Am I the only person in Argentina that finds the term "chinito" offensive?

[ben]

Ok, I was using the term "racist" losely, but why doesn't my DNI say "Residente Temporario" if it's all about legal status? EXTRANJERO has lots more loaded connotations.

Because not all DNI extranjero are used for temporary residents. Some are permanent.
The point is that a regular DNI is used as proof of Argentine citizenship.
In cases where it is not, EXTRANJERO is exactly the right word. Nothing loaded about it.
And again - US “green cards” used “RESIDENT ALIEN”. How is “alien” different from “extranjero”?

 

[nikad]

In any context your post would be totally patronizing.

It would be patronizing if he/she put a name and proved some kind of authority to it. Wikipedia does not count.

 

[MatameBA]

Is there anything that isn't considered "racist" nowadays? That word is truly losing its power because it's being overused.

I'm all for forward progress. And sure, words matter. But intent matters more.

If we all gave each other the benefit of the doubt instead of searching for the slightest hint of "RACISM!!!!" in every single sentence uttered... we'd probably be better off as a society.

Besides, is calling someone a "chino" better or worse than calling someone "yanqui" or "gringo?" Or are those nicknames acceptable because those people come from an evil, imperialist country?

Seems kinda RACIST to me!!

 

[Stantucker]

Is there anything that isn't considered "racist" nowadays? That word is truly losing its power because it's being overused.

I'm all for forward progress. And sure, words matter. But intent matters more.

If we all gave each other the benefit of the doubt instead of searching for the slightest hint of "RACISM!!!!" in every single sentence uttered... we'd probably be better off as a society.

Besides, is calling someone a "chino" better or worse than calling someone "yanqui" or "gringo?" Or are those nicknames acceptable because those people come from an evil, imperialist country?

Seems kinda RACIST to me!!

But don't you see that your last statement proves exactly what they have been saying here: no one should ever use a term such as "chino," "yanqui," or "gringo" to refer to anyone, regardless of the cultural context, regardless of what the people actually using the term meant or intended, as you suggest early in your post? I guess all those Peruvians that called Fujimori "El chino" and elected him twice were being racists and just didn't know it. Pobrecitos-- poor unenlightened third worlders. If you told my African friends that they shouldn't call me "white boy" and I shouldn't call them "black boy", they would see that as just another form of racial and cultural imperialism -- the enlightened "white," "first" world telling them how they should act, how they should think. Even if the person telling them that was an African American or another brown person, they would not react well, given that they come from that enlightened "white" world. That's when they would say "Yankee, go home," probably regardless of the country of origin of the person.

 

[MatameBA]

If you told my African friends that they shouldn't call me "white boy" and I shouldn't call them "black boy", they would see that as just another form of racial and cultural imperialism -- the enlightened "white," "first" world telling them how they should act, how they should think. Even if the person telling them that was an African American or another brown person, they would not react well, given that they come from that enlightened "white" world.

I've seen this situation happen umpteen times here in BA.

Unsurprisingly, Argentines don't really take well to foreigners telling them how they should speak.

The most hilarious exchange I ever saw was when a well-meaning girl from the UK said that Argentina needed to "get its act together" in regards to racism and sexism. I'm not kidding when I say a far-left, Argentine feminist started YELLING that she had no right to tell others how to speak or act due to her "colonial privilege."

You can't make this stuff up.

 

[Stantucker]

I've seen this situation happen umpteen times here in BA.

Unsurprisingly, Argentines don't really take well to foreigners telling them how they should speak.

The most hilarious exchange I ever saw was when a well-meaning girl from the UK said that Argentina needed to "get its act together" in regards to racism and sexism. I'm not kidding when I say a far-left, Argentine feminist started YELLING that she had no right to tell others how to speak or act due to her "colonial privilege."

You can't make this stuff up.

All this reminds me of like what Cristina was trying to start a few years ago, a ministerio de pensamiento unico (of correct thought, i.e., the only way to think about Argentinian history). That sounds so totalitarian and scary to me. But I don't think we are far off in many of our more "enlightened" countries-- there is only one (correct) way to think about things, and if you don't think that way, especially about racial, ethnic or cultural issues, you are a racist (if you are white) or an Uncle Tom (if you are brown). So much for truly liberal thought.

 

[Rich One]

Michelle Obama just claimed that Trump's comments are racist, for saying that the Squad, Ocasio-Cortez and the women reps, should go fix their home countries... Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts — Obama reminded her followers that the U.S. was for everyone, not just those who were born here. ..!

Michelle Obama Appears to Reference President Donald Trump's Racist Comments: 'It's Our America'

Obama's tweet comes days after President Trump posted racist tweets about four congresswomen of color

people.com

 

[camberiu]

Well, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born in NYC and her family is from Puerto Rico. This means that technically speaking, her family never crossed the border into the US, but instead, the US border crossed them, when Puerto Rico was taken from Spain and annexed.
So in a historical sense, she is more "genuinely American" than Trump and most of his supporters.
I cannot stand the woman and her political views, but once one questions her right to be in the US, all bets are off and I will take her side every single time.
Speaking of the US, isn't this lovely:

Mississippi students who posed with guns in front of Emmet Till memorial suspended from frat

This is 14 year old Emmet Till after the fine folks from Mississippi were done with him.

MAGA

 

[Stantucker]

Well, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born in NYC and her family is from Puerto Rico. This means that technically speaking, her family never crossed the border into the US, but instead, the US border crossed them, when Puerto Rico was taken from Spain and annexed.
So in a historical sense, she is more "genuinely American" than Trump and most of his supporters.
I cannot stand the woman and her political views, but once one questions her right to be in the US, all bets are off and I will take her side every single time.
Speaking of the US, isn't this lovely:

Mississippi students who posed with guns in front of Emmet Till memorial suspended from frat

This is 14 year old Emmet Till after the fine folks from Mississippi were done with him.

MAGA

At least he got suspended from the frat; that's a step in the right direction.

I don't like Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, she's said some awfully stupid things, but that doesn't give Trump the right to insult her and the other women. I would never tell anyone he/she should go back to his/her country of birth because that is rude and just not my place, but I do find it interesting that people stay in a country which seems to violate all their principles, when they have the option to go back to their home country (and I am not talking about people that might suffer persecution if they went back). Even though in la patria they were able to get a good enough education to immigrate and find a good job in their new country, they stay in the US (or wherever) because of the money and the comfort it affords them. So much for principles. Comunistas de salón, as they call them here, like Mercedes Sosa railing against capitalism, and yet driving (or being driven around) in her Mercedes. The irony kills me.

 

[Rich One]

Well, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born in NYC and her family is from Puerto Rico. This means that technically speaking, her family never crossed the border into the US, but instead, the US border crossed them, when Puerto Rico was taken from Spain and annexed.
So in a historical sense, she is more "genuinely American" than Trump and most of his supporters.
.

MAGA

Very True... But Also Ocasio-Cortez during her campaign for the House claimed " I'm a descendant of the Indios Tainos and Black Slaves from Puerto Rico...