# "Gringo" - Is it offensive? How offensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2019, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268 "2019-02-10T03:57:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/21 "2019-02-11T01:50:44Z")
I’ll note that _Gringo_ is the name of a documentary on “The Dangerous Life of John McAfee”…someone I certainly don’t wish to be associated with. ---
**Author:** ![Littleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ccd318/32.png) [@Littleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Littleman)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/22 "2019-02-11T02:41:08Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Is it still offensive if no one is offended? If a tree falls in the woods and no social justice warrior hears it , is it still offensive? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/23 "2019-02-11T02:58:13Z")
A dear friend and fellow vet of mine calls me Gringo all the time. I call him Hermano, because I am that sort of asshole. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/24 "2019-02-11T11:14:12Z")
> [@Littleman](#): > > If a tree falls in the woods and no social justice warrior hears it , is it still offensive? Under the present social justice ruleset, it’s not ok for the dominant, privileged group (whether or not a particular \*member \*of that group is dominant or privileged in a meaningful sense) to use ethnic slurs to refer to other groups. Only formal names for them, sir. White people must call blacks as African Americans and Mexicans as I guess Hispanics or “undocumented workers”. It’s totally ok for those groups to use ethnic slurs among themselves and to refer to white people. Who no longer have individual ethnic identity since they all have been interbreeding so we forgot who’s originally irish vs french vs german, so long as their skin shade is sufficiently pasty. I have a lot of problems with this, the primary one being that we don’t really live in a world that privileges white people above everyone else. We live in a world that privileges _rich people_, and _some_ white families have amassed inter-generational wealth that give them a huge leg up in America, which is designed to privilege this. And yes, in the USA the overwhelming majority of families with inter-generational wealth are all white, but any given white person has a substantial probability of actually coming from a poor bankground and thus they individually benefit little from all that ‘privilege’ floating around… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/25 "2019-02-11T12:39:13Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > In Canada, “Anglo” isn’t an ethnic or racial term, but a linguistic one, meaning someone whose first language is English. The pair is “Franco”, someone whose first language is French. They are neutral descriptive terms, shortened from “anglophone” and “francophone”. Same for Spanish: _anglo_ doesn’t mean “white”, it means “person who (only) speaks English”. Short for _anglófono_. Many years ago I was tutoring two Hispanic students and we’d moved to Spanish. A young man who’d been holding up a wall nearby was equally surprised when, upon noticing him, we switched back to English and apologized for all the Spanish, and when we asked if he was _anglo_ and then quickly said “uh, sorry, we mean, you don’t speak Spanish, right?” Being about the same shade as Mahershala Ali, he found it hilarious that in Spanish he’s considered _anglo_ when in American English he definitely is not, “oh man, I have to tell my Grandma about this, she’ll love it!” As for Gringo, originally it meant “from the US” and was despective; in time it has lost the despective connotation (so, it’s despective or not depending on context) and gained a different meaning of “clueless outsider who expects ‘abroad’ to be exactly like ‘back home’” (which isn’t considered despective if it happens to be true; undesirable, certainly). > [@Machinaforce](#): > > It is supposed to be derogatory to people who live in the states (as someone said), but personally I never found it offensive. I mean there are worse words to be called. Not who live, who are from, and specifically who are aggressive about being “an American citizen” or suchlike; the kind of people who goes to a foreign country and stands in the middle of the town square yelling “does nobody here speak my language?”. It originally comes from a response to American soldiers invading Mexico, something which I’m reasonably sure qualifies as aggressive behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/26 "2019-02-11T14:01:04Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > but any given white person has a substantial probability of actually coming from a poor bankground and thus they individually benefit little from all that ‘privilege’ floating around… You don’t understand what “white privilege” means. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/27 "2019-02-11T15:58:21Z")
One of those words that depends on context. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/28 "2019-02-11T16:06:13Z")
