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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Yes.

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

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.

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

You will find Canada way more PC than the UK.

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.

I would assume many people do, behind closed doors.

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.

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

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

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.