How racist is ‘Paki’… Response to Prince Harry using the word ‘Paki’.

Quote from Ingrid Seward, Majesty Magazine (courtesy of BBC Online)

“I think it was a private video, he was talking about a friend of his, they were having fun and they were calling each other nicknames and I think it’s been taken out of context.

“Yes, it would be very offensive if Harry went around calling people Pakis in a racist way, but this was not meant, you know, it was meant more of a nickname.
“I mean, Harry’s mates call him Ginge or Ginger – that could be equally offensive to people with red hair.”

How racist is ‘Paki’?

Prince Harry, a respected member of our Royal Family and an icon for future generations, has apologised publicly for using the term ‘Paki’ to describe a Pakistani colleague in a video diary filmed during his training at Sandhurst Military College.

Whilst most people see the term ‘Paki’ as low level racism, I wonder just how racist it really is in the eyes of a Pakistani person?

After all, isn’t ‘Paki’ just an abbreviation of ‘Pakistani’? Just like ‘Ozzy’ is an abbreviation of ‘Australian’ and ‘Brit’ is an abbreviation of ‘Briton’ or ‘British’.

It’s clear that Prince Harry used the term as a nickname for a popular member of his platoon. If his friend had taken offense then I am certain he’d have lodged a complaint himself.

Isn’t use of the word ‘Paki’ to be considered in context, just like everything else? Yes, ‘Paki’ used to be derogatory and it’s true that racists can add an offensive tone of voice to the word, but the same could be said of ‘Ginge’ and ‘Shorty’ and most people would agree that these could be used affectionately as well.

Prince Harry was not acting out of malice, but out of affection.

Should he apologise for that?

If so, then I’ll be writing to all the people at school who called me ‘Gangly’. There’s probably some compensation waiting for me.

Interest Rates Cut to 1.5%

The Bank of England has cut the base rate to 1.5%.

It’s the lowest the base rate set by the bank in its 315 year history. Manufacturers’ associations said the move was “too timid”, and that the rate should have been cut even further.

Is it good news or bad news?

Homeowners with a £150k tracker mortgage will save around £45 per month. Repayments on a £250k mortgage will drop by around £77 per month.

But what about all of those who have been saving, those people who saw recession on the horizon and put some money away to weather the storm? What about pensioners, who aren’t affected by mortgage rates and live off the money they’ve saved their whole lives?

The simple fact of the matter is, saving money in UK banks and building societies has never returned so little.

Isn’t it time the Government offered help to people who saw the storm coming?