Did the Pakistan government know Osama bin Laden was there?

[EnderD_503]

Originally Posted by rockybcn

[As many of you know, I work in Peace - Primarily with children around the world and gratefully in countries such as Pakistan -- The term *Paki* is beyond offensive.]


I personally thank you Julie for your contributions for peace. I hope the world will one day be a better place.
Maybe people are offended by the shortening of these nationalities ?:
Scot = from Scotland

Pole = from Poland

German = from Germany

Brit = from Britain

Aussie = from Australia

Finn = from Finland

Swede = from Sweden

All used without offence.

I think its because people associate the word Paki with racism, perhaps its time the word was reclaimed. The fault lies with those who use the word offensively in the first place not with those who use it without malice.

This is both sad and hilarious all at once. Why? Because most of the words you wrote as "shortenings of nationalities" are the actually names for those nationalities.

For example: German = Germany...really? That is a shortening of the German nationality? So what is the original then, if not German? Germany is the name of the country, German is the name of the people. How the fuck is that a short form of anything?

Same with Finn and Swede. Nobody says "That guy is a Finnish" or "That guy is a Swedish." Finn and Swede are the nouns used to denote a citizen of Finland or Sweden or someone of Finnish or Swedish heritage...they are not just a shorter version of another word. "He is a Finn" vs. "He is Finnish" It's like "He is an Englishman" vs. "He is English." You don't say "He is an English."

Same thing for Pole and Scot: "He is a Pole" vs. "He is Polish." Nobody goes around saying "He is a Polish" or "He is a Scottish." Don't be ridiculous.

I would argue that Brit can be offensive depending on how it's used, especially in former British colonies where we might be referring to the British in a negative way. But overall, it's a word that has its stem from the British themselves, and not typically or always used to denote inferiority or negativity.

Same with Aussie.

However, if someone were to call me a "Frog" or a "Kraut," as a "white European" you better believe I'd be offended. Same if I heard someone call a Pole a "Polack," that would be just as offensive despite that Poles are white Europeans. Using any slur for ANY race or ANY ethnicity, yes including all ethnic Europeans, is disrespectful, offensive and shameful.

The word for citizens of Pakistan or people of Pakistani heritage is Pakistani and you can say "He is a Pakistani" just as well as "He is Pakistani" just the same as you could say "He is Greek" and "He is a Greek." There's no way to justify the use of that particular slur to refer directly to or address Pakistanis as not racist, no matter how much you might try.