There’s a limit to how offensive it’s possible for a term to be, that refers to the socioeconomically dominant ethnic group of a region. By contrast, terms for less privileged ethnic groups, even if they start off value-neutral, can often become offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/29 "2019-02-11T16:20:03Z")
Amish have called me English, I’ve been described as Anglo by Spanish speakers. Both incorrect and so a matter of indifference. Seems just descriptive anyway. Gringo seems to have pejorative connotations, and I don’t think that ever is truly entirely lost on the user. Its use doesn’t bother me unless preceded by words like pinche. Gabacho, on the other hand, crosses the line to deliberately insulting, IMO. Still doesn’t bother me. Gringo is sort of like Brits using “Yank”. Not fighting words, but can be an indicator that the odds of the user being a bit of an asshole exceed base probability. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/30 "2019-02-11T16:31:11Z")
I wouldn’t be so sure that she actually heard what she thought she heard. Non-native speakers of Spanish will “hear” all sorts of familiar-sounding terms that aren’t actually there. The same is true of most languages with which the hearer has only a basic or passing familiarity. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/31 "2019-02-11T16:46:36Z")
When I lived in Mexico, the term “gringo/s” was usually preceded by “pinche/s” when meant to be used offensively. Normally until it was known that I wasn’t Mexican, I’d be referred to as “güero.” Spanish is a very expressive language, and to use “gringo” as an insult is pretty unimaginative. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/32 "2019-02-11T17:07:29Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > . . . Spanish is a very expressive language, . . Yes, most languages are not very expressive. They mostly exist so that people can order pizza and things like that. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/33 "2019-02-11T17:57:06Z")
Yeah but what **Balthisar** meant was that Spanish is a language in which one is supposed to be creative when cussing or insulting someone. In English, “Variations on the theme of F” is rude but not particularly offensive of the language itself; in Spanish what would be considered offensive of such a speech is the lack of creativity of the speaker. The reaction of most listeners would be along the lines of “seriously? You don’t have anything better?” ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/34 "2019-02-11T19:34:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There’s a limit to how offensive it’s possible for a term to be, that refers to the socioeconomically dominant ethnic group of a region. By contrast, terms for less privileged ethnic groups, even if they start off value-neutral, can often become offensive. This is one of the most preposterous things I have read in awhile. It completely ignores intent, context and linguistics, and instead focuses on external characteristics that are largely irrelevant. A listener/target can be offended or not, but the real key is the intent of the speaker. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/35 "2019-02-12T02:08:09Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > You don’t understand what “white privilege” means. Do tell. Tell me about how poor whites get privilege. Assuming they have no college degree or startup capital, what generally happens to them. For a hint, tell me where the prescription drug epidemics are most severe. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/36 "2019-02-12T02:19:20Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > My wife and I ate at a Mexican restaurant in Georgia today. The restaurant was located in a neighborhood that seemed pretty Latino, based on the business names and other signs. In the restaurant, nearly all of the customers appeared to be Hispanic, and the waitresses all spoke Spanish to each other. We had a great meal, and our waitress was very attentive and helpful, and spoke very good English. > > While we were eating, we heard a group of waitresses talking in Spanish to each other, and we heard the word “gringo” a few times. Since my wife and I were the only white people in the place, it seems reasonable to assume they might have been referring to us. Or perhaps they were referring to other non-Hispanic people. I don’t care, and I didn’t feel offended. But is the word “gringo” offensive, or intended as derogative? Is it at all similar to white or black Americans using racial slurs such as “wetback” or “beaner”? Or is it a mild perjorative, or not negative in any way? Context is everything. Let me ask you…if you were the only black people in the place and they were speaking in a language you didn’t understand but you heard ‘negra’ a few times, would that be offensive? My guess is yes. And gringo can be more deliberately derogatory. That said, I call my wife a gringita all the time as well as guera which means approximately (blonde) white girl. So, it depends on who is saying it and in what context it’s being said. It’s less derogatory, IMHO, than ‘wetback’ or ‘beaner’, which are pretty offensive. I can’t think of a good analogy though, but maybe how a lot of folks seem to say the word ‘Mexican’ would be a good parallel. