Is 'Paki' a racist slur?

[Thinker]

Is Paki a racist slur?

It is reported that Prince Harry has apologised because he referred to someone as a Paki and a rag-head (or was it cloth-head). Is calling some a Paki racist? If someone called me a Brit I wouldn’t feel that it was racist. Paki is short for Pakistani and Brit is short for British!! Australians call Brits ‘limeys’ I don’t feel racially slurred by being called a limey – why is calling a person from Pakistan a Paki racist?

I presume rag-head referred to someone wearing head gear made from a length of cloth – is that a racist slur as it doesn’t pertain to any particular race or religion? Isn't it just like calling someone who is bald 'baldie' - not very nice but a long way from being insulting.

[Banu_Hashim]

Yes, in the UK "paki" is considered offensive. You could be from any country in the indian-subcontinent other than Pakistan, like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc. and some racist people would still call you paki.

I think it all depends on how the other soldier who his got called this took it. If he himself took it as a joke... then I think people should get over it by now. Apparently it happened over 3 years ago?? There are more important things happening in the world at the moment!

[aamirsaab]

This has to be the funniest thread you've made, Thinker.

....Paki is short for Pakistani and Brit is short for British!! Australians call Brits ‘limeys’ I don’t feel racially slurred by being called a limey – why is calling a person from Pakistan a Paki racist?
.....

no no no no no. You got it all wrong. I don't have a problem being called paki since I am from pakistan. What is offensive is calling any muslim a paki. Mainly because it is stupid and ignorant but also because pakis are different to bengalis, afghanis, iraqis, uzbeks etc. It's like calling all English people Scots. Which is quite simply retarded because what the hell qualifies as an english person? The language? if so, I'm English. The skin colour? Arabs, greeks, jews? The culture? Any country in the west?! Plain ignorance is what it comes down to.

People in general don't like being pigeon-holed - muslims are no different.

[Muezzin]

'Paki' is a contraction of the word 'Pakistani'. It tends to be used in a derogatory fashion to apply to any brown-skinned Asian regardless of nationality. So, yes, it is a racist slur.

Rag-head, cloth-head, towel-head etc are all derogatory names for Arabs. I think they derive from military slang.

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[Thinker]

According to the newspaper, the person he called a Paki was a Pakistani; he was an officer from the Pakistan Army at Sandhurst. I can understand how an Indian or anyone who is not a Pakistani might be angry at being called a Paki (or even a Pakistani) because it shows an irritating ignorance of geography and ethnicity on the part of the speaker but I am struggling to understand how anyone who is from Pakistan could feel offended by being called a Paki.

I don’t think the analogy with black people and nigg*r is valid.

[Pk_#2]

Yes , unless I say it.

Ai ai dint see that, rag-head? He's gonna get beaten up for that, inshaAllaah, or he might just get scared and suicide.

What a disgusting "£$%^&*()

[Al-Zaara]

Maybe it was insulting, not 'cause he called him a Paki but 'cause he called the person a rag/cloth-head? As you said in the first post:

It is reported that Prince Harry has apologised because he referred to someone as a Paki and a rag-head (or was it cloth-head).

Either way, he lives in the UK and is a role-model for some (or is "ought" to be), the young Prince should know better. The analogy of nigg*r and black people might seem a bit far-fetched, yet it is similiar. Maybe if you see it from the point of view how Middle-Eastern and Muslim people are called in Italy, you'd see a connection?

[Hamayun]

I would be offended if someone called me a Paki because my parents are both Indian.

I don't see why all brown people are put into the same box? Not all brown people are from Pakistan!

Saying that I think we need to stop crying about silly things like this while Israel is massacring hundreds of people in Philestine. I don't think we should start crying about it and condemning Harry. Lets concentrate on what's important.

[nebula]

yes PAKI is a racist word, ive been called a paki many times in my area...

[Whatsthepoint]

It's insulting when you use it for all brownies, regardless of their origin, and in sentences such as kill em' those pesky Pakis.
But when you know for sure the person you are speaking to is of Pakistani origin andd believe he or she won't get offended by the term, its fine.

[noorseeker]

im not defending him, but im sure he didnt mean it in that way. From the work he has done in the past , he seems a caring man.

i always get said do i want a bacon sarnie, i dont take it out of context, i just smile.

Most of the times it depends on the situation, I try not to say paki, when i say pakistani in front of asians they will laugh and think im weird.

Example at work me a black guy and a white guy, the black guy said these WHITE boys,
he didnt say it with hate, but he understands if there were more whites around you cant say that.


People still use the word coloured these days.

[Woodrow]

I don't think Paki is intended to be a racial slur in all countries. Many people simply do not know what is the proper term to call a native of Pakistan. Here in the USA when Paki is used it is usually meant to mean a person from Pakistan.

