National stereotype names - what's in, what's out?

It’s all inappropriate in this day and age

Thought of all people you would know that 

The out would be the likes of Paki, wop, chink.

I like you Sid but your analysis of "Jock" is wrong

It started off as a patronising but affectionate term for Scottish soldiers of the British Army in the Victorian era. Into the 20th Century it gradually became a mocking term of abuse in English music halls, third rate comedy films and by Conservative politicians.

With recent obvious developments in Scottish politics, "Jock" has now became an out an out term of hate by your average Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Guido Fawkes blog "comment is free" contributor (take a look if you don't believe me) outraged that our government steers a different course from Westminster, the people are increasing questioning the value of the union and moaning that "the sweaties" are getting are getting all "our" money. My advice to these people is to boycott penicillin.

With regard to "Sassenach" I'm hand-on-heart struggling to recall ever hearing anyone ever use that word in a conversation. It's such a redundant, antiquated term. A lot of kids born in the last twenty years probably won't even know what it means. 

I do sometimes come across the occasional idiot online using the term "nigel" or "nigels" to describe English people which I think is a bloody stupid, braindead thing to say.

Certainly, Welsh friends and acquaintances of mine would not take kindly to being called "a taff" even in a playful sense.

So no, I object to the use of the word "Jock" and respectfully ask not to be called it by anyone.

In bare wordy terms, "Paki" would be the same as "Ruskie" or "Aussie" or "Argie" or even "Dub" or "Manc" in that it is derived from the place name

But obviously "Paki" is racist for the reason that it has traditionally been used as a term of white abuse and incitement to abuse against Pakistani people

Different contexts

"Argie" I guess would be considered a bit xenophobic because when you see or hear the term you always imagine a front cover of The Sun celebrating the torpedoing of the Belgrano or whinging about Maradona -  but probably not outright racist

"Frog" and "Kraut" and "Argie" are gateway terms into outright racism when used in an English context, I think

Like if you hear an English person say "Frogs" about the French, well it sounds very Little Englander

Whereas it doesn't sound as bad from an Irish tongue because we don't have any historical enmity with the French, which also makes us less inclined to use the term

Fair enough

There's definitely a noticeable uptick in anti-Scottish sentiment in the English pres, especially the Tory press, and possibly in England in general due to the independence movement, and those media entities you mention are in my view really toxic and a haven for horrible, bigoted, barely cloaked racist, xenophobic and imperialist views

And I can certainly see how when it comes from an English person and certainly a particular type of English person with a particular type of political opinion, that it would not be welcome

I think a lot of people who use the term "Jock" use it in an endearing or friendly manner however, and I think that's certainly the case when it comes from an Irish tongue, it's not meant as an insult 

I think that might also be the case among English people who are open to Scottish political self-determination regarding independence

But yeah, the Daily Telegraph etc. are definitely using it in a deliberately negative/insulting way

I remember the term "Taffy" being used in The Office by David Brent about a character called Glyn

There was a bang of Little Englander off the use of it alright

I think a lot of these words carry more threatening or insulting connotations when they come from an English mouth, because they imply English superiority, even if that may sometimes not be the intention

This from a country whose team conceded a goal against San Marino in 7.8 seconds 

Park, Park, wherever you may be

You eat dogs in your home country

But it could be worse, you could be Scouse

Eating rats in your council house

Reading the above, it's no surprise that Manchester United supporters top the list of racist arrests in English football

I find the anti-Liverpool sentiment, as contained in the above chant, is almost a form of racism

It's designed to demonise Scousers and to demonise poor and working class people in general, a very Tory sentiment from the Manchester United supporters

Liverpool supporters are also referred to as "bin dippers", which does the same thing

When you consider the way Liverpool supporters were mendaciously vilified after Hillsborough, and still are in many quarters, as well as Thatcher's "the enemy within" comment (which although it may not been aimed specifically at Liverpool was felt very much by Scousers), it adds up to a bilious campaign of hate which would be called xenophobic and racist if the targets of it came from elsewhere

No other area in England is or has been the target of this sort of generalised stereotyping and venom (although Islington has been shooting up the charts in a different way in that regard over the last four or five years)

It reminds me of the bile against Neapolitans from the north of Italy which Maradona used to create a siege mentality when he was in Naples, culminating in that World Cup semi-final against Italy in 1990

I think it's no surprise that Liverpool supporters have taken to booing God Save The Queen, and many, probably most Scousers have little or no identification with England, not just the team but the country, and there is lots of active hostility there

The politics is the proof of the sentiment, while the Tories are now winning in former mining strongholds where there were pitched battles during the strike, in Liverpool they are absolutely run out of the place, they are hated

One of the things that made it hardest for me to settle in London was the constant casual racist slurs while working in pubs and played a huge part in my own understanding of how importantlanguage is in the battle against racism, not that my situation is in anyway comparable to what other ethnicities have received. The sort of people who use such things are always ****s anyway. When they try and use rhyming slang to do so, such as 'Sweaties', you just feel embarrassed for them.

The only thing I will say for it, ET, is that they are helping to speed up your independence process exponentially!