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anonymous
Q: Do you think it is offensive being referred as "Laowai" ?
Seeing another laowai in my day to day life is few and far between. So I've just accepted it as my second Chinese name. It sure as hell isn't the worst thing I've been called, so why worry about it.
if im having a bad China day I might bur up and tell them Im not just a Laowai Im Australian.
usaly that shuts them up
but as a normal day goes I couldn't care less
as the song says
I dont care what you think
just as long as its about me
Seeing another laowai in my day to day life is few and far between. So I've just accepted it as my second Chinese name. It sure as hell isn't the worst thing I've been called, so why worry about it.
As DaBen said, I have been called much worse. Laowai doesn't bother me at all. Unless 200 6 year olds are all chanting it in unison, then it can get on my nerves. :)
Yes... when I hear it directed at me (or others, per chance), then I say "wo bu shi laowai, wo shi zhen de ren" (ie, I'm a real person!)
crimochina:
hhhhhhhhhhmmmmmm ben phil and john dont have thumbs down
Shining_brow:
Because I'm NOT a real person!!! THUMBS DOWN ME for thinking such a ridiculous idea!
i look at it this way, if it is meant as an insult, who cares. it's like a homeless person calling me poor, or a man with no legs criticizing the way i walk. get it?? i have intelligence and knowledge of the world. i was raised to be a human being and treat people as people. i have heard some worse remarks made by the people here and i smile because they have no clue how stupid they are. "in a land of the blind .. " rings so true here, watch them risk their lives simply to get on a damn bus, watch them walk into a busy intersection with their heads down ignoring honking horns and the sounds of the cars, trucks, buses etc. i'm supposed to break a sweat , because someone who does not value their own life has sth to say about me??? please
Shining_brow:
True... but a) I can educate some people who may not even think otherwise - remembering that most people don't even know better, or b) I can embarrass them! :) Btw, did you thumbs-down me??? Or was it the serial person?
crimochina:
o cmon you know it aint me , mattayyayayayay and his alter egos or another nutcase
Shining_brow:
yeah, I didn't think so, but yours was posted in the same time-period, so I was just taking a stab. Normally, they post as well, so.... Yeah, probably someone who likes to call all foreigners "laowai",l so wasn't happy that I might think I'm human...
Same thread here:
It's not an insulting or derogetory term. If it bothers you then I suggest you toughen up.
Its no rude but it isn't polite either -.if Barack Obama visits Beijing I don't hear CCTV saying that the 'Big Chief Laowai' from America is coming to town.
Another thing; 'non-chinese' outside of China are also referred to as 'laowais' so it basically refers to you an 'outsider' and while I do not believe it is meant with any insult it does label you as an outsider in a place you may have chosen to make your home.
No. It is the shortened, informal version of wàiguórén (外国人), which literally means "foreign country person".
What's so offensive about that. Because if a person is living here but a different nationality other than native Chinese then that's exactly what we are. I.E. a 'foreign country person".
After all...... what do you call or how do you refer to a 'foreigner' in your own country? I'm sure there's some term that you use to describe a person who's not of your race or from another part of the planet.
I don't get why so many people are so offended being recognized as a 'foreigner' living and working in a 'foreign' country.
And so what if there is bit of an 'attitude' attached to the term by some people? So what?
For heaven's sake. Lighten up! 
kchur:
Because if I treated a Chinese person in Canada the way they treat me here, civil rights organizations would destroy me, sue me into bankruptcy and me having a "bit of an attitude" towards Chinese in Canada would mean I would never work again for being a crazy racist. AND RIGHTFULLY SO IT IS 2012
How about a little reciprocity between our two peoples?
kchur:
"After all...... what do you call or how do you refer to a 'foreigner' in your own country? I'm sure there's some term that you use to describe a person who's not of your race or from another part of the planet."
Since I'm not a farmer or a methhead who screams "FOREIGNER" all the time, I call them immigrants, respectfully, when the topic of their migration is brought up. In normal day to day life I call them by their NAMES or sir or ma'am if I don't know their names, because they are people AS WELL as immigrants. I don't make it the only aspect of their identity. I certainly do not follow them down the street screaming 'NI HAO IMMIGRANT NI HAO IMMIGRANT NI HAO IMMIGRANT" or scream swearwords into their ears because I assume they don't understand English, or scream random phrases at them in languages I assume they speak based on their skin colour. BECAUSE IT IS 2012.
Use your damn brain. Have you only been in China a few days or are you a wu mao or are you just an idiot?
In my own country, if I see a 'foreigner' I might say that I saw some Chinese people or that I noticed a Muslim woman in the shopping centre, or that I was talking to a German guy, or that I made friends with a French guy that day.
Or that I noticed a group of Chinese tourists at the airport. But that doesn't mean I'm being racially discriminatory or abusive.
Come on. We're the 'minority' here. So if we're referred to in less than a "politically correct' way or term, so what?
Don't be so thin skinned. 
kchur:
Get off my internet, wumao
Or at least address the points I actually made instead of just posting womaoish misdirection. Like I said, you've either not spent much time in China or you are outright lying. You're playing stupid, but no one on earth is actually as stupid as you're trying to play.
LOL! YOUR internet? You're reacting in a very 'emotional' way -- which is often referred to as being a 'feminine' reaction. You are male? Correct?