However, now looking at the history of the word in the UK and the way it has been used in the past 30 or 40 years I would say it is a racial slur in many countries and intended to be so by who ever uses it.

I myself have used the term Paki several times here. But, my intent was to recognize the person was from Pakistan. If anybody took it as a slur, I deeply apologize. After reading this thread I am erasing the word from my vocabulary.

[Al-Zaara]

I usually say a Pakistani, if I ever come across one and am 100% sure they are from Pakistan. Don't know if it's less insulting than just saying Paki?

[Trumble]

I think it all depends on how the other soldier who his got called this took it. If he himself took it as a joke... then I think people should get over it by now. Apparently it happened over 3 years ago?? There are more important things happening in the world at the moment!

Absolutely. I think what those making a fuss should remember two things; firstly that every other member of the same platoon might say the same thing equally without meaning it to be racist, and secondly that any of them would risk their own lives to save this guy's without giving it a second thought. In some contexts the word is very offensive and intended to constitute racist abuse. That doesn't seem to be the case here at all.

[glo]

I would like to know if the Pakistani soldier in question was offended by the comment or not.

Has anybody had the chance to see the video? Or has a link to it?

[Yanal]

:sl:
I had the same question and asked brother Woodrow. Being called a paki can be racist or not because it depends on the person you are calling too. I don't mind but here in Canada no one either knows that term or never uses it. Instead some bullies call me terriost for some reason.

[Muezzin]

According to the newspaper, the person he called a Paki was a Pakistani; he was an officer from the Pakistan Army at Sandhurst. I can understand how an Indian or anyone who is not a Pakistani might be angry at being called a Paki (or even a Pakistani) because it shows an irritating ignorance of geography and ethnicity on the part of the speaker but I am struggling to understand how anyone who is from Pakistan could feel offended by being called a Paki.

Because the term was popularised, if not coined, by far right British whackjobs in a racially derogotary context, in reference to the diaspora of Pakistani immigrants in the 1970's.

Either you're overthinking this, or you're joking.

[Banu_Hashim]

I don't see how someone who is third in line to a constitutional monarchy (which has no power) is posted all over news headlines for saying something that lots of ignorant people say anyways...

[Banu_Hashim]

I myself have used the term Paki several times here. But, my intent was to recognize the person was from Pakistan. If anybody took it as a slur, I deeply apologize. After reading this thread I am erasing the word from my vocabulary.

It's really only offensive in Britain. I think lots of people use it in the US without having malicious intentions :).

[aminahjaan]

I'm Pakistani and for short I'm "Paki"
I don't live in the UK, but I have heard that's a racial slur, I don't see why it's Pakistani with out the stani.
Btw, Rag head? Hahahah woow. But I bet he's been called Fire head :'(
http://www.theasiannews.co.uk/news/s...or_insult.html
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question...2185654AAVPALl
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/featur.../03/paki.shtml

[~Taalibah~]

:sl:
Hmm, while 'paki' has become commonly used here for the Pakistani's, its been only recently.
I wouldn't say its thought to be racist here, nor 'India papa' which Indians are are called. These words are used more between the Pakistanis and Indians or any Muslims for that matter.

Non-Musims, either call us 'osama', 'terrorist', 'Moslem' (anyone waering kurta and topi, hijaab)

[aadil77]

According to the newspaper, the person he called a Paki was a Pakistani; he was an officer from the Pakistan Army at Sandhurst. I can understand how an Indian or anyone who is not a Pakistani might be angry at being called a Paki (or even a Pakistani) because it shows an irritating ignorance of geography and ethnicity on the part of the speaker but I am struggling to understand how anyone who is from Pakistan could feel offended by being called a Paki.

I don’t think the analogy with black people and nigg*r is valid.

You would feel offended if you knew the context around the word. Brits, mostly chavs, would say things like you 'dirty paki' simply because they were brown and from pakistan, other things said would be like 'go home you paki'.

Its not just a short word for pakistani, its a word that can be used to make you feel inferior and not wanted in the country

Hopefully you won't struggle with this explanation , ay thinker?

[aadil77]

Now a days its not that offensive unless you want it to be, to start a fight.

Otherwise I use the word all the time, even though im paki

[جوري]

what you say doesn't really have as much impact as how you say it (tone of voice) and the use of body language!

I can use a fairly innocuous term like 'Good for you' in both an encouraging and derogatory manner!

He being in the public eye, should know better.. but to be quite honest, I am not fond of the British -- there is always beneath the surface this undeserved feeling of superiority that I am not quite sure where it comes from..

peace

[Fishman]

:sl:

Is 'Paki' a racist slur?

Yes, same as 'Jap' or 'Chink' are, which are also contractions/simplifications of the actual name of the ethnicity.

Now a days its not that offensive unless you want it to be, to start a fight.

