The Word 'Yankee' and 'yank'

[ReD_ReBeL]

how come so many people who are against descrimination and prejudice still use the words 'yankee' and 'yank'?
If i were to refer to a pakistani as a 'paki'(which i dont) there would be hell raised in this forum.
So what makes it alright to be ignorant to one peoples and not the other?

[Black Dagger]

Yankee

1. A native or inhabitant of New England.
2. A native or inhabitant of a northern U.S. state, especially a Union soldier during the Civil War.
3. A native or inhabitant of the United States.


Because the Civil War is over?

[TC]

Refering to americans as 'yankees' (which properly only refers to new englanders and sometimes some new yorkers) is kindof like refering to british as 'english'.

[Okocim]

Originally posted by TragicClown@Aug 19 2006, 04:57 PM
Refering to americans as 'yankees' (which properly only refers to new englanders and sometimes some new yorkers) is kindof like refering to british as 'english'.

not really, because England and Britain are two tangibly different things. Like France and the EU are different.


You guys don't like being called Yanks?

[TC]

Yah but, New England in US is similarly a culturally and politically distinct area with specific boarders within the larger state, like England is in the UK...i'm not sure if other americans but, especially southerners, really appreciate being called yanks.

[TheGreatOne]

I live in the northern US and I don't really mind being called a yankee or a yank. Then again, I think it's just stupid as hell to be offended by any word at all.

[ReD_ReBeL]

Yankee

1. A native or inhabitant of New England.
2. A native or inhabitant of a northern U.S. state, especially a Union soldier during the Civil War.
3. A native or inhabitant of the United States.

Nigger
-A person of black african origin or race.


So this means it's allright for me to start calling black africans niggers?

.....Seriously i thought this site was about the thought of ending ignorance and prejedice ...but some of you people seem to be continueing it on.
Kinda double standards aint it not?
cruel to call a pakistani a 'paki' .cruel to called a black person a 'nigger'. cruel to call a japanese a 'jap' ....yet it's fair to call an North American a 'Yank'?

[LSD]

how come so many people who are against descrimination and prejudice still use the words 'yankee' and 'yank'?

Because "Yankee" is not and never has been a discriminatory or prejudicial word.

Nigger
-A person of black african origin or race.

Where did you get that definition from? Because the dictionary defines it as:

• Offensive Slang
  a. Used as a disparaging term for a Black person.
  b. Used as a disparaging term for a member of any dark-skinned people.

You see? Disparaging short-hands are offensive, but non-disparaging ones are not. Asserting that every single national nick-name is offensive solely by virtue of being a national nick-name is insanity of the highest order.

cruel to call a pakistani a 'paki' .cruel to called a black person a 'nigger'. cruel to call a japanese a 'jap' ....yet it's fair to call an North American a 'Yank'?

That's correct, because "yankees" are not and never have been oppressed due to their nationality. Words are not offensive because of their general category, they are offensive because of their histories.

"Paki" invokes colonialism and imperialism, "jap" reminds us of internment and state-sponsored racism, "nigger" harkens back to slavery and "Jim Crow".

"Yankee", however, has absolutely no association with discrimination and describes a group that is, probably, the most priveleged nationality on the planet. Discrimination has to have a material basis to exist. That's why "reverse racism" is a crock of shit and why, just like with "Brit" or "Cannuck" "Yankee" is a perfectly acceptable word.

[rouchambeau]

If i were to refer to a pakistani as a 'paki'(which i dont) there would be hell raised in this forum.
So what makes it alright to be ignorant to one peoples and not the other?

Because it's silly to talk of the "oppression" that white people face. A black person can call me a cracker all day long, but that doesn't change the fact that the police are out to get him, he probably wont have an education like mine, and I'm not the minority.

[eyeswideopen]

Originally posted by LSD@Aug 20 2006, 02:18 AM

how come so many people who are against descrimination and prejudice still use the words 'yankee' and 'yank'?

Because "Yankee" is not and never has been a discriminatory or prejudicial word.

Nigger
-A person of black african origin or race.

Where did you get that definition from? Because the dictionary defines it as:

• Offensive Slang
  a. Used as a disparaging term for a Black person.
  b. Used as a disparaging term for a member of any dark-skinned people.
  

You see? Disparaging short-hands are offensive, but non-disparaging ones are not. Asserting that every single national nick-name is offensive solely by virtue of being a national nick-name is insanity of the highest order.

cruel to call a pakistani a 'paki' .cruel to called a black person a 'nigger'. cruel to call a japanese a 'jap' ....yet it's fair to call an North American a 'Yank'?

That's correct, because "yankees" are not and never have been oppressed due to their nationality. Words are not offensive because of their general category, they are offensive because of their histories.

