to think mumsnetters have overreacted

[mother2b]

i think that racism is worng and am very anti racism, but i also think that its things like over reacting to chinky when all the poor lady meant was to go for a chinese is what is making our world so overly PC, was a little thoughtless but wasnt meant to be racist.

i just think that its was completely blown out of all proportion!!!

PC is a stupid term in itself, seems to be a handy thing to blame when people want to be offensive but without the consequences.

Surely Common Sense would be a better term?

Common aens and coomon decency, maybe.
Treat others as you would want to be treated.

they're not allowed to in schools because of racism but can still use the term whiteboards, people relate the terms 'rascim' to people that of of a colour other than white, so becasue we are white we are stronger, where i live people of different culture and colors can be just as racist to white people as white to black/brown/colored

am not racism, i coem from a multicultural family, i just think all of you are being a bit ott

I ahve no idea what you are on about.
No one has ever said we can't say 'black board'

The blackboard thing has become abit of a myth and is of course not racist and offensive.
Chinky is racist, and although the term going for a 'chinky' has become part of everday language does not make it ok.
Although we go for an Indian we would not dream of saying we are going for a 'Paki'
If we are going for an Italian we do not say I am going for a ' Spick'
I do not see the difference.

One of dd's schoolfriends is Chinese. I spoke to her dad (we are friends otherwise I wouldn't have done!) about this this morning, interested to hear his point of view, he didn't have time for a long discussion but he has just emailed the following. You might be interested to read it, M2B. He also attaches this link to the origin of the word, which you might similarly like to read. A little information might give you a little more understanding.

People do not stop to consider where the word come from before they use it. Their ignorance leads them to believe that it is innocent abbreviation for Chinese takeaway and this is the way in which a lot of people tell themselves that it is a common word and not offensive, but this is not the case.

There are some ideas regarding where the term comes from. One is that it describes our eyes, the traditional caricature of the Chinese man. We are called this word because our eyes are like chinks. That is we, the people, not our food, not our ideas, but we as people. There is also the idea that Chinese voice and languages sounds to many Western ears very singsong, and this led to Chinese people being called "chinky-chonky" as that is how people thought we speak. In the 1970s it was common to be called chinky-chonky. Sometimes they still do. Again refers to us as people, not as a description of our food.

The description of our food comes from these description of Chinese people, all which have derogatory origins. The word is used to describe Chinese, and it does not matter whether the context is food or not. It is difficult though as it is so often used by people who are unaware of these origins and who do not realise the racist reasons. They do not have racist intentions when they use the word. They may not mean to be racist and they do not mean to offend but because of the origin on the word and the way in which is was and still is used it does offend. Something which offends is offensive. Maybe by the time my daughter ahs grown people will realise just how offensive and she will not grow up around people who use it.

I've never heard that term used as anything other than a racist insult.
Never for a takeaway.

It's not acceptible to use such words and as I always say on threads like this. The only issue I have is that whilst it's commonplace for people to understand that this is not acceptible they still find it completely OK to laugh at and abuse people with ginger hair.

I was and know people who were hounded at time for the colour of their hair and yet I never saw any racism in the secondary school I went to.

Also with refering to 'chinky' as a chinese takeaway I think there is a divide in age.. older people may well think it's more acceptible because in their day that's what it was called iykwim.. The key is to instill in our generation and the next that it is not alright to use such terms. There is no excuse for ignorance these days

posts crossed with WWB, that's very interesting reading.

Just for info we don´t call them whiteboards any more they are called markerboards. Personally I don´t see what´s wrong with the words whiteboards or blackboards but hey ho!

i just want to say that i dont use the expression my self but i do say "do you want to go for a chinese" and that is probably offensive but you just cant win, i just think that mn's are overeacting

o bloody hell ANOTHER thread?! mn is flooding and i have to go.
just let it lie.
The word is offensive stop bringing it up.

ffs, i bet half of you havent read the context in which it was used, it wasnt malicious, it was a bit thoughtless, but it wasnt ment in a bad way, this is why i think you are all OVERREACTING

I say "do you want to go to the chinese for dinner" but I guess that's because it has "Chinese Takeaway" written outside in big letters rather than it's name. It's weird though, when you think about it because I don't say "Do you want to go for an Indian" I say "Do you fancy going out for a curry".

LL lol i think i might.. this 'debate' is leaking everywhere lol

i don't know why people think it's ok to use rasist words to people?

I think happydaddy's right with the common sense call. PC is a silly term and ill-used, and chinky is part of the lexicon of racist language which we all now know is unacceptable and should not be used.

I have beef though with people being 'offended' all the time - and using that attack on their sensibilites as justification for action. When people say 'I'm offended' they say it with as much self-righteous hysteria as they might say "I've just been hit over the head with an iron bar.'

It is not the end of the world if you're offended. Our sensitivities and judgements are not sacred, nor precious, they will be assaulted and battered and this is just how it should be.

yes but thats differant, going out for a curry, when you go for a chinese it would be a bit of a mouth full to say 2 oh lets go out for some DUCK-AND-BLACK-BEAN-SAUCE-WITH-SOME-CHICKEN-IN-LEMON-SAUCE-WITH-SPECIAL-FRIED-RICE-AND-PRAWN-CRACKER S"

now all mn's know what i order from chinese palace (is that racist?)

surely you should like someone because of their personality, not their race?

Racially offensive words should no longer be used, ever. Due to years of dominance and oppression. It is not the same as being offended by other non racially offensive words (i hope that is what ahundredtimes is referring to). The term PC is now out of date.
IF you stop writing/ using these words for then our chldren might never know they existed.
Now that sounds like a good thing does it not?

But 100 maybe you haven't really been badly offended before, so you haven't had to take action.

My sister is adopted and black - we've always grown up in rural areas where there aren't many black people, - she's been called every possible racist term, she's been offended. I've been offended by having my sister called nignog, nigger, blacky etc. It's quite hard to know what to do with that 'attack on ones sensibilities'.