Otherwise I use the word all the time, even though im paki

Its only okay to use it if you are Pakistani though, because it is a bit difficult to be racist to yourself. In America, apparently many black people use the n-word amongst themselves, but it is still incredibly racist for somebody who isn't black to use it.
:w:

[nebula]

yeah thats true Fishman... if i were to say to the N* word to a black person it would be racist but if he says it amongst his black people then its okay...

[Pygoscelis]

Taboo language has always fascinated me. Especially slurs that objectively on the face of them don't seem offensive. I think people need to get over these taboo words, or adopt them like some have (homosexuals did this well with "gay") so to disarm the taboo.

I mean I'm white, and if you call me a "cracker" I'll tell you I'm a Ritz.

[Whatsthepoint]

Why are people from Kazakhstan called Kazakhs? Why not Kazakhstani?

[Fishman]

Why are people from Kazakhstan called Kazakhs? Why not Kazakhstani?

:sl:
'Pak' is not an ethnicity, Pakistan is not named after a group of people but rather it means 'land of the pure' or something. Qazaqs (or if you don't like Qs, Kazakhs), on the other hand, are an ethnic group, and Qazaqstan is named after them.

Ironically, it seems like racists who call people 'Paki' are actually calling them 'one of the pure' or something along those lines. But they don't know this, and intention is what matters.
:w:

[Banu_Hashim]

Why are people from Kazakhstan called Kazakhs? Why not Kazakhstani?

Because that's how they were referred to, when they used to be part of Russia/Soviet Union, and it just stuck even after independence. (I think)

[Ansariyah]

I would be offended if someone called me a Paki because my parents are both Indian.

I don't see why all brown people are put into the same box? Not all brown people are from Pakistan!

Saying that I think we need to stop crying about silly things like this while Israel is massacring hundreds of people in Philestine. I don't think we should start crying about it and condemning Harry. Lets concentrate on what's important.

but y'all look alike..lol

Can't tell you guys apart..though I must say that I find the indians to be much friendlier mashaAllah.

[Fishman]

Because that's how they were referred to, when they used to be part of Russia/Soviet Union, and it just stuck even after independence. (I think)

:sl:
Nah, they are an ethnic group of their own, its not a slur. Wikipedia's article on the Qazaqs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhs

This is the same as many other countries in central Asia. Uzbekistan is the land of Uzbeks, Turkmenistan is the land of the Turkmen, and Kyrgyzstan is the land of the (awesome but unprouncable) Kyrgyz.
:w:

[Banu_Hashim]

..though I must say that I find the indians to be much friendlier mashaAllah.

mashaAllah. :D :p

[aminahjaan]

And good point, Fishman.

If you look at the true meaning of "Paki"
Pak means pure or clean
So I must be doin something right.

[Banu_Hashim]

:sl:
Nah, they are an ethnic group of their own, its not a slur. Wikipedia's article on the Qazaqs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhs
:w:

Ah right. Good old Wikipedia.

[Whatsthepoint]

mashaAllah. :D :p

something tells me you're Indian yourself..
Anyway, I don't think I've ever met any Pakis or Indians (restaurants and tube stations excluded) so I can't tell the difference.

[Whatsthepoint]

:sl:
'Pak' is not an ethnicity, Pakistan is not named after a group of people but rather it means 'land of the pure' or something. Qazaqs (or if you don't like Qs, Kazakhs), on the other hand, are an ethnic group, and Qazaqstan is named after them.

Ironically, it seems like racists who call people 'Paki' are actually calling them 'one of the pure' or something along those lines. But they don't know this, and intention is what matters.
:w:

I though all stans were named the same way.

[Banu_Hashim]

I though all stans were named the same way.

Yep. "stan" is originally a farsi word meaning 'land of'.

[Banu_Hashim]

something tells me you're Indian yourself..
Anyway, I don't think I've ever met any Pakis or Indians (restaurants and tube stations excluded) so I can't tell the difference.

Well, ethnically. Only been there twice!

[Fishman]

something tells me you're Indian yourself..
Anyway, I don't think I've ever met any Pakis or Indians (restaurants and tube stations excluded) so I can't tell the difference.

:sl:
The simple way to tell the difference is to mention Kashmir...
:w:

[Whatsthepoint]

:sl:
The simple way to tell the difference is to mention Kashmir...
:w:

Haha!:D

[Ansariyah]

mashaAllah. :D :p

MashaAllah ..such beautiful people! By beautiful I mean all around..nothing physical lol

[Banu_Hashim]

:sl:
The simple way to tell the difference is to mention Kashmir...
:w:

lol. That's an issue for the real Indians and Pakistanis. Not fake ones like me.

[Najm]

AsSalamOAlaikum WaRehmatuAllah WaBarkatuhu

Question: Is 'Paki' a racist slur?

Answer: Yes

FiAmaaniAllah