We were on the pier fishing last weekend. There was a white man next to me then down from him, two black men about thirty years old. We were not too close because you leave others a space to fish. I had chatted a bit with the black guys because it's customary to chat a bit with others on the pier. Things like, "You having any luck?" "Nah, the only things biting are the skeeters." "Y'all caught'em all?" "Caught a few." They had even given me a tip about fishing. My sister was beside me and then her husband. Then there was a group of white men farther down. Nobody was having any luck except the black men. They had a special kind of fishing rig and they were catching a big trout every few minutes. Then one of them said, "Homeboys ain't catching no fish." Then he laughed. He added, 'We can't fish!" And laughed real loud. He had said something about, "Nigger fishing" just before that but I didn't catch all of what he said, The word, "Nigger" is what caught my attention. I don't know if he meant his remark to be racist or not, but it made me uncomfortable. He didn't lower his voice when he spoke, so I have to think he meant for us to hear him. I moved on down the pier soon after that. So I have been pondering since then, is Homeboy a racist word?
@Shirley Martin It's a new one on me. I should think whether any word is racist or not, depends on the person evaluating it. Does racist equate with offensive? Frank
No not racists... term used mainly between blacks to describe another from their own area or social group. Many blacks refer to each other with the N word...doing so within their own social group is not frowned upon.
From my previous EMS experience working in areas of Compton, Watts and South Central Los Angeles, back in the mid 70's, the word "homeboy" and "homie" are almost like prison terms used mostly, if not all, by young black men. If a person was to watch a documentary on gangs in Los Angeles, you'd definitely hear either. Actually, I've never heard a white guy use either term. As far as the "N" word goes, that word can be a very common word amount blacks, especially if a black is mad towards another black.
I got the feeling that he was gloating because blacks were catching fish and we white people weren't. But I'll be ready next time. I bought the same kind of rig that they were using.
Now days I think any word you say can be considered racist by one person or another. I know that black people often have their own lingo that is okay when they say it...but not okay if you say it in front of them. An example would be when my husband used to do the closing shifts at Valero's. My husband is the kind of guy that never met a stranger so people like him...and vice versa. Late at night at the Valero's my husband worked at some black guys got to stopping in so often that they were considered friends. One night they told my husband the reason they came in so often late at night is because they had to "take care of their homeboy." so no one messed with him. These black guys that my husband had befriended were actually "watching my husband's back" because he was working by himself late at night and these "guys" knew what was in the neighborhood. I baked those guys some goodies many a time until my husband quit that late night job in thankfulness for their watching over him and spreading the word that no one was to touch their homeboy.
According to the dictionary a homeboy is: "homeboy ˈhəʊmbɔɪ/ noun USSouth Africaninformal noun: homeboy; plural noun: homeboys; noun: home-boy; plural noun: home-boys an acquaintance from one's own town or neighbourhood, or from the same social background. (especially among urban black people) a member of one's peer group or gang." So if this is what they meant then I wouldn't take offense unless they meant it to be derogatory.
The word “homies” was in a comedy movie with Steve Martin and Queen Latifah called Bringing Down House. There were other words like it, also in the movie.
@Shirley Martin Maybe the light glinting off of lighter-colored skin more than dark skin, scared off the fish....... Frank