"Paki" invokes colonialism and imperialism, "jap" reminds us of internment and state-sponsored racism, "nigger" harkens back to slavery and "Jim Crow".

"Yankee", however, has absolutely no association with discrimination and describes a group that is, probably, the most priveleged nationality on the planet. Discrimination has to have a material basis to exist. That's why "reverse racism" is a crock of shit and why, just like with "Brit" or "Cannuck" "Yankee" is a perfectly acceptable word.

COuldn't have said it better myself. There is no past or oppression in where the word Yank was used as demeaning. And if it were so, then the highest paid baseball team (New York Yankees) would change their name. I'm sure the MLB wouldn't allow a team name "the niggers", or "the Pakis", or "the wet backs" because it would be offensive. Where as the yankees is just simply where you're from.

[Floyce White]

"Yankees" refers to "Jan" which is "John" in Dutch--a common name. "Janke" means "little John" "Jan Kees, breath like cheese" was the insult hurled at immigrants from Holland.

"Niggardly" means "stingy" and "lazy," a hypocritical comment often made by slave owners and overseers who themselves did no work, but ridiculed the slaves for not working as hard as the lazy overseers wanted them to.

[Ceeker]

OK, i'll call you a USian.

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

Originally posted by TragicClown@Aug 19 2006, 11:57 AM
Refering to americans as 'yankees' (which properly only refers to new englanders and sometimes some new yorkers) is kindof like refering to british as 'english'.

the definition clearly includes all Americans
which Americans in particular the word originally refered to is beside the point

"yanqui go home" is a good and fun way to say no to imperialism

[eyeswideshut]

Originally posted by Floyce White@Aug 25 2006, 06:07 AM
"Yankees" refers to "Jan" which is "John" in Dutch--a common name. "Janke" means "little John" "Jan Kees, breath like cheese" was the insult hurled at immigrants from Holland.

"Niggardly" means "stingy" and "lazy," a hypocritical comment often made by slave owners and overseers who themselves did no work, but ridiculed the slaves for not working as hard as the lazy overseers wanted them to.

NIGGER comes from the spanish word NEGRO which means BLACK. mmmkay? and there is in fact a country called NIGERIA, which is also another reason why they call them NIGGERS. (Not that i'm using a word as offensive, simply to explain)

[YSR]

Okay, thanks genious. But it's still offensive, which is why we don't think it's acceptable.

The ancient etymological roots are irrelevent.

[RevSouth]

I am mildly offended when people call me a Yankee, since I am from the South, for in the US we only refer to Northeasterners as Yanks. But it is not a racial term or anything in modern language, and the United States is a pretty racially diverse nation, so it is not very discriminatory. Just vexing.

[apathy maybe]

I read that South and Central Americans call everyone from the USA yankees. So it seems the further south you go in America, the more people who fall under the definition of Yank.


(If you want insulting, many people (at least older people) here in Australia call USAians septics. Comes from septic tank, rhyming slang for yank. A septic tank for those who didn't know is where all the toilet waste goes to decompose (rather then going out into a drain and down to the nearest river or sea).)

[Hampton]

And there is in fact a country called NIGERIA, which is also another reason why they call them NIGGERS.

Umm, no.

The name comes from a combination of the words "Niger" (the country's longest river) and "Area". Its adjective form is Nigerian, which should not be confused with Nigerien for Niger.

Origin of name:

Named for the Niger River, from Tamashek gher n-gheren: river among rivers

http://www.statoids.com/ung.html

And by the way

The origin of the name Niger is unknown. It is often assumed that it derives from the Latin word for "black", niger, but there is no evidence for this, and it would have been more likely for Portuguese explorers to have used their own word, negro, or preto as they did elsewhere in the world; in any case the Niger is not a blackwater river (see Rio Negro). The name is thus thought to be indigenous, but no convincing origin has been found among the 30 languages of the Niger delta and lower reaches of the river. One hypothesis is that it comes from the Tuareg phrase gher n gheren "river of rivers" (shortened to ngher), originating in the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu.

[ricardsju]

I have only heard the world "yank" used in negative context, I didn't even know it was used in the US as well (as abbreviated "yankee"). I have also never heard someone from my country(New Zealand) say the word "yankee" with my own ears.

[Tekun]

"Yankee", however, has absolutely no association with discrimination and describes a group that is, probably, the most priveleged nationality on the planet. Discrimination has to have a material basis to exist. That's why "reverse racism" is a crock of shit and why, just like with "Brit" or "Cannuck" "Yankee" is a perfectly acceptable word.

Nuff said
And seeing how the US population is changing, less and less ppl are offended by the word "yank"
I've never known an Asian American, Afro American, Hispanic American, Native American who is or was offended by the word "yank"
So my guess is that the word is offensive for those whose ancestors took part in the civil war