# "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:** 3
**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, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/41 "2019-02-12T13:50:00Z")
> [@JB99](#): > > 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. Perhaps so. I guess it just seems like what we call “white trash” or “trailer trash” or “residents of florida” : meth or oxy abusing folk who work menial jobs and frequent payday loan places don’t exactly get a whole lot of “privilege” helping them out. They just are slightly less often victims of overt racism it sounds like to me. But these people - who are a **huge** chunk of the population (well, ok, most of them don’t abuse meth but still) - get discriminated against if they ever do get into college or see a job somewhere nice because institutions assume they enjoyed a lot of “privilege” growing up. While sometimes foreign blacks from countries where they were treated well get diversity admitted to Harvard. Also these are the people who are in favor of a wall. Guess who suffers the most in absolute terms if there is a flood of cheap laborers who are desperate for the slightest amount of U.S. currency. Guess who doesn’t have health insurance and gets really shafted by our insane health care system. Guess who has trouble affording rent anywhere nice because our country uses corrupt methods of managing land. (we give the most voice to existing homeowners in a nice area who in turn want their assets to keep inflating in price forever) ---
**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, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/42 "2019-02-12T14:40:48Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Perhaps so. I guess it just seems like what we call “white trash” or “trailer trash” or “residents of florida” : meth or oxy abusing folk who work menial jobs and frequent payday loan places don’t exactly get a whole lot of “privilege” helping them out. Compared to who? Black people on meth and using payday loans? ---
**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 12, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/43 "2019-02-12T15:00:58Z")
> [@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. Hey, at least white people can get prescription drugs and the prices are reasonably stable. The Negro has to make do with whatever’s on offer at the local street corner. **Fritz** : I know about the race problem - I’ve studied the race problem **Duke** : You don’t know nothing about the race problem You’ve got to be a _crow_ to know about the race problem ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/44 "2019-02-12T15:20:48Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > 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. This. ---
**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, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/45 "2019-02-12T16:02:35Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > 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_. Sure, they shouldn’t be offended, but people get tense when they don’t understand most of what’s being said but pick out a few words. You are from Spain, so it’s a bit different there than in the US (or in Mexico where I’m from) wrt racial tension, and I’ve seen some folks (you are right, mostly white folks) get angry at the word ‘negra’ or ‘negro’, whether used to indicate the color of a dress or as a general descriptor for a person of color. There are, of course, more offensive and derogatory terms used in Spanish when one means to be offensive, but people can easily take offense at things, especially when they can’t get the context since they don’t understand the language…or maybe understand a little bit and are just picking out a word or two because they had Spanish in high school or just picked it up because a lot of things in the US have Spanish roots. ---
**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 12, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/46 "2019-02-12T17:24:00Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Sure, they shouldn’t be offended, but people get tense when they don’t understand most of what’s being said but pick out a few words. You are from Spain, so it’s a bit different there than in the US (or in Mexico where I’m from) wrt racial tension[.] I trained my ex-wife to use “oscurito” instead of “negro” in the United States, just so standers-by wouldn’t experience this tenseness. The downside, of course, is it probably is more akin to English’s “darkie” which is arguably much worse. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/47 "2019-02-12T18:54:28Z")
If I’m ever referred to as a “gringo” in a Mexican restaurant, I might just [break into song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V79c3ZBbYek&frags=pl%2Cwn). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/48 "2019-02-13T15:41:37Z")
Like haole, which some Hawaiian friends use when pointing people out, I wouldn’t get upset about being called gringa _unless_ the speaker knew my name and always insisted on calling me that instead. ---
**Author:** ![Stuntman\_Mike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stuntman_mike/32/334_2.png) [@Stuntman\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuntman_Mike)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/49 "2019-02-13T16:22:58Z")
Not only does being a called a gringo not offend me, but neither does ALWAYS being seated in the back of the dining room at my favorite taqueria. It’s in the legit Mexican ghetto, not one of those gentrified hipster sanctuaries. :rolleyes: I clearly don’t belong there, nor am I really wanted… but I tip big, and the food is magnífico. Muy bueno! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/50 "2019-02-18T20:53:06Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Like haole, which some Hawaiian friends use when pointing people out, I wouldn’t get upset about being called gringa _unless_ the speaker knew my name and always insisted on calling me that instead. In Thailand, the relevant term is _farang_. It is completely innocuous, but still you can find a handful of people, usually professional disgruntlees, who are offended and wax forth on the subject on any given occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/51 "2019-02-18T21:55:41Z")
