Yank or Canuck quoted freely in the news media in North America and the UK, but I doubt you'll see the word Paki unless quoted in the context of a racist activity report.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

So is saying Paki rather than Pakistani racist in the US and/or Canada then? Can any locals comment? Or do they just not shorten the word like we do as it is not such a widely excepted shortening as the other examples?

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Yes.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

If you're British you don't count as you're tainted ;)

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Yes, it is racist in NA. Try calling a Pakistani "Paki" and see if you're still on your feet 2 seconds later. Black people use the N word freely when discussing/speaking to each other but will normally not countenance a caucasion doing so. I suggest the same applies to Pakistanis.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

There is a huge debate going on in Canada at the moment as to whether its National Anthem is sexist. I have to admit that it is great living in a country that is so devoid of any real issues that issues such as this one are mentioned in the throne speech:thumbsup:

You will find Canada way more PC than the UK.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

I dont think its as clear cut as that, at a government level, both national and local I think both countries have a certain level of PC ness, I suppose its to be expected due to the multicultural nature of both nations now.

In the major cities its probably a toss up, but Canada has a lot of small towns where PC just doesnt happen much, perhaps because old habits die hard and the non caucation population is still relatively low. In the UK its probably harder to get far enough away from some of the PC influences.

But as usual generalisations about the UK or in particular Canada are hard to apply.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

I would assume many people do, behind closed doors.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

thats fair enough, i just felt the initial comment from yourself regarding personal attack and generally insulting was worthy of further discussion in the open forum as it does affect us all after all.
i understand the deletion, i simply felt it was in the tone of the thread and the word used as mild as the general insults from the o/p, who is conspicuous by his absence i note. anyway i think i have kicked the proverbial out of this one.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

fair point, i think best left there though, i have no reason to fall out with iain who i genuinely have no issue with.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Yeah I agree with you, Paki was used in a racist way, a nasty way in England.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

I work in Bradford, back in UK, so not a white only area and have on rare occasions heard teenage boys using it about each other. Even out of that type of town though it would be seen as racist to use that term. It has been used as a term of abuse as long as I remember, so at least one generation if not more.
Claiming to be an abbreviation would not be a defence in any circumstance I can think of.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

sowwy:(

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Political correctness, like many other practices here, is very polarized. With the occasional small iffy remark, I have deeply offended people, whereas I have met others who make some really bigoted remarks.

I think in the UK the issue people have isn't so much political correctness in the population but it's effect on local government to the point of absurdity.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

There are real issues in Canada, but Canadians would rather not deal with them. So we debate a single syllable word in the anthem.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Can anybody explain this to me - agree that mobile phone service is expensive here bla blah blah....but how come they can give unlimited free calls after 7 pm to 6 am next day (or 6 for some)........if they can do this then it proves that they can surely balance the cost reasonably so we pay a decent price .......if the service is so expensive that they make us pay so much during daytime usage then how come it becomes FREE after 7 pm. This just doesnt make sense.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Yeah, but you must agree that having the word ***t in your national anthem wasn't the greatest of ideas was it. Someone was bound to pick up on it eventually.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

what happened?:confused:

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Hell yeah!!

Prelim ladies games started at about $75 but mens final tix started at about $750 on Vanoc site in the intial rounds of tickey issue.

Yup - cheeky lil minx - and achieved well!

ps - Luddite: The term "Luddite fallacy" has become a concept in neoclassical economics reflecting the belief that labour-saving technologies (i.e., technologies that increase output-per-worker) increase unemployment by reducing demand for labour. This argument may be decried fallacious if—instead of seeking to keep production constant by employing a smaller, more productive workforce—employers increase production while keeping workforce size constant. - I googled it :)

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

The Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the nineteenth century who protested—often by destroying mechanized looms—against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their entire way of life.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Well, they were right weren't they?

History is always written by the victors and all that.

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

So in idiot terms "Luddite" when reffered to in modern terms strictly speaking means someone whos a bit p*****d off at losing out to modern technology, and therefore revolts against it to put things back to the way they were.

Not too appropriate for an internet forum (which can also be likened to Facebook or such,) that has taken over the need to converse face to face.

Should we do the done thing and instead of burning bras burn our laptops and all arrange to meet in a central point to discuss things like in the good old days :confused: ;)

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

er... thanks..

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Fascinating insight. Who was their leader again?

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

....Wasn't it Laura Ashley?

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Very possibly. Is she related to Mike?

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Arthur Scargill? :sneaky:

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Ned Ludd

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

The absence of emoticons is confusing.

Can you possibly think we didn't know that?

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

I tried to explain to my Canadian boss that "paki" is an offensive term in Britain and I think he thought I was mental..... His response was "so, what should they be called?", he had a point I guess, I didn't have an answer to that...

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

Why don't you ask them. :confused:

Re: what's wrong with you lot?
 

:eek: - I think that sentance is more offensive than the word Paki?

Really infuriates me because its such a widespread term to refer to people of Indian origin IMO. Also IIRC calling an Indian a Paki is offensive for one part because they are from India not Pakistan.

Now, I can understand what your boss is saying, and referring to "them" in that manner is derogatory. How about telling him to learn who "they" are, where "they" are from and refer to "them" in the correct term.