# Gringo offensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 12, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667 "2006-01-12T15:41:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/61 "2006-01-12T19:55:54Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > But, would you extend this to other racial slurs? Does context matter then? Sure it does. If a black guy turns to his friend and says, “What’s up, my nigger?” that’s usually not taken as an insult. However, if the two start arguing and he says, “Damn, but you’re an ignorant nigger,” his buddy might be insulted. Context. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/62 "2006-01-12T20:10:04Z")
So if an American says: “fucking gringo hypocrisy” what does that mean? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/63 "2006-01-12T20:11:13Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > But if someone said to me, “You’re just an ignorant, hypocritical gringo,” I might be. [Martin Riggs] Hypocritical _and_ a gringo? Bummer. [/Martin Riggs] ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/64 "2006-01-12T20:24:12Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > So, don’t address iniquity because things aren’t fair and there are worse problems? I’m saying wasting your time whining about this miniscule inequity is akin to going to the ER for a hangnail and getting pissed that they tend to the gunshot victim first. It’s so insubstanial as to not even quality for attention. If we ever get to our rainbow stew and silver spoons then would might be able to bring this issue up without looking shallow and self-centered. But even then it is immaterial. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/65 "2006-01-12T20:31:14Z")
> [@CBEscapee](#): > > So if an American says: “fucking gringo hypocrisy” what does that mean? Let me know the next time that happens. ---
**Author:** ![Gringo\_Miami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@Gringo\_Miami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gringo_Miami)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/66 "2006-01-12T20:41:58Z")
This is interesting… I have just found out that there was a thread yesterday in which my User name was used as a debating point. When that thread was closed, this one opened. I am a newbie here, but not in life. I have been reading the Straight Dope for years, and turned many people on to Cecil’s work. I have read the SDMB for a shorter time, but tend to read the comments on Cecil’s columns and comments on Staff Reports more than the other sections. I am 56 years old, am retired from a career in NYC law enforcement, and am well into a second career here in Miami unrelated to my first life. That’s enough about me. As I said… I have used the nickname Gringo for years, and NEVER had anyone offended by it. Here in Miami, it is used as humor, not hate. I repeat my offer - If any of the mods think that this name is in poor taste, I will work with them to immediately change it. Absent that, it stays. I now return you to your regularly scheduled BBQ pit. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/67 "2006-01-12T20:48:24Z")
> [@Hoodoo Ulove](#): > > I wonder whether the mods would have trouble with a poster naming himself “Nigger\_Boise”? A gringo can be black, brown or white, it refers to any American citizen, Some relatives in the old country do call me gringo because I became an american citizen. Of course some Latin Americans do apply it only to white Americans. > [@Scumpup](#): > > I never once heard a Mexicano use the word gringo in anything but a disparaging manner. When they wanted to use a friendlier term, they typically used the word “anglo.” > > I wouldn’t say that being called a gringo upsets me, but I also recognize that it is used as a perjorative. At least were I’m located, I can confirm that Anglo is derogatory: > **[Talk:Gringo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Gringo)** > > 2006 > 2007 > 2008 > 2009 > 2010 > 2011 > > The word Gringo means "the green coat",I am positively sure Mexicans, Costa Ricans and Latin Americans would never use a variant of griego 'Greek' which means SLAVE as a slur to describe the Man from U.S.A. and/or an insult. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.203.7.251 (talk) 10:27, 23 November 2011 (UTC)\[\] > The word Gringo means just that "Green Go" i.e. "¡Fuera los verdes!" and was said by Hispanic people to the US soldiers - who wore green unifor... > [@](#): > > 1. Currently in the American Southwest I have noticed that ‘Anglo’ is a bit less complementary than ‘Gringo.’ This was referred in a documentary on Los Angeles and I’m aware of it here in northern New Mexico where I do construction with both hispanic Nortenos and Mexicans, as well as other Latin Americans. In the Los Angeles documentary the ‘anglos’ were the ‘ricos’ of ‘West LA’ whereas ‘gringos’ were just other working stiffs of European descent. I’d be interested if others are aware of this pattern. And I can confirm also that one term referred in the discussion, “Gringolandia” existed from the late 70’s > [@](#): > > 1. In Mexico, the United States are jocosely dubbed “Gringolandia”, a pun with “gringo” and “Disneyland” (Disneylandia in Spanish), the former being an association with people from the U.S. and the latter with the country itself. So it is insulting? In my experience it is more like a funny jab, but I do agree that context can change it to an insulting term. