[imgabe]

So, I'm white and I live in Hong Kong. Gwei Lo (or some variation) is a slur for white people in China that I think basically means "foreign devil" or something to that effect. There's a popular brand of craft beer sold here that is literally named "gwei lo" and you know what? I don't care. Nobody cares. It really doesn't matter. I don't feel the need to campaign for the beer company to change their name.

Even your username is a ~Yiddish~ (edit: Hebrew, thank you, ars) word Jewish people use for non-Jewish people (sometimes derogatory, maybe). There's no end to this rabbit hole.

Judge people by their intentions behind what they say, not some etymological trivia.

[ars]

Goy is not a Yiddish word, it's a Hebrew word that means "nation", and is most commonly used to mean "a different nation than me". Like any word it can be used in a derogatory way or a neutral way.

[imgabe]

Ah, my mistake. I am but an uninformed goy.

[roca]

FWIW "gweilo" literally means "ghost man".

[goy]

First, I'm aware of the origin of the term; but "guy" was taken so I made do. Second, you don't care, but ... I'm afraid to break the news to you but there are billions of other people on the planet today, including me. I care.

Personally, I don't like the term from my language not only because of the possible reception but also it doesn't feel right to use it.

[BigJono]

Why does it not feel right if it's long lost it's negative connotation? It's completely arbitrary at this point.

[jszymborski]

I can imagine that they are reminded of its original meaning, sapping any sort of desire to use the term. At least, that's how I feel about many of these "problematic" words.

[throwawaymaths]

How do you feel about the fact that "ciao!" means "slave!" (almost no one who uses the word "ciao" realizes the connection)

[Y_Y]

I do! And I know that it's a contraction of a phrase meaning literally "I am your slave", but more equivalent to "I remain your humble servant".

Also I'd only use it to say goodbye, only Italians use it to say hello, and you have to feel superior to someone!