> -----Original Message----- > From: Shawn McKenzie [mailto:nospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] > Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 3:44 PM > To: php-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: Re: Question about PHP Licence and it's future! > > tedd wrote: > > At 12:53 PM -0500 2/25/08, Andrés Robinet wrote: > >> *gringos* started calling me Rob long ago. It's shorter, it's easier to > >> pronounce and it's a short form for my last name (Robinet). > > > > Gringos? > > > > That brings up another subject, why is it that Caucasians don't have any > > offensive slang words? We are called by all sorts of slang (i.e., > > cracker, white-bread, hunkie, and so on), but we don't have something > > equivalent to the n-word/ > > > > No reply is needed -- just a comment. > > > >> Thanks for pointing out the *who* instead of *that* :), since I didn't > >> realized > >> it until now. > > > > That's alright, many English writers get that wrong. You see, when the > > object is not a person, then the use of "that" is proper. However, if > > you are referring to a person, then "who" is proper. > > > > I see a similar thing with people using "then" when they mean "than", > > but that may be a Brit thing -- like driving on the wrong side of the > > street or eating with their fork in the wrong hand -- you know one of > > those cultural things that went haywire. :-) > > > > Cheers, > > > > tedd > > > > They (anyone non-white) call us howlies in Hawaii I believe and it's not > meant as a compliment. Regardless, most whites don't take any of these > that negatively because we don't view ourselves as the oppressed and > don't view the others as oppressors shouting offensive slang at us. > > Cinco de Mayo is big here in Texas and I held a Gringo de Mayo party > last year on the 5th of May. It was a big hit! > > -Shawn Well, I don't know why some people gives so much importance to words. But I think it's related to what someone said once (don't know who): "The raw description of evil scandalizes people much more than the perpetration of it" I have some friends who are called *gringo* and some others who are called *niger*. What's more, here in Argentina, many times we call ourselves *niger* (The Spanish word is *negro*) as you would say *buddy* (like *hey niger, let's play soccer tomorrow*), independently of skin color or social status. We also use the same word (*niger*) in a slighting way, referring to ignorant people or people with bad habits (among other things). But we rarely use *gringo* in a slighting way. More often than not we call *gringa* to a hot blonde woman. Now, in Mexico, a *gringo* would mean an US citizen most of the time, and it would be used in a pejorative way most of the time as well. I think you'd all benefit of reading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gringo: "In South America, the word is not pejorative. In some countries it may be used to refer to any foreigner who does not speak Spanish, but in other countries it is used just or especially to refer to U.S. citizens; it may also be used to describe a blond or brunette white native person with soft facial features and light colored eyes. For instance, it is a popular nickname" Now, why I said *gringos*? In my case gringos meant both US citizens and Caucasian people (specifically German people), and I didn't mean it in any pejorative way. My company's president (who started calling me Rob in the first place) is a native German, now living in Florida for several years. Same for her husband, and same for many business partners or clients or friends of her. And I have a very nice relationship with them, and they all call me Rob. If I wrote an email signing it *Regards, Andrés*, they wouldn't know who I am (lol). However, I must admit that I used the term *gringo* in the Mexican sense at least once in my life, but just for the fun of it (back in 2002 when I entered English chat rooms to perfection my English and learn a bit of the slang... I was such a dumbass, lol). IMHO, more important than words is the mouth that pronounces them and the ears that hear them, my father-in-law calls me *Mr Magoo* because of my glasses, and I call him *Viejo violeta* (something similar to *pervert*) and we get along very well (despite I've stolen her beloved daughter :D). Regards, Rob(inet) Andrés Robinet | Lead Developer | BESTPLACE CORPORATION 5100 Bayview Drive 206, Royal Lauderdale Landings, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 | TEL 954-607-4207 | FAX 954-337-2695 | Email: info@xxxxxxxxxxxxx | MSN Chat: best@xxxxxxxxxxxxx | SKYPE: bestplace | Web: bestplace.biz | Web: seo-diy.com -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