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/68 "2006-01-12T20:59:55Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > I’m saying wasting your time whining about this miniscule inequity is akin to going to the ER for a hangnail and getting pissed that they tend to the gunshot victim first. Analogy is always suspect. Here’s, it’s totally useless. Racism is bad, no matter who does it. That’s the entirety of the issue. Nobody should be racist, and we shouldn’t give people a pass on being racist. Your litmus test of ‘past injustices’ also does nothing to address current racism. If a white kid gets beaten up for being white in a black school district, I doubt that he’ll take much comfort from the fact that the racially motivated beating didn’t have jim crow laws as an historical parallel. It also sets up an absurd standard that becomes obfuscatory and impossible to follow. A black man who hates whites would be racist if he’s in Africa in a region with a history of hating whites, but if he comes to America he’s no longer a racist? Racism is not dependent on the history of a slur, or the geographic location, or who’s in power. It is dependent on treating people are mere exemplars of a group rather than individuals. And it is wrong no matter who does it, or why, or when, or where. This PC “white guilt” is really getting tiresome. Racism is racism is racism. Either you’re commited to true egalitarianism and individuality, or you’re not. Racism will never be eliminated as long some ‘approved minorities’ are allowed to be racist. > [@Homebrew](#): > > It’s so insubstanial as to not even quality for attention Why? Are we striving for a society without racism, or a society with racism? > [@Homebrew](#): > > If we ever get to our rainbow stew and silver spoons then would might be able to bring this issue up without looking shallow and self-centered. Believing that nobody should be racist is shallow and self-centered? ---
**Author:** ![Gringo\_Miami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@Gringo\_Miami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gringo_Miami)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/69 "2006-01-12T21:00:16Z")
Got to disagree a bit… while in Mexico… use of Gringo might refer to American citizens, but this is certainly NOT the case in Miami. Here… Gringo = non-latino Gringa = non-latina. American citizenship is NOT considered. I have many neighbors and friends who are Nicaraugan, Venezuelan, Brazilian, Colombian, Costa Rican and of course Cuban. The majority of them are natural born Americans or are naturalized citizens. None of them would be called gringo or gringa down here. Ethnicity is the distinction, not legal status of citizenship. Any Jewish friend of mine would be a landsmann, as I am Jewish. The rest are goyem (gentiles). (There is a LARGE Jewish Cuban community here in Miami… they refer to themselves as Jewbans) We invent many words to distinguish different groups, and, to belabor the point, we can use them in a variety of contexts. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/70 "2006-01-12T21:21:20Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Your litmus test of ‘past injustices’ also does nothing to address current racism. If a white kid gets beaten up for being white in a black school district, I doubt that he’ll take much comfort from the fact that the racially motivated beating didn’t have jim crow laws as an historical parallel. Getting your ass beaten is a far cry from being insulted and it’s absurdly stupid, and I suspect an intentional red herring, to compare the two. I said the WORDS are not worth the bother to get upset about or whine about. Violence is a whole other issue. > [@](#): > > This PC “white guilt” is really getting tiresome. Racism is racism is racism. Either you’re commited to true egalitarianism and individuality, or you’re not. Racism will never be eliminated as long some ‘approved minorities’ are allowed to be racist. This is balderdash. Anyone is allowed to be as racist as they want. However, their actions affect my actions towards them. I’m far less likely to deal with a rabid racist than a reasonable person. I’m also not inclined to think highly of titty-babies who cry about being called cracker. Let me know when the rainbow stew is done and then I’ll start worrying about relatively minor offenses such as cracker. I suspect if we were to ever reach real Justice and Equality, the minor stuff would take care of itself. Until then, worry about real inequity and injustice and quit bitching about inconsequenctial shit like honky. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/71 "2006-01-12T21:25:34Z")