By the way, what's a wumao? I have no idea.
xunliang:
man your super positive super pro China attitude is rarely seen on here. Im still guessing as to whether or not you're a wumao. If you're not, a wumao are the "robots" employed by the Chinese government to guide online conversations in ways that make China look good. In that sense you can see why you've been branded one; you've not said one bad thing about China.
GuilinRaf:
[wǔ máo dǎng / wu3 mao2 dang3]
noun.
People who are allegedly and secretly paid five mao (50 cents RMB) per post/comment that praises, supports, or defends from criticism/attack the country, government, or Communist Party. Netizens who are very nationalistic are often accused of being part of the “50 cent party” spreading propaganda or “guiding” public opinion.
Link to this entry.
Xunliang,
I live and work here. I also didn't join in the convo here to win any kind of popularity contest. Just sharing my perspective. If you can't relate to my attitude and perspective, that's okay. I'm good with that. No problem.
I do luv China and the Chinese people as well. Otherwise, why on earth would I be here? To makes scads of money? I don't think so. For adventure....... my life for many years has been nothing less than an adventure.
I am a very very fortunate person and feel like I've seen and experienced more than the average person.
No hard luck stories to tell. Well, actually there are, but I'm not telling. I choose to accentuate the positive and that doesn't mean that I ignore the negative or that there isn't 'negative'. There always is. Everywhere.
Oh my..... it's an interesting world outside my apt. Inside, pretty boring. I like it outside better.
xunliang:
i edited my comment. the last one was a bit.......fuck u wumao-ish. soz
Oh, and Xunlian...
I've experienced and know about some of the negative stuff. But hey! The positive FAR FAR outweighs the negative.
I'm a happy person most of the time. What can I say? I'm sorry if that offends people here.
xunliang:
No man, be positive. Just dont be suprised if people get easily wound up over what you say. just remember a lot of people use this site to vent anger. good luck :)
Okay......... you guys want negative and hate talk? Look out! Here it comes!
I hate cockroaches!! Detest and abhor the nasty things! They gross me out!
xunliang:
seriously? no one in China has pissed you off? ever? no one has pushed in front of you in the queue? spat on the causeway where you're about to walk? ripped you off? the worst thing about China is the cockroaches? man, at least they dont spit!
It just annoys me that they say it wihin ears distance. I dont care what it translates as, or the fact that you might say the same thing about a foreigner back home, the point is you dont say it when they can hear you, because no matter what you're saying, the foreigner will automatically assume its bad. I don't know about the rest of the world, but I thought it was common curtsey to not talk about someone whos standing right next to you.
Xunlian.....
Thanks for allowing me to be positive! It's hard for me to be negative. It's not in my nature much. But hey, I'll let you all know if I'm having a particularly bad day. I'll complain, and whine, and cry in my coffee, and talk hateful and then .... then ..... I'll fit right in and everyone 'round here will love me!
Haha! <GRIN>
xunliang:
Yeah you're SUPER positive. If you're not a wumao then you must be high....allllllll the time haha. :D PS you can just add comments to your own post instead of posting a new answer each time
Lots of things are annoying. Like.... um ...... um......
Today I was told my Mandarin (I've been studying a couple month) still needs lots of practice. How dare she say that to me!!! Wow!!! Like....... I should be SO ticked! Right?
Nawww....... I know she didn't mean to be rude. And she's right! Although my Cantonese is good, Mandarin is making my head hurt.
I wasn't offended.
Okay, thanks for the tips. I'm still getting the gist of how things work here.
xunliang:
1. I want the name of the happy pills you're on 2. click the add comment on your own reply. stop adding a new answer
iluvchina:
xunliang:
seriously? no one in China has pissed you off? ever? no one has pushed in front of you in the queue? spat on the causeway where you're about to walk? ripped you off? the worst thing about China is the cockroaches? man, at least they dont spit!
Yes, of course they have. My husband has been pick-pocketed twice in the last 4 months.
I get pushed - like everyone else! EVERYBODY pushes! You have no choice lots of times.
An old guy spit right where I was standing one day on the bus. Luckly it landed between my feet. Not ON them.
Come on........ it happens to everybody. Including the Chinese themselves.
In most Chinese cities, outside the International ones, foreign people are a very unusual sight. The fact that the Chinese often stare at us, and talk about us as we walk by, has more to do with both curiosity and surprise than anything either malicious or derogatory. Also, when they laugh and giggle at us when we walk into a shop, it is not because they are mocking us, but rather it is a way of hiding their own embarrassment, because they really do not know what to say to us or how to treat us. Try to look at it from the Chinese point of view. We are unusual. That's all it is. So relax and go with the flow!
If it's just used descriptively, then I don't care at all.
If it's being used pejoratively, I'd take it as meant.
There's a restaurant I go to regularly and always order the same thing, and I've never seen another foreigner in there (unless they're with me). Last time I was there, the owner met us with a smile, correctly guessed my order and shouted something like "the laowai wants her chicken!" to the kitchen, which gave myself, him and the waitresses a giggle... no harm done.
I don't thinks so. I think it's actually kinda cool being referred to as a laowai. And if I was in Thailand I hope they would call me NaksuKow like in the movie kickboxer!
i just accepted this name as my Chinese nick name ,calling (laowei) never bother me
