Yes, you are right of course, gora is an adjective, but I have heard it often used as a noun as well, as in “ohe, gora!”. By white skin, I wasn’t referring so much to the skin as the person wearing it – in other wrds, Whitey!
Well, I’m an amrici, and I am not sure it has always been used nicely on me…
Oh and another thing I have been called in Indian villages is “World Bank”. Not derogatory, but interesting nonetheless.
Its like this, when they call you ‘oye, gora!’, they do not mean it spitefully. But when they want to hurt you, they will call you ‘gori chamdi!’ A very fine distinction between the two, but thats where the the slur comes in.
to the best of my knowledge, america is still in the good books of indians.
World Bank!! This is really funny. makes note to use it in the future
another racial slur:
australians are bloody kangaroos.
Several years ago I heard a South African ex-patriate refer to Afrikaaners as “Yawnnies” with a clearly derogatory intent. The origin no doubt based on the prevalence of the Dutch name for “John” among the Afrikaaners.
Here’s one sent in by Mrs No-Supper-For-You from Norwood in Lancashire …
Miserable Fat Belgian Bastards!
I saw T-shirts on Maui with a white guy on a spit like a pig with the following caption:
Haole, the other white meat
That’s pretty rude.
It’s funny as hell, given that that’s often one of the the first questions (so I hear) asked by a haole upon meeting a Maui person.
Context takes the edge off. On a rack it would elicit laughs or offense; on a Caucasian guy it’d be funny as hell; on a Polynesian or Samoan behemoth, it’d be scary; and on a restaurant employee or anyone eating, it’d be unnerving.