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X accused of giving racists ‘impunity’ after refusing to bar N- and P-word posts
(www.theguardian.com)
Oh, man...I feel so dumb. I don't know what the "p-word" is.
this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2026
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Huh til. Never heard this before. Gotta be honest tho I'm kinda surprised its a slur, don't get me wrong I won't be using it, but it does feel like a "good" shorthand for Pakistani.
Seriously, I've heard people say "Pakis" as a short for Pakistani in a non-insulting way, similar to Spaniards or Aussies.
Funny enough it actually mentions in the Wikipedia article that most Americans are unfamiliar with the slur. I'll be honest without this thread if I heard someone say it, I would probably have used it unknowingly just assuming it was similar to Aussie or something.
This is not to make light of the slur, but if someone called me an "Ameri" I would probably just assume they're French, which might be meaner than anything they're trying to say to me.
Is Spaniard not the correct term?
the one person from spain that i knew told me not to use it. she said it was like using ‘chinaman’
“Spaniard” is the preferred and most-official demonym. IDK what she was on about.
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NGL I sat here for like 40 seconds wondering what you call people from Spain before remembering that Spanish can refer to both language and people.
The bigger issue is that Spanish is an adjective, and we're looking for nouns. You can say "an Aussie" or "a Spaniard". You can't say "a Spanish".
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indeed.
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Racism has different manifestations in different places.
It kind of shows how stupid it all is.
Imagine me when I first got to Australia as an Englishman to see a big headline in the newspaper saying something like, "Pakis lose to England".
I was like, Whaaaaaaaaat !!!!!!
I've now been here 32 years and I sometimes explain to Aussies that Brits aren't allowed to use that word, which they're rather surprised about. Because as you said in your last two sentences.
Cheers.
Here in Canada in the 00s I remember it being a really bad slur. I haven't really heard it used at all since then though
Which is hilarious, because in new England a "packy" is a package store, which is a euphemism for a liquor store.
So I got quite a few looks when I asked if we were going to "hit the packy" on the way to the party....
There's an old movie on YT called Shield for Murder with a character named Packy and the subtitles censor the name.
Very much not good in England. You might well think England did enough to fuck up that part of the world in '47. But no we still have to be a bucket load of racist cunts.
Its actually mildly interesting, are there other slurs that really wouldn't be slurs in another country? The F slur would be one I suppose is just a cigarette for some people?
You can't say spaz in the UK.
Lol. As an Englishman in Australia I do enjoy using that word. Spazzed out just means went a bit wild. Spastic drunk is fine too, well I think......
Cunt is a really nasty misogynist slur in the USA and a friendly mild ribbing in the UK and Australia.
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Yeah "fag" is fine in context such as: "I'm just nipping out for a fag" "Can I bum a fag?"
But you can't say it to, or about, a person, well, unless you're a homophobe.
'faggot' is almost always a slur though, you'd better be in that rare circumstance where you're very clearly referring to a bundle of sticks otherwise, no.
I guess 'nip' is also occasionally a racist slur for Japanese, but normally quite innocent; just something quick. or a pinch, or a wee dram.
Vaguely related, you might be interested in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polari. A few British slang terms migrated out of queer-creoles into more mainstream usage , possibly via popular radio and tv.
A British comedian friend living in the U.S. used to (15-ish years ago) have a joke about asking a guy outside a bar in middle America if he could bum a fag.
He would impersonate the most southern accent he could muster and say “I don’t care. Ain’t no business of mine.” As part of a joke about cultural differences/how the U.S. could be unexpectedly wholesome.
Never asked if that was a true story. We fell out awhile ago.
Clarkson got in trouble for noticing a slant on a bridge. I didn't even realise he was being offensive.
Fancy a fag?
What? You're a fag!
No mate. Fag means cigerette.
You're a cigerette!
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U sure it isn't "Pajeet"? That one seems worse.
P*lestine
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Came here to find out what P word was. Saw that this was England and knew immediately.
It's comforting as an American to know that Europe is still in the running for who can be the most racist.
Where do you think american racism came from? It's all the same racist empire.
My theory is the the British sent their criminals off to the Australian colony and the real smart criminals escaped and formed the usa. /s
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If you are a decent person, you are not on X. There is no other option.
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P word? Can't say paedophile anymore because it hurts their feelings? Should we say "person who loves children more than me" instead?
its likely Pakistan, with of the stan. which is a slur for pakistani people.
I wasn't aware that was a thing.
Oh how creative of the British, to create a slur that's half the name of people their heritage. Guess I'll refer to the English as Engs from now on. "Oy bruv, it's them Engs innit. Free the north of Ireland!"
People who lust after children
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But what if P=NP???
But "cisgender" will get your post flagged 🙄
Every right wing website or mod ever.
“We don’t allow [political posts, racism, etc] on this site.”
Quietly allows offhand comments that are racist and political from right wingers, quickly tell people to shut up and deletes their posts if they call out the bullshit, especially if using objective data.
Had to read the comments to figure out the p word
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