I'm a Brit, and currently dating a girl of the same nationality. She usually refers to Americans as "Yanks", and I'm just wondering, is this a racist term? It's fairly obvious that she isn't racist towards the USA in any other way; she speaks of them as she speaks of the Brits, or any other nation. I just don't want either of us to be considered offensive. Oh, and she is also (almost unhealthily so) obsessed with the Second World War. Could this have anything to do with it? Thank you very much for your time.
2007-06-25 13:07:37 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
Ha ha, she's siding with the allies!
2007-06-25 13:14:42 · update #1
Racist? No. It's merely a name for people from the USA. Southerners, among whom I am one, think it's an insult, which was why fascist white racists in the South, thinking to insult me, called me, among even worse epithets, a "Damn Yankee" when I stood and raised a fist against racial discrimination in the South. I was yet a boy, only 9, but already full of myself, an atheist, a vegetarian, and certainly an oddball in the Dixie town when I came of age. Needless to say, on the day I turned 17, I got the hell outta there. I am now 71 and, after 54 years on the stage, still a professional Shakespearean actor.
2007-06-25 13:21:27 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Nah, it's not racist. It can be a friendly term of referring to Americans (down in Australia ALL Americans are called "Yanks".)
There will always be some who take offense at terms such as that, but the majority of Americans would just grin at the expression.
It's no worse than calling British people "Brits", it's more of a slang expression than anything else.
The Second World War obsession could be part of it, too. During the War the Brits always referred to the Americans as "Yanks", and it was not meant in a derogatory fashion, but as a form of camaraderie.
This Yank says, "I wouldn't worry about it." :)
2007-06-25 13:24:01 · answer #2 · answered by Foxfire 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Due to history, I do not think the term needs to be changed. When we discuss antisemitism today, we need to discuss it in the context of history. Creating a new term, even if it is more precise, will detach historic antisemitism from what is going on today which is, just like in the past, directed specifically against the Jews. I think changing the term into anti-Jewish will serve the same purpose as the people who say "It is not the Jews, it is just Israel" but at the same time support people who say that all Jews should gather in Israel so that they will not need to be hunted globally. By detaching antisemitism from its historical context with calling it by a different name, we are serving to lower its evil value. Antisemitism is not strictly against people of the Jewish faith, it is not an argument that the laws of the Jews are wrong. This notion is something I can accept. I can accept someone arguing that the word which the Torah is trying to portray is not good. This is quite in the same way that I believe the word, or the laws of Islam are not good. But this is not what antisemitism is. It is the hate of every Jew regardless of his faith, regardless if that person is a religious Jew or a secular Jew. It is only that fact that the person is of Jewish ancestry that is the reason to hate. This is a hate based on racism, it is based on ancestry, and not on religious beliefs. This is why I think the term antisemitism, which is a racial term describing ancestry, fits the description better than anti-Jewish, which otherwise might be excused as simply a disagreement with the religious laws of that religion. These are the two reasons I think the term should remain as it is.
2016-05-20 02:45:13 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yank is that short for Yankee? if it is i would consider racist toward the northerners in the us and white people because during the civil war that term was usually used for white northern people
2007-06-25 13:15:48 · answer #4 · answered by brandy538 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I thought all of you called us Yanks.....I think it's mostly a term of endearment.
As far as the WW2 is concerned.....it depends on who's she siding with when she being obsessed.
2007-06-25 13:11:56 · answer #5 · answered by daljack -a girl 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wouldn't say it's racist, but could be a pejorative depending on how you use it. Personally I'm not offended, although I don't identify with the word "Yankee" (I call myself "American"). So... no, it's not that offensive.
2007-06-25 13:23:20 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't like it because it assumes we're all the exact same. Also, the word "yankee" comes from our Cherokee word "yonega," meaning a white person. We're not all white. So yes, it is definitely racist.
2007-06-25 13:11:47 · answer #7 · answered by Danagasta 6 · 3⤊ 4⤋
No. It's short for Yankee, which is what we northerners are. I'm not offended.
2007-06-25 13:12:01 · answer #8 · answered by shermynewstart 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hey, now...
2007-06-25 13:13:08 · answer #9 · answered by CrankyYankee 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
no it's not................
2007-06-25 13:10:56 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