> [@Gringo\_Miami](#): > > Got to disagree a bit… while in Mexico… use of Gringo might refer to American citizens, but this is certainly NOT the case in Miami. > Here… Gringo = non-latino Gringa = non-latina. > > American citizenship is NOT considered. I have many neighbors and friends who are Nicaraugan, Venezuelan, Brazilian, Colombian, Costa Rican and of course Cuban. The majority of them are natural born Americans or are naturalized citizens. None of them would be called gringo or gringa down here. > > Ethnicity is the distinction, not legal status of citizenship. Any Jewish friend of mine would be a landsmann, as I am Jewish. The rest are goyem (gentiles). (There is a LARGE Jewish Cuban community here in Miami… they refer to themselves as Jewbans) We invent many words to distinguish different groups, and, to belabor the point, we can use them in a variety of contexts. I know this is a pit thread, \*\*but welcome to the SDMB. \*\* **Good to have you**. I think most of understood that under most cases Gringo is not an inheritantly racist word. It boiled down to the context one poster used it in. It should not have blown up into this big of a deal but somehow it has. This is the 5th thread in a chain of threads now. Jim ---
**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:** [January 12, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/72 "2006-01-12T21:33:24Z")
> [@Mr Bus Guy](#): > > Hell, when i was a kid, we had a 28 pound siamese cat my dad named Gringo. And think of the name people commonly used to give black dogs back in the earlier decades of the 20th century. Nothing disparaging meant by it. :dubious: I can’t get too offended by use of the word “gringo” here. You have to consider the source. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/73 "2006-01-12T21:34:10Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > Getting your ass beaten is a far cry from being insulted and it’s absurdly stupid, and I suspect an intentional red herring, to compare the two. I wasn’t comparing the two, I was offering different examples of differing expressions of racism. It’s absurdly stupid, and I suspect an intentional red herring, to claim that I was comparing the two. And I’ll go one step further. > [@Homebrew (bolding mine)](#): > > Gringo is even less offensive because it’s usually not meant as an insult and has no history of being **used in conjunction with violence** or oppression. So you can use it as a standard when you want, but when I use an example of racism that includes violence, it’s a red herring. > [@Homebrew](#): > > I said the WORDS are not worth the bother to get upset about or whine about. Violence is a whole other issue. Your argument is not merely about words, and I don’t think you’d be fooling anybody by maintaing that. Your argument is about the racist nature of those words, and why people should or should not want racists not to voice their racism. The argument is about racism, not “words”. > [@Homebrew](#): > > This is balderdash. Anyone is allowed to be as racist as they want. However, their actions affect my actions towards them. I’m far less likely to deal with a rabid racist than a reasonable person. I’m also not inclined to think highly of titty-babies who cry about being called cracker. Ooooh, titty-babies. I’m glad that we’re all the way up to gradeschool recess taunts. And it’s not balderdash. Not only are you explicitly excusing the racism of minorities, you’re attacking those who have the temerity to say that they shouldn’t be racists. Those “titty-babies” who actually believe that racism is wrong, as opposed to your position which is that it’s wrong when white people do it. > [@Homebrew](#): > > Let me know when the rainbow stew is done and then I’ll start worrying about relatively minor offenses such as cracker. Let me know when you’ve got the courage of your convictions and intellectual consistency and I’ll remind ya. > [@Homebrew](#): > > I suspect if we were to ever reach real Justice and Equality, the minor stuff would take care of itself. And how will we ever reach justice and equality when people are allowed to be racist as long as they’re not white? > [@Homebrew](#): > > Until then, worry about real inequity and injustice and quit bitching about inconsequenctial shit like honky. Sorry, I don’t give any racists a pass. Why don’t you, instead, stop being a “titty-baby” and actually have some principles and declare that racism is bad no matter who does it, instead of attacking those who’re saying that it’s wrong to be racist? ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/74 "2006-01-12T21:37:12Z")
I didn’t know that the word had a derogatory content. Ithought it just meant “a white english speaker from North America”. I use the word to refer to myself when talking to latino friends. I guess I’ve owned the word “Gringo” and sucked the power right out of it like the rappers have owned the word “Nigger”. Sticks & Stones. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Batman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@The\_Batman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Batman)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/75 "2006-01-12T21:57:03Z")
