is the word foreigner racist

I'm somewhat confused by this discussion. I'm British and Indian and born here in London. I haven't heard about this case but it's ridiculous that someone got done for racial abuse for referring to people as foreigners. Wow, that truly is P.C. gone barmy! I've been called a foreigner before in England and by someone who was white but certainly not English (I could tell from hisaccent); I just laughed it off, it wasn't worth getting the hump about and I wasn't going to ask him where he was from that he had such a non-English accent. If it made him feel better to call me a foreigner, well good luck to him! People are just jumping on too many bandwagons these days and too much time is wasted in courts and tribunals when people start crying racism and the like! As if there weren't enough "real" criminal cases which needed the courts' attention, ho hum! :)

I don't find the word foreigner racist, well I hope it's not, It's a word I'd use for someone not from my country. If I'm abroad I have no problem being referred to as a foreigner as that's exactly what I am. Political correctness has gone way to far, In England the Irish are referred to as Paddy's an I insulted ? No and either are most Irish.

Yes it is taking it to far and all I can say is it would be better if here in the UK we just don't say anything anymore as we just get in trouble for it, our Freedom has been taken away from us. So we might aswell just stay Stumm and then we won't get into trouble.

i dont understand how calling women forenighers is racists in the least. i see the word foreigner meaning someone not in their own country. they are different because the country they are in is not their own. and we can ALL be foreigners at some point in our lives even within our own country. If i went to florida( me in IL) i would consider those people foreigners because they are different to ME but i would be to them.

I would say that to my opinion the word"foreigner" in itself is not racist but like everything else, we need the context. The context can change everything ... for instance the female dog word can be just a simple word if you are in a canine context but can easily become an insult ... and you know what I mean Here, I would say it depends on how the word was used because if that person said something like 'I hate foreigners' or 'you foreigners should go home' that would definately be racist ... don;t you think ? Do you know about the context of the story ?

Not really. why was he calling a group of women foreigners in the first place, it sounds just from what you have said here that he was being abusive. The fact that the word itself in normal use would not necessarily be offensive does not mean that in other circumstances it would not be thought of as racial abuse. The name for a female dog is not in itself offensive but if someone shouted that at a woman in the street it would be offensive and threatening. So it is not the word so much as the context that the word is used that causes it to be either harmless or offensive.

I don't think foreign is a racist insult... it just tells that someone is some country is has not been born in that country and that's all, I don't see any racism there.

yes it is going too far, foreigner means belonging to another country now what could be possibly racist about making a remark like that? If they had been referred to as comming from whatever country it was then yes that would be a racial abuse.tc xx

only if the women were truly foreigners, and not landed immigrants. But i think its terrible that native citizens are being punished for not wanting to hlive the way the foreigners insist we now do so

For me personally, the word foreigner means someone of different nationality or different race. I don't mind being called foreigner if I am not Canadian or being Asian living among Caucasians. There are more insulting racist words out there that should be banned.

If I am in another country other than my own I am a foreigner to that country, I see nothing racisit about the use of that word. I do think that is carrying things a bit to far.

So being a foreigner in the UK is by legal definition being amember of a race apart from Brits. I can't stop laughing. I knew Brits all had a sense of humor, but even judges???!Not to mention the most severe case of elitism anywhere. This is the funniest thing I've heard in a while. I know the issue is -well serious, but good god almighty its so absurd.

Geez...I hope it's not racist. I have said it before. It's awful that there is so much Political correctiveness in the word today.