so whenever i hear an english person talk on tv or my gf points out that her ancestry is english, me and her ex (who also happens to be my ex) say “ELLO GUVNA!! CHEERIO OLD CHAP!” and i shout it at the tv. am i racist? i hope not…

  • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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    4 hours ago

    English is not generally considered a race anyhow. Depending on context and how ignorant of actual England you are, that could still be making fun of a culture or ethnic group, or it could just be making fun of a dialect.

  • Digit@lemmy.wtf
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    5 hours ago

    I was told recently that there’s no such thing as racism against white people, and that, contrary to the definition of the word, racism really means something that involves an imbalance of power, and it’s not racism if using the broadest brush to blame anyone of similar skin colour as the oppressor’s skin colour, and that this skin colour is only white. :3

    So by this newspeak, so long as those English accents are uttered from people with light skin tones, it can’t be racist. So, shout and jeer your crude cliche impressions against the item of the hour of hate all you want. It’s doubleplus. ;D

    Mad world.

    “Was there hate in your heart?” – Reginald Darnell Hunter

    phobic

    Was there fear?

  • daggermoon@piefed.world
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    6 hours ago

    Do you hate British people? If not, it’s probably fine. The Brits aren’t exactly an oppressed group. Besides we speak their language so the joke’s on us.

  • NKBTN@feddit.uk
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    9 hours ago

    Oh, it’s definitely racist - but what probably matters is “is it cruel or offensive”? If you’re all laughing at it, no big deal. If there’s a brit there who is cringing or feeling uncomfortable, the right thing to do would be to stop and apologise

  • blackbrook@mander.xyz
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    21 hours ago

    Well, you’re being obnoxious in a way that targets a particular ethnic group, but it’s a group that isn’t really victimized, or sensitive about it, so no one much cares.

    The more useful questions to ask yourself are, how funny is that after the first handful of times to anyone older than 13, and is that really the kind of dynamic you want to cultivate with your gf?

  • Francesca/Frankie@discuss.online
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    22 hours ago

    No, it sounds funny and like you’re just joking around with friends. Don’t do that to an actual English stranger/acquaintance though…

  • Ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    22 hours ago

    The test is, are you punching down? That is to say, are you, from a position of privilege, ridiculing someone that lacks your privilege? If not, you’re ok.

  • Diva (she/her)@lemmy.ml
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    20 hours ago

    I will straight up skip youtube videos that I might otherwise be interested in if it’s an english person speaking.

    I just can’t take the accent seriously, plus it’s so grating