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One of my mates is a Wog and we refer to him as that (he also refers to himself as a Wog) all the time. As far as we’re concerned that’s just an alternate word for his nationality and no different from calling an Australian an Aussie.
I’d argue you could totally use “Aussie” as an insult in the right context and it’s the same with Wog… at least where I live.
Honestly until I’d read this post, I hadn’t even considered that Wog might be insulting. And I don’t think I’ve ever even heard the word “Paki” in my life. No idea what it implies to be honest.
The difference between a racial slur and an acceptably shortened country name is a matter of history. “Aussie” should never be seen as a slur because it has never been a commonly used racial insult. Context is important.
I was surprised about “wog” too. I’m a Melburnian and reading some of the comments here just made me realise it could just be a Melbourne thing. A lot of my friends refer to themselves by that term and want us to use it too as a sign of closeness/affection.
I’d never heard Paki in Australia before either.
Really it’s all about intent and intonation. Given what we call close friends and sworn enemies alike ;)
I grew up watching Cricket in the 80’s and “Paki” literally meant a player from Pakistan, like “Pom” for England, “Kiwi” for New Zealand and “Aussie” for Australia. It wasn’t a slur at all. Thanks to the Internet, I am aware that it has a very different connotation in the UK. The term has fallen out of use for obvious reasons, but if I heard someone referring to the Pakistani Cricket team as “Pakis”, I would no assume any malice at all.
That said, Sam Kerr has lived in the UK for long enough that she would be aware this is not appropriate. Ever.
Not that we know what the details are, and this pure speculation isn’t really achieving anything.
Not really, I think this is a widespread cultural misconception we have in Australia. Slurs don’t magically become less damaging or offensive because “it was just a joke bro” or “I didn’t mean it like that”. This extends to all areas like ableism, homophobia, etc. It’s never okay to just casually direct offensive words at people you don’t already have some kind of understanding with.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply you should just use it at random and it’s acceptable. As with even words like “queer” you should know whether they’re OK with using the term to refer to someone rather than just assume they’re OK with it.
If you meant intent as in the context and setting in which the words are used (like towards a mate) then I definitely agree. I have just seen other people use that word today to mean “there’s nothing wrong with what she said because she didn’t mean it in a racist way” which I don’t agree with at all.
Completely agree. I will admit Australians are terrible at casual racism then when someone gets (rightly) riled up the response is “it was just a joke!” is super common too, which is just doubly insulting.
One of my mates is a Wog and we refer to him as that (he also refers to himself as a Wog) all the time. As far as we’re concerned that’s just an alternate word for his nationality and no different from calling an Australian an Aussie.
I’d argue you could totally use “Aussie” as an insult in the right context and it’s the same with Wog… at least where I live.
Honestly until I’d read this post, I hadn’t even considered that Wog might be insulting. And I don’t think I’ve ever even heard the word “Paki” in my life. No idea what it implies to be honest.
The difference between a racial slur and an acceptably shortened country name is a matter of history. “Aussie” should never be seen as a slur because it has never been a commonly used racial insult. Context is important.
I was surprised about “wog” too. I’m a Melburnian and reading some of the comments here just made me realise it could just be a Melbourne thing. A lot of my friends refer to themselves by that term and want us to use it too as a sign of closeness/affection.
I’d never heard Paki in Australia before either.
Really it’s all about intent and intonation. Given what we call close friends and sworn enemies alike ;)
I grew up watching Cricket in the 80’s and “Paki” literally meant a player from Pakistan, like “Pom” for England, “Kiwi” for New Zealand and “Aussie” for Australia. It wasn’t a slur at all. Thanks to the Internet, I am aware that it has a very different connotation in the UK. The term has fallen out of use for obvious reasons, but if I heard someone referring to the Pakistani Cricket team as “Pakis”, I would no assume any malice at all.
That said, Sam Kerr has lived in the UK for long enough that she would be aware this is not appropriate. Ever.
Not that we know what the details are, and this pure speculation isn’t really achieving anything.
To be honest I don’t follow any sports at all, was just curious about what was going on. But you’re right, speculation doesn’t help anyone.
Not really, I think this is a widespread cultural misconception we have in Australia. Slurs don’t magically become less damaging or offensive because “it was just a joke bro” or “I didn’t mean it like that”. This extends to all areas like ableism, homophobia, etc. It’s never okay to just casually direct offensive words at people you don’t already have some kind of understanding with.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply you should just use it at random and it’s acceptable. As with even words like “queer” you should know whether they’re OK with using the term to refer to someone rather than just assume they’re OK with it.
If you meant intent as in the context and setting in which the words are used (like towards a mate) then I definitely agree. I have just seen other people use that word today to mean “there’s nothing wrong with what she said because she didn’t mean it in a racist way” which I don’t agree with at all.
Completely agree. I will admit Australians are terrible at casual racism then when someone gets (rightly) riled up the response is “it was just a joke!” is super common too, which is just doubly insulting.