It’s NOT insulting, it’s just a short-hand for “American”. Like Cannuck is for Canadian, Jap for Japanese or WASP for white anglo-saxon protestants. Sometimes people take offense to these terms and in those cases out of respect to them these individuals should’nt be called that. But that doesn’t make them offensive words on the same level as nigger or dune coon. ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/76 "2006-01-12T22:16:07Z")
> [@Tijuana\_Golds](#): > > It’s NOT insulting, it’s just a short-hand for “American”. Like Cannuck is for Canadian, Jap for Japanese or WASP for white anglo-saxon protestants. That’s kind of a funny statement considering that “jap” is absolutely considered insulting in the US (though not typically elsewhere): > [@dictionary.com](#): > > Jap > n. Offensive Slang > > ``` > Used as a disparaging term for a person of Japanese birth or descent. > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/77 "2006-01-12T22:18:30Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > I wasn’t comparing the two, I was offering different examples of differing expressions of racism. It’s absurdly stupid, and I suspect an intentional red herring, to claim that I was comparing the two. How clever you are to rework my own words against me. I’m awed and now I see the light. I’m not making excuses for racism. I’m not saying racism is a good thing. I’m just saying that insults are far less onerous than violence, injustice and inequality. I’m unsympathetic to white people who whine about being insulted. Yes, it’s racist for the black thug to call you a cracker. But so what? It does you no real harm. White racism has and continues to have far more negative consequences for society than a little bit of thugs insulting Joe Sixpack. If you want racism to stop, it isn’t going to happen by whining about honky. Until the playing field is level, until DWB never happens again, until security guards quit tailing black teenagers in malls just because they’re black, until banks lend money on an equal footing, until white women quit clutching their purses a little tighter when they see a black man, until all the other real injustices are solved, then wasting any time on cracker is treating the hang-nail while the shooting victim bleeds to death. It would be terrific if everyone everywhere were to rise above the racism far too prevalent in society and treated everyone equally. But I can’t make anyone else do so. I can only control my own actions. And I don’t find whining about name-calling to be productive. > [@](#): > > Those “titty-babies” who actually believe that racism is wrong, as opposed to your position which is that it’s wrong when white people do it. No, mostly they are idiots who want to call blacks niggers and don’t like that they get called on it and are jealous that they can be insulted with less outrage coming as a result. They just want to be offended by nonsense as they preceive other groups as doing. And to get back to the OP: Gringo, specifically, is not usually a prejorative and is in no way comparable to redneck, much less spic or nigger, when it _is_ used to insult. It’s on the level of titty-baby and cry-baby, which is precisely why I’ve been using those mildly insulting terms to draw the parallel. ---
**Author:** ![AFAIKnow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a6a055/32.png) [@AFAIKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AFAIKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/78 "2006-01-12T22:25:29Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > I’m unsympathetic to white people who whine about being insulted. . Another racist dictating to others what racism should be. It would be droll if it wasn’t so fucking monotonous. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/79 "2006-01-12T22:31:50Z")
> [@AFAIKnow](#): > > Another racist dictating to others what racism should be. It would be droll if it wasn’t so fucking monotonous. How do you figure I’m a racist? I’m not prejudiced against whites. Hell most of my lovers have been and all of my family are white, as is my pasty, sunburn in 10 minutes, so white I’m almost translucent self. ---
**Author:** ![AFAIKnow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a6a055/32.png) [@AFAIKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AFAIKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667/80 "2006-01-12T22:43:22Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > How do you figure I’m a racist? I’m not prejudiced against whites. Hell most of my lovers have been and all of my family are white, as is my pasty, sunburn in 10 minutes, so white I’m almost translucent self. Self-flagellation comes to mind. Howver, IANAP. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gringo-offensive/339667.md?page=5)