this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2026
8 points (72.2% liked)

Asklemmy

53338 readers
784 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy πŸ”

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
 

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...

top 17 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 15 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.

[–] NKBTN@feddit.uk 3 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

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

[–] oopsgodisdeadmybad@lemmy.zip 2 points 18 hours ago

When did "British" become a race?

[–] blackbrook@mander.xyz 32 points 1 day 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?

[–] daggermoon@piefed.world 1 points 17 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.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 10 points 1 day ago

Brit here, doesn't seem racist. But it's so cliche at this point.

[–] Digit@lemmy.wtf -2 points 16 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?

[–] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 day 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.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 day 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...

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

the wgn female morning anchor does that all the time.

[–] Pricklesthemagicfish@reddthat.com 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Who cares if they get aggressive just throw a tea packet in the opposite direction.

[–] mannycalavera@feddit.uk 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

A tea packet? A tea packet? Fuck me.

[–] Diva@lemmy.ml -3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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

[–] _deleted_@aussie.zone 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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

That’s how the rest of the world feels about (North) American accents, btw.

[–] Diva@lemmy.ml -1 points 1 day ago

good, I love annoying people