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A statement from St James's Palace, with regards the term "Paki" said: "Prince Harry fully understands how offensive this term can be, and is extremely sorry for any offence his words might cause.Uh, is this not just a shorthand term for Pakistani? How does the omission of two syllables change this from a description of someone's nationality to a racist epithet? What am I missing here? If Harry could call someone from Scotland a Scot without giving offense, what's the deal with calling some from Pakistani a "Paki"?
Perhaps it would not have been so offensive if, instead of specifying the other person's nationality, Harry had just used the generic term "wog"? My God, Winston Churchill would never survive in modern England.
UPDATE: Commenters at Ann Althouse discuss Prince Harry as a "royal Kowalski" (Clint Eastwood's character in Gran Torino, a movie whose subject, I assume, is a mediocre Ford muscle car from the early '70s). Perry de Havilland quips: "Who would have thought it? Prince Harry is just a normal bloke in spite of the weird circumstances of his upbringing."
UPDATE II: I am mystified that none of my moron friends at Ace of Spades HQ has weighed in on PakiGate. Probably too busy beating up hobos and hatin' on Scandis, I suppose.
Oh come on, now you''re just being obtuse. There's no way an American would use the word "Jap" to describe a Japanese, or "Chink" for Chinese. That "Paki" has evolved into a racial slur is a function of UK cultural attitudes and biases, and has nothing to do with the logic of language.
ReplyDeleteChanging the syllables makes it an epithet in the same way that removing an 'a' and adding a 'k' makes "chink" an epithet; ie, the process by which is becomes a slur is irrelevant; "Paki" has long been a British derogatory term for a person of Pakistani descent.
ReplyDelete"Paki" is traditionally derogatory in Britain. It's something like saying "Nigger". Maybe not as bad, but close. So, yes, it is rude. He probably shouldn't call an Irish colleague a Paddy either.
ReplyDeleteAll around the world, "Paki" is used a derogatory term for Pakistanis ... your Asian friend will give you a list ... chalk it up as the one thing you learned today.
ReplyDeleteSo, you're an idiot?
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Paki
News to me too, but it apparently is a much more offensive term in the UK and Canada than in the States, because of previous derogatory use during Britain's late colonial phase. So it wouldn't cause any uproar here, but certainly causes it there.
ReplyDeleteActually that was a bad example as the Scots tribe have been around since well before England got that name from the Angles. Scotland is called after the Scots.
ReplyDeleteHow about Afghan? Should they be call Afghanistanis? And is Afghan a racial slur? I think not. And anyway http://www.paki.com/ which is a Paki site, sees no problem with the term and rejoice in being Pakistanis, or Pakis.
Hey foolonthehill,
ReplyDeletethere's a magazine called Hebe.Apparently they see no problem with the term either.
Wouldn't it be great if Joe the Plumber refered to the Israeli forces as Hebes? Why not, right?
That's the thing about Conservatives( assuming you are a Con)...you try to employ your logic, flawed as it is, to mollify your prejudices.
Douche....
Evidently if you use slang long enough it either becomes an acceptable phrase or a derogatory slur.
ReplyDeleteThere appears to be a case of hypersensitivity spreading across the world. How is Paki different from Aussie - I certainly would not be offended as an Australian.
ReplyDeleteMore relevantly, why not ask Harry's mate to whom the comment was directed as to whether he was offended.
Problem is that "paki" is not used just to refer to someone from Pakistan, but effectively anyone from South Asia and the Middle East, anyone in fact not black and not white. My brother-in-law who is from Gibraltar was called Paki by his neighbours when living in the UK. People of Indian extraction are called Paki. That's like calling someone from Korea a Jap. Of course they're racist terms, because they are used in a racist manner.
ReplyDeleteGod forbid that someone writing a blog might do some incredibly basic research before spouting off on a subject they clearly know nothing about. Christ almighty.
ReplyDeleteWhere it started
ReplyDeleteThe abbreviation Paki acquired offensive connotations in the 1960s when used by British tabloids to refer to subjects of former colony states in a derogatory and racist manner.
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After hearing about such a ridiculous claim about Harry being racist and forcing him to apologise, I would like to make the same claim to being called a BRIT a LIMEY and a POM
Why should I be subject to an abbreviation of what I am?
I have never had any racists feelings whatsoever and I have PAKI friends who do not worry about having their race abbreviated. What about calleng Americans Yankies or Australians Ozzies, you don't hear complaints from them!!
If we British took the same attitude as the Muslims/Pakistani's we could not have a BRIT award for one thing,
The whole world has gone mad
While I agree that its near absence from US usage means that the term "Paki" can't be a slur here (and also that Stacy's reaction, I say to those berating him, is just ignorance of the details of British usage -- something unremarkable in an American).
ReplyDeleteBut take it from me bud ... at least in Britain, where the term has currency, "Paki" has been universally considered a derogatory term, of varying strengths, for at least as long as I've been alive, and probably longer. This isn't to say Fleet Street or Muslim-sensitivity groups might not be overreacting or glad to alight upon a cause. Or that there might not be "among mates" contexts where it might be coded differently. But its basic meaning is always derogatory.
comment moderation has been enabled so now we have no freedom of speech
ReplyDeletepolitical correctness gone mad which will only anger more brits-no wonder they are leaving in droves to get away from those who are more protected than them
ReplyDeleteI implore you to watch this clip, which should give you a pretty good idea why 'Paki' is considered racist in Britain. It's from a film, but what happens here was once pretty commonplace:
ReplyDeletehttp://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KWmiFONLW9c
Evidently, I'll have to make sure to tell my buddies that they shouldn't refer to THEMSELVES as Pakis !
ReplyDeleteWhen will everyone understand that it's the intent of the words.. not the actual words, that counts.
Even nonsense words can be used with or without bad intentions.
Hmmm now let me see....
Some of you forum posters are real Goonafratz ! LOL
"Evidently, I'll have to make sure to tell my buddies that they shouldn't refer to THEMSELVES as Pakis !"
ReplyDeleteYeah, and I'll have to tell all my black friends . . .
well you see where this is going. It's not just the intent of the words used, it's who uses them as well.
i'm considered calling the pakistani produced version of an american product - much less expensive, marginal quality - as "pakeze" for the style name. Offensive or just making a name for what to expect from this product price point?
ReplyDeletemore amusing than persons misusing abreviations- persons of the commonwealth of the British crown descriving their friends as mates. I wonder if the prince was getting busy with his friend from paquistan..
ReplyDelete