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/37 "2019-02-12T05:02:51Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Do tell. Tell me about how poor whites get privilege. Assuming they have no college degree or startup capital, what generally happens to them. For a hint, tell me where the prescription drug epidemics are most severe. Again, you don’t understand what the term means. “White privilege” is the concept that, _all else being equal_, white people still enjoy advantages in judicial, economic, cultural and media areas over a black (and to a lesser extent) Hispanic person purwely on the basis of their skin color. Two people making $16k a year, driving a 1995 Focus and with a high school education will, on average, have different experiences when pulled over for a traffic ticket or entering a retail store based on their skin color. The question isn’t “Are there poor white people addicted to opioids?” it’s “How does the judicial system, on average, treat two poor people addicted to opioids when one is white and the other black?” White privilege is the result of a systemic effort to keep down and segregate black people throughout our nation’s history, with a constant litany of how they are uncivilized, thugs, rapists out to steal our white women, gangbangers, welfare queens, reproducing like animals, thieves, murderers, drug dealers, stupid, lazy, etc. That said, I’m not really trying to convince you that it’s a legitimate thing – you’re just using the term wrong when you say “But there’s poor white people so they’re not privileged”. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/38 "2019-02-12T06:42:13Z")
I think it depends on context. There is probably always a tiny hint of condescension, but it can be good humored like towards a child, or recreational tribalism like rival sport team fans. And in forming connections, it can be a gentle form of hazing. Then again, it can be used in a hateful way, but at that point it is likely to be accompanied by additional colorful expletives. I had a good friend in college whose family was from Honduras. His extended family still lived there, but his immediate family lived about an hour away. I got to know them well enough that when he and they went out Honduras for the summer I got to tag along for a couple weeks. I heard “gringo” a lot. And sometimes, what I got the impression was slightly saltier, “El Grencho”. And I accepted that it was conceivable not all of it was friendly, or that things might have been said out of earshot. But they also all went incredibly out of their way to show me around, help me do things, and even threw me the most amazing birthday I have ever had. So if my otherness was the subject of gossip or judgement, I’m more than willing to let it slide. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/39 "2019-02-12T07:14:13Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Do tell. Tell me about how poor whites get privilege. Assuming they have no college degree or startup capital, what generally happens to them. For a hint, tell me where the prescription drug epidemics are most severe. It’s very frustrating to have to repeatedly explain that “white privilege” does not refer to economic status. But here we go again… White privilege means you get the benefit of the doubt from other white people. It means store owners don’t follow you around and security guards won’t kick you out for wearing a hoodie. It means when you call about renting an apartment, the landlord can’t tell from the sound of your voice that you are one of ‘those people.’ It means you are 50% more likely to get called for a job interview than if you had a stereotypically black name. It means when your pregnant wife goes to the doctor, the doctor doesn’t immediately assume she is a single mother. It means when you get a job, people won’t accuse you of being a ‘diversity hire’ or wonder about your competence. It means that if you commit a disciplinary infraction or break the law you will be punished less severely than a black person who committed the same offense. It means you are allowed to sit in a Starbucks without someone calling the police, and it means you are allowed to buy Skittles and iced tea without being chased by a vigilante. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/40 "2019-02-12T12:12:39Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Context is everything. Let me ask you…if you were the only black people in the place and they were speaking in a language you didn’t understand but you heard ‘negra’ a few times, would that be offensive? My guess is yes. If the word in question was _negra_, it would be stupid to be offended: it’s not derogatory, and in your example and assuming it refers to the woman (not to, say, a jacket) it’s descriptive. In some dialects of Spanish it can also be used as a term of endearment towards a woman who may or may not be black. I’ve seen an _angla_ get offended and make an enormous ruckus because two latina tourists were talking about _un vestido negro_, a black dress. Please don’t be that _anglo_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268.md?page=3)