The word gringo do they mean it in a racist way?

TransgÃ©nico

It is not racist.
I don't know about the Mexicans, but here in Argentina it is not.

Seikilos

You call me a Gringo, I call you a cheechako and I don't care what ethnic group you are in.

BTW. The word beaner is simply a word meaning the person eats beans. Although usually applied in as an insult to those of Mexican heritage, it is a stupid term as people all over the world eat beans and I bet you do too.

jenn

According to my boyfriend of 5 years,who is Mexican it isn't a good idea to refer to yourself as being a gringo so I guess when they call
someone a gringo or gringa it is not polite.But
sometimes it is used in a joking kind of way.The more appropriate way for Hispanics to refer to
us by saying Americano or Americana.

Who cares....calling ppl "gringos" is the only way to make them look better considering they have no valid points to explain THIS:

(1st Qtr) INS/FBI Statistical Report on Undocumented Immigration.

Work Paid Under the Table - No Taxes
> 62% of all "undocumented immigrants" (illegal aliens) in the United States are working for cash and not paying taxes;
> Those working illegal aliens who are paying taxes are doing so by use of stolen social security numbers, a felony.

Crime
> 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens;
> 83% of warrants for murder in Phoenix are for illegal aliens;
> 86% of warrants for murder in Albuquerque are for illegal aliens;
> 75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Albuquerque are illegal aliens;
> 24.9% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally;
> 40.1% of all inmates in Arizona detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally;
> 48.2% of all inmates in New Mexico detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally;
> 29% (630,000) convicted illegal alien felons fill our state and federal prisons at a cost of $1.6 billion annually;
> More than 53% of all investigated burglaries reported in California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Texas are perpetrated by illegal aliens;
> More than half of all gang members in Los Angeles are illegal aliens from south of the border;

Car Thefts/ Traffic Violations
> More than 71% of all apprehended cars stolen in 2005 in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California were stolen by illegal aliens or transport coyotes";
> 47% of cited/stopped drivers in California have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 47%, 92% are illegal aliens;
> 63% of cited/stopped drivers in Arizona have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 63%, 97% are illegal aliens;
> 66% of cited/stopped drivers in New Mexico have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 66%, 98% are illegal aliens;

The Cost of Health Benefits
> More than 380,000 "anchor babies" were born in the United States in 2005 were to parents who are illegal aliens; making those 380,000 babies automatically U.S. citizens. 97.2% of all costs concurred from those births were paid by the American taxpayer;
> More than 66% of all births in California are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal whose births were paid for by taxpayers;

The Cost of Welfare
> More than 43% of all Food Stamps issued are to illegal aliens;
> More than 41% of all unemployment checks issued in the United States are to illegal aliens;
> 58% of all Welfare payments in the United States are issued to illegal aliens;
> Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties in the United States are illegal aliens;
> More than 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.
> Less than 2% of illegal aliens in the United States are picking crops , but 41% are on welfare;

The Cost of Education
> More than 34% of Arizona students in grades 1-12 are illegal aliens;
> More than 24% of Arizona students in grades 1-12 are non-English-speaking;
> More than 39% of California students in grades 1-12 are illegal aliens;
More than 42% of California students in grades 1-12 are non-English-speaking. In Los Angeles County, 5.1 million people speak English. 3.9 million speak Spanish;

Costs to American Tax Payers
> The cost of immigration to the American taxpayer in 1997 was a NET (after subtracting taxes immigrants pay) $70 BILLION a year, [Professor Donald Huddle, Rice University];
> The lifetime fiscal impact (taxes paid minus services used) for the average adult Mexican ILLEGAL alien is $55,000.00 cost to the American taxpayer in a 5-year

Sabrina

It depends on how they say it. It can be racist. It's just like the word ****** is racist but ***** is okay. Weird huh?

johnwayne

As I understand it, it is a word in spanish for foreigner. Some mean it as racist and some do not.

Reba K

Almost anyone who doesn't speak Spanish and is from North is called a Gringo. Recall for a second that everyone's ancestors were enslaved at one point in history.

So if the people who enslaved your ancestors spoke another language like French, German, Portugese or English and didn't speak Spanish like the people who enslaved their people, then you are a Gringo.

Sam

Maybe, sometimes, like you say. Between friends, however, it is also used in a friendly way ...

Daisy

Yes, I do believe it is meant in a racist way when they call us that.

locked & loaded American

Yes, being called a GRINGO is like, being called the N word if you are black.

Cinner

this is more pc nonsense. Why can't we go back to the days when we could say whatever we want without offending some little tenderhearted man. Makes me sick, Would be nice to say what we mean and mean what we say! Without having to go through the pc filter of life!

g w

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gringo#Other_uses

Tony

i don't think saying gringo is racist. everyone knows what it means and thats what we use to call white people. its a normal thing now. and i think its okay to call a mexican a beaner here and there. but just call them mexican because thats what they are. i by the way am mexican. my best friends call me mexican and beaner. i have white friends that i call gringo. and we all get along. as for calling a mexican a buriito. thats racist. its like for me calling a white person a "cracker". which i don't because it is racist.