Here in Panama (and in my experience in most of the rest of Latin America), _gringo_ is a simple descriptor and not offensive. Both Panamanians and American residents themselves use it casually in conversation. Of course, like any ethnic term, it can be used offensively, but that’s not normally the case. If people want to be insulting, they’ll say _Yanqui_, not _gringo_. Back when I was almost the only American who lived in my apartment building, I happened to see the list the security guard had for the residents. I was amused to see that I was listed simply as “gringo.” Also, once when I left my car at a garage when I returned and they handed me the keys I say they had been labeled. “Jeep: Gringo.”😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/52 "2019-02-18T21:59:12Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > 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. In Panama, it is my understanding that describing a person as _negro/a_ is considered a bit crude/rude at best. The polite term is _moreno/a_. However, the diminutive _negrita_ is fine. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/53 "2019-02-19T12:42:39Z")
> [@Stuntman\_Mike](#): > > Not only does being a called a gringo not offend me, but neither does ALWAYS being seated in the back of the dining room at my favorite taqueria. It’s in the legit Mexican ghetto, not one of those gentrified hipster sanctuaries. :rolleyes: I clearly don’t belong there, nor am I really wanted… but I tip big, and the food is magnífico. Muy bueno! Food, “Comida” is a feminine noun, therefore it should be “magníficA” and “Muy buenA” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pithily\_Effusive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pithily_effusive/32/252_2.png) [@Pithily\_Effusive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pithily_Effusive)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/54 "2019-02-20T08:48:16Z")
First, it may help if you understood where the term “Gringo” came from! In the early days of migration across the Mississippi River, the U.S. emigres would be out working their fields and sometimes they would SING! \* Sing?\* YES, SING! _What would they sing?_ I thought you would never ask! One song that was popular at the time was: **Green Grow The Rushes** There’s naught but care on every hand in every hour that passes oh. What signifies the life of man if not for the lassies, ho! _Chorus_: Green grow the rushes, ho! Green grow the rushes, ho! The sweetest hours I ever spent were spent among the lassies, ho! (chorus) The worldly race may riches chase, and riches still may fly them, oh. And, though at last they catch them fast, their hearts can ne’er enjoy them, ho! (chorus) Give me a cannie hour at e’en, my arms around my dearie, oh. The wisest man the world e’er saw dearly loved the lassies, ho! (chorus) Nature swears the lovely dears her noblest work she classes, oh! Her 'prentice hand she tried on man. Then, she made the lassies, ho! Green grow the rushes, ho! Green grow the rushes, ho! Now, when the Mexicans, who first saw these emigres from afar heard their song coming across the field, they heard the chorus and thought they were saying “Gringo,” rather than “green grow.” And, there you go. If one finds that insulting, it probably has more to do with the one than the word. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/55 "2019-02-20T09:34:00Z")
> [@Pithily\_Effusive](#): > > First, it may help if you understood where the term “Gringo” came from! [It certainly may](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/gringo/) ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/56 "2019-02-20T14:25:27Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > [It certainly may](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/gringo/) +1 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/57 "2019-02-20T16:51:19Z")
And in any event, a word can have a perfectly innocent origin, but by its usage can become a derogatory term. For example, “Paki” to refer to someone from Pakistan may seem a simple abbreviation, just like “Brit” for “British”, and I understand from previous threads on this board that it doesn’t seem to have derogatory implications in the US. But in Commonwealth countries like the U.K. or Canada, it has been used as a derogatory term (I grew up hearing “Paki jokes” for instance.). As a result, it shouldn’t be used, even though it’s an abbreviation from the country’s name. Usage controls whether something is an insult, not etymological origins. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/58 "2019-02-20T18:20:09Z")
> [@Pithily\_Effusive](#): > > First, it may help if you understood where the term “Gringo” came from! > > In the early days of migration across the Mississippi River, the U.S. emigres would be out working their fields and sometimes they would SING! \* Sing?\* YES, SING! _What would they sing?_ I thought you would never ask! One song that was popular at the time was: For those not wanting to click **Novelty Bobble’s** link, that origin story is entirely bogus. The actual origin of the term seems to be “_griego_” (Greek), for someone whose language is unintelligible. (The same analogy appears in English, as in "It’s all Greek to me!) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/59 "2019-02-20T18:22:49Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > And in any event, a word can have a perfectly innocent origin, but by its usage can become a derogatory term. > > For example, “Paki” to refer to someone from Pakistan may seem a simple abbreviation, just like “Brit” for “British”, and I understand from previous threads on this board that it doesn’t seem to have derogatory implications in the US. > > But in Commonwealth countries like the U.K. or Canada, it has been used as a derogatory term (I grew up hearing “Paki jokes” for instance.). As a result, it shouldn’t be used, even though it’s an abbreviation from the country’s name. > > Usage controls whether something is an insult, not etymological origins. Likewise “Chinaman” has become offensive in the US, even though its construction parallels (although not exactly the same, since it refers to a country rather than a nationality) acceptable terms like Irishman, Scotchman, or Frenchman. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268/60 "2019-02-20T18:25:39Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > Food, “Comida” is a feminine noun, therefore it should be “magníficA” and “Muy buenA” 🙂 Maybe he meant “alimento.”😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-is-it-offensive-how-offensive/829268.md?page=4)