Imagine the outcry if Bush had said something like "wetback go home" in response to Chavez's antics here in the US.

Of course, while old Hugo wants the "Gringo" to go home, he sure doesn't mind selling oil for "gringo" money....

Matt

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"Gringo" is not a racist epithet, in case that is what you are referring to.

Gringo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If you think it's racist, please advise why.

gringo - definition of gringo by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

So, where exactly in this definition does it say the term is racist?

In fact, look in most dictionaries, and the term is described as offensive.

Matt

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Dodging the question is easy to do, but for the second time, offensive is not the same as racist. I could call Bush a buffoon all day long, and it still wouldn't be racist but most certainly offensive.

Further, neither of the two sources you/Mrs M provided says they are racist, while Wiki clearly shows that while it could be offensive, it can also be used in many different ways.

Just admit you made a boo boo in the thread title.

Sorry, dude, but from my personal experience, the term is used as a racist pejorative.

As far as the dictionary not using the word "racist" to describe it, you might note that the word "nigger" is also in the category of "offensive slang".

So the fact that the dictionary doesn't specifically label the term racist is a meaningless tidbit.

Matt

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Perhaps your personal experience, but that doesnt mean the word is necessarily racist.

You are quite predictable sometimes, I figured you'd bring that up.

Nigger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There's a difference between offensive slangs and racist slangs/slurs.

It isn't meaningless at all. It simply shows that the word can be used in a different sense from what you claim to be your personal experience. Whether you choose to acknowledge that is your choice ...

Here's a better source than Wiki:

nigger - definition of nigger by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

Sorry, but Wikipedia is not an authoritative source for, well, anything.

I could easily go to the Wiki right now, and edit it to show Gringo as a racial slur.

Matt

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To add to the spate of reversals that's been giving our blighted administration acid indigestion and occasional irregularity lately, my main man, Señor Hugo Chavez Friás, was reelected president of Venezuela in December by a landslide. His victory, resounding as it was, didn't merit that accolade in most American papers, though, because the wealthy elites who control our corporate media don't like Hugo very much. You see, he's doing something in his country that our elected officials don't do here: He actually represents those who voted for him rather than monied interests who didn't. How original!

He calls himself a socialist--he isn't, of course--but the very word strikes terror into the hearts of those who would continue their brutal, long-term exploitation of the Latin American countries. Hugo is actively trying to better the lives of his population by offering them subsidized reading programs...and now his tiny nation has nearly 100% literacy. America cannot make the same claim...Venezuela under Hugo represents what Noam Chomsky of MIT refers to as a "virus," that is, a successful populist economy likely to serve as an example to others. Everybody knows we can't have anything like THAT going on in THIS hemisphere, right? (By the way, President Chavez is a reader and an attentive student of the words of Professor Noam, whose insight and effulgent wisdom has been suppressed by our media for DECADES.) ....

http://conceptualguerilla.com/?q=node/360

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You could, but it would have to be approved. Contrary to what people think, you cannot just change Wiki willy nilly - it has to be approved after your edit if I am not mistaken.

Further, I believe wiki over the dictionary in this case, since often times, a word is used in a different sense than it's dictionary meaning in real life. For instance, the word "nigger" is not referred to as a racial slur in the dictionary when it clearly is.

Anyway, the point is you are making a mountain out of a molehill - I dont believe the term was used in a racist way. Condescending, but thats it - you are reading too much into it.

How exactly is it a better source for words like this?

I admit historical events and the like should be sourced elsewhere, but I think wiki is perfectly acceptable for slang words and their meanings. ''

Further, from your defintion, the word 'nigger' isn't even portrayed as a racial slur.

You are mistaken, sir. I just edited the quote "Gringo go home" to "Oh, ho, ho. Gringo go home" on the page.

Seems to be mental gymnastics trying to avoid the connotations of Chavez's choice of words.

Gosh, sorry to be offended by a racist epithet without your approval.

Matt

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One of Wikipedia's editors is under scrutiny for falsifying his credentials! Do you really trust that site over The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language?????

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"