Soledad Mendez

Not necessarily.It's a generic name used to refer to the English-speaking foreigners in Latin America or Spain,and -by extension-to non-hispanics.

The word "gringo" was first recorded as a nickname given to foreigners in Madrid who spoke Spanish with a funny accent ,a possible alteration of Griego,greek, as in 'hablar griego'
Don't buy into the Mexican-American war legends,when the American troops wore green uniforms and Mexicans went"Go (home),Green go!!!"LOL.No way

The racist/offensive connotations depend on the context
"Beaner"is ALWAYS a derogatory name

Peace

I don't know if its a racial term but its not considered a compliment either.

Miguel C

no its not racist. it just means white, it doesnt mean cracker or redneck or anything

ann.natalie

I think it is offensive, they may say that it is not but why don't we call them some slang that we have for them and see how well they like it, beaners should be fine to call them. Honestly they do eat alot of beans right?

dogpatch USA

I really think "beaners" is a little to nice in comparison .. And you really expect to ask the source of hatred for an honest admission of guilt.......... oh come now aren't we the naive ones.
Ask the Islamic killer if he likes Americans and listen to the insolence pouring forth from their mouths ...These foreigners invented the lie and a lot of Americans are the naive innocents like lambs to slaughter. think about it!!!!!!!!!

ljpeterson1956

"Gringo" -- Where'd That Word Come From?

--------------------------------------...

There are two stories that "this" Gringo has heard and believes have merit.
Like the (well, some at least) dictionary says, it comes from a word meaning "gibberish" or incomprehensible language, like we English speakers mean when we say "It's all Greek to me." And, be it noted, "Greek" in Spanish is "Griego" which is only one slight letter different than (from) "Gringo" -- pretty neat, eh?

But there is also testimony -- which this Gringo has heard on the radio -- that someone's grandfather said they used to hear the American soldiers marching in Veracruz during the occupation in the early 20th century (during the Mexican Revolution -- behold the American Empire). They used to wear olive-green uniforms and call out while marching, "Green Go, Green Go, Green Go!"

But... someone also said that someone said that someone's friend's mother put her baby's pet rat dictionary in the microwave and it hitchiked home with a ghost, so........
This Gringo thinks it really doesn't matter. It's like the argument for or against the existence of "Tia" Juana -- why bother? Why bother to spend so much energy arguing what is essentially a mythological point -- and some mythology is true, depending on your beliefs, yes? No. DefinITELY NOT! How DARE You even mention the barest possibility that there ever was, was not, was want wasrtntr?! Haw Dowr EYE? Yu?!!?! TEK THATTTTTT !!!!!!!!!!!!!

More importantly, everyone knows the word. It exists and everyone knows it means foreigner for good or for bad. What is REAL, what is happening recently, conincident with the change of centuries from 20 to 21, is that the name "gringo" has moved away from being an insult to being strictly a statement of fact. A gringo is a foreigner, most usually North American United Statesian, in Mexico.

And EVen MORE Important, this Gringo is called Gringo because his landlord calls me/him this/that. It is my sobrenombre, my nickname. So there. I am "Gringo." Everyone around the park on Third Street knows me by that nickname. I've lived there two years now, and.... Yeah... I do like it... and so does my identical cousin Michael... but he's kind of mooning around since he found out he fell in love with his hermana... but that would be telling..... . . . . .

gokart121

Nope, don't start with the slurs, even if they're just lazy slurs.
Write your city council, support immigration enforcement.

mar

I think it depends on what area of the world they say it (I think in this case in Latin America) in many areas there, they say gringo to identify the nationality...instead of saying American they say gringo...and this I was told came from the time the US entered Mexico (during the war) and the Americans wore green coats so to identify them and as it sounded in Spanish it turned into gringo...get it? green coats - gringo. Now it would be interesting to learn the origin of beaners cause it doesn't make sense to me...other then the fact that beans can be a main source of food for several or a lot of people in Mexico.

Epicarus

I can't be offended by it because it actually has a cool sound to it if you're able ro roll the r... Grrrrrrringos...

ÎœÎ±mÎ¯ Ã‡Ñ’Î±Î·Ï†Î±

what are beaners?

anyways...gringo...so ive heard in puerto rico.... that when the military came to pr, the ppl of pr didnt really like it so they were trying to tell them to leave by saying "Green, Go" since the uniforms are green...but in spanish its spelled "gringo"...i dont think it is a racist term...puertoricans just didnt want them there...whether this is true or not...cant really tell u...but thats what ive heard in pr...

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