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"Gwaylo" not a racist word...

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  1. #1

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    "Gwaylo" not a racist word...

    ...so there.
    https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...gtype=homepage

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  2. #2

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    I cant really make up my mind on this one.. I guess it comes down to context, which we don't really know the truth of here.

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  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by RobRoy:
    I cant really make up my mind on this one.. I guess it comes down to context, which we don't really know the truth of here.
    Replace it with "foreigner" if you like, maybe not "racist" but at the very least lazy and rude.

    A better question might be; in what ways is it a term of endearment OR when does it have a positive meaning?
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  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cornmeal:
    Replace it with "foreigner" if you like, maybe not "racist" but at the very least lazy and rude.

    A better question might be; in what ways is it a term of endearment OR when does it have a positive meaning?
    Many offensive words can be used as a term of endearment

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6OQ...annel=SiriusXM

  5. #5

    Chinese people often tell me that gweilo isn't really meant in a derogatory sense, which aligns with my own perception of how it used in my presence.

    Regardless, explicitly labelling someone on account of some arbitrary demographic unrelated to jobrole is basically taboo in offices in most developed countries. You wouldn't make an issue of someone's skin colour and expect it not to raise eyebrows, even if done in a friendly or neutral way. It's just manners. Used to annoy me being called gweilo in the office in HK, even when not ill intentioned.

    There were also expectations of how I would be / behave in the office based on my skin colour and nationality. These perceptions were actually accurate to be fair, but annoying that the perception existed even on day one of the job before ppl knew me. Summary point being that HK'ers are extremely casual and open with race based opinions that would be inappropriate most other places.


  6. #6

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    I think all this woke crap we have been fed from the US by their propaganda machine is just a strategy to avoid the real questions such as "Why a few group of people own all the riches in the world". Why in HK if you are basically born from a poor family has next to no chance to make it to the top. The same applies to many other countries with their elite universities, which very often does not attract the smartest people but the people who the most help from their parents while growing up, private tutors, expensive extra curricular activities etc...

    There are the obvious ways to separate candidates for job for example like only accepting Tier 1 universities. Or asking what hobbies you have, which depending on what you do will often put you in a separate class (eg Golf, Sailing, Tennis etc...)

    Anyway, instead we make sure we create senseless debate on skin colour / sexuality / stuff celibrities tweeted 10 years ago etc...

    All I know is, it does not matter if they call you gweilo or not, as a foreigner you are not part of their creed already. I worked in finance for many years and remember here in HK how people are obsessed with expensive watches/cars/suits/flats etc... I was asked a few times why I did not have an expensive watch and so on, probably because my parents didn't buy me a flat for my birthday.

    Anyway if it's acceptable to call people gweilo then I can call them yellow man? No because I was taught by the western media that only white people are racist!


  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Plutark:
    I worked in finance for many years and remember here in HK how people are obsessed with expensive watches/cars/suits/flats etc... I was asked a few times why I did not have an expensive watch and so on
    In fairness, I see this in a lot of countries in the world… typically the more poor the general
    population is, the more wealth is measured by displays of perceived luxury.

    When I first moved to Asia from the Netherlands I remember I was quite shocked. You would visit people that had the largest house in thevillage but the inside was bare concrete with no furniture, basically no money left to decorate the house because all that mattered was the huge facade.

    I was in China for a few years and when I went to buy a new car the Audi dealership was shocked that I wanted an A3 and not an A6 or A8. (They had to order it specifically as it came from Europe). They kept asking me why I wanted such a small car as I was a large gweilo.

    In Portugal I see the same thing, many people drive expensive cars (but they are all leased and it takes a huge cut out of their disposable income) … they want to show off as rich to their friends. Same when I lived in the States, expensive bags, cars etc but all on credit. So I don’t think this is a typical Hong Kong thing except maybe for the watches which seems to be more exorbitant in Hong Kong.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by RobRoy:
    I cant really make up my mind on this one.. I guess it comes down to context, which we don't really know the truth of here.
    https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60330719

    Another interesting one along the same lines. Y is for Yid, though why the BBC can’t use it in the context of the story baffles me.
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  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Plutark:
    Anyway if it's acceptable to call people gweilo then I can call them yellow man? No because I was taught by the western media that only white people are racist!
    Punching up is ok....


  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    Punching up is ok....

    Which way is up?

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