Did you see that poor lass taken by a tiger?

[bsal6160]

See a girl was taken by a tiger in a Chinese Open Zoo. Horrifying for the other people to watch.

[johcaschro]

The thread took a strange turn didn't it?

What I find strange is that some folks think it's not being racist to refer to the English in a derogatory manner, calling them poms. I wonder why that is?

[imastawka]

You're asking me? 

I love a good tasteless joke about different races - including Aussies

Sometimes it's just tasteless, not racist.  I believe there's a difference

[johcaschro]

No, I wasn't asking you specifically, I was just wondering out loud.

There's a difference in opinion about whether the term pom is racist or not, depending upon who is asked. There's no doubt however that some English people find the term offensive and racist, most especially when used together with some other epithet.

The provisions of the racial Discrimination Act, 18C  says you cannot say anything which is “reasonably likely … to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people” because of their “race, colour or national or ethnic origin”

Despite what some other posters might think of me, I challenge any of them to find a post written by me which transgresses the provisions of 18C.

I think  they often fail to read my posts properly; that or they just lack the cognitive ability to understand what I write.

[not_for_sale2024]

I must admit that in the past I suspected, but did not know for sure that it was offensive to some. When I was a boy I was under the belief that POME stood for Prisoner of Mother England, of which most of my English friends were proud to be. I called my English mates pommy and they called me aussie. This mainly happened when we discussed cricket and footy, because of the competitiveness between the two countries. None of us took any exception to it. But the world changed and seemingly things are different now. I think it's a shame because kids just can't be kid's anymore.

[johcaschro]

Claim:   "Pommy" (or "pom"), a slang term for a British person, comes from the acronym POHM, which was used to designate a "Prisoner of His Majesty."

Status:   False.

". . . The best guess at this time is that "pommy" was based on the word "pomegranate" — either because the redness of the fruit supposedly matched the typically florid British complexion, or because (like "Johnny Grant") it was used as rhyming slang for "immigrant."

http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/pommy.asp

It seems that no one's really certain about the origin of that word. There are many slang word epithets denoting many of the world's peoples referring to their ethnic origins and most of them are derogatory.

Since the word "Aussie" is only a contraction of "Australian", Aussie is not an insulting term.

[not_for_sale2024]

Fair enough. But I hope that you can accept that some Aussies haven't viewed it as an offensive term, rather it's been an endearing one. I for one will be careful now that I am aware, but I know many people around my age who haven't been given the heads up.

[johcaschro]

This discussion about the word "poms" arose because she-ele made a remark which if said about another racial group would definitely be seen as  racist.

Not everyone finds the term "pom" to be offensive but some people do. It's a sort of casual racism where the recipient is expected to just suck it up and bear it and pretend that it's ok and doesn't hurt them.

[not_for_sale2024]

Yep I understand. Geez we have to be careful these days. Dylan warned us in the 60's that the times they are a changin. I should have listened more carefully and prepared myself LOL. Thanks...

[lind9650]

---

@johcaschro wrote:

This discussion about the word "poms" arose because she-ele made a remark which if said about another racial group would definitely be seen as  racist.

Not everyone finds the term "pom" to be offensive but some people do. It's a sort of casual racism where the recipient is expected to just suck it up and bear it and pretend that it's ok and doesn't hurt them.

---

She-ele has a right to make fun of herself. She was born in England and has been a Pom since she came to Australia, and has never felt offended.

I remember a period when a lot of Enlish migrants were unhappy here because of one thing or another and many went back to England. That became the era of the whingeing pom.

I also recall my children going to School, making friends with clodhoppers, krauts, dagoes and wogs etc. Nobody took any of it as insult. This thin skinned attitude only arose recently. Someone always has to criticise the habits and customs of a county to make themselves feel important.

PC correctness is taking all the fun out of our life.

Erica

[imastawka]