Do you shop locally?

Liv
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Do you shop locally?

Liv_0-1589810045481.jpeg

 

Hey everyone,

 

Thinking about lockdown affecting us all in different ways, I’ve noticed a trend of people realising that shopping locally is now more important than ever. 

 

I’ve been seeing several amazing initiatives around the world aiming to support small businesses, from online guided haircuts to bar and restaurant vouchers (to be used when shops are reopened).

 

With this in mind, I would love to know: 

 

How is your local community coming together to assist small-scale businesses and have you got any favourite local shops that you’ve been supporting lately?

 

I look forward to hearing your thoughts,

 

Liv

 

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52 Replies 52
Liv
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks a lot for your lovely contributions to this thread 🙂

 

I just wanted to write a quick note to assure you that the Community Center is a safe place where hosts can share their experiences and support each other in a positive way.

 

Although I realise that the current situation we're all facing sometimes can lead to political discussions, I'd just like to kindly remind everyone that content that is offensive and insensitive is not allowed in the CC and is subject to being removed. If you have any questions about this, you can send me a DM.

 

Thanks for understanding,

 

Liv

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Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Liv  Not sure who was under the impression that g-r-i-n-g-o is an offensive word, but it is used in Mexico to indicate a foreigner, usually an American. It is not used as a discriminatory word at all, either by Mexicans or foreigners. It's slang, for sure, but no one here uses it as a put-down or considers it offensive. 

@Sarah977 ,  I didn't pick up on the gr-go discussion until now and don't mean to sidetrack a great local goods thread, but!  Our family has always been internationally connected, I had a Colombian second mom, Japanese Aunt Kay and my BIL is an American whos family came from mexico generations ago.  Gino owns A Tex Mex restaurant that is the real deal not gr-go' ized, (called Hot in the menu to make you feel cool or tough but not really hot) if he says something is Hot, its really hottttttttt!!!  I've used that word to describe myself forever when confronted with food that has more heat than meat (I am not down with burning out the linings of my mouth, throat or tummy)!   

 

@Sally221   The Urban Dictionary puts it this way- "Folklore says it was generated when the US invaded mexico, wearing green uniforms, and the people shouted at them "Green Go Home".

With time it lost all derogatory status and was turned into the most common word to refer to any US citizen."

 

I suppose it could be considered a slur according to the context and delivery, if I were a white-bread upstate New Yorker vacationing in Salyalita and a local vendor called me a Gr-go and I didnt leave the house with my big boy skin on that day, I might be inclined to respond like one.   

 

Having spent a couple years as a GI in Western Germany in the 80's, I got a chance to live the life of an often unwanted outsider and picked up on those less than welcoming vibes on occasions (when I missed them, my friend Billy who spoke fluent German would fill in the blanks for us).  Unfortunately, different languages don't always lend themselves to safe translation from native tongues no non ears.    So in the end because I really don't want to offend someone by mistake (only purposely when necessary), I try to stick with my own native lingo when speaking with others that arent native US English speakers.  its safer that way...

@Melodie-And-John0  I understand being careful about what terms you use when you're not sure if it could be considered offensive. That's always a wise approach.

 But g-r-i-n-g-o simply doesn't fall into that category. A vendor wouldn't say "Hey, g......" (They'd say"Hey mister, wanna buy a blanket-good price, just for you". It's used more to describe someone or some place rather than as a form of address. There's an area of town here called G****o Hill, because it's where a lot of foreigners built houses. Everyone calls it that. There's an area of Puerto Vallarta called G****o Gulch, for the same reason. In any case, it isn't considered a deragatory term at all.

 And in general, this country isn't so concerned with political correctness. If you're fat, they call you Fatty, if you're bald they call you Baldy, if you're skinny they call you Skinny. A light skinned Mexican will be called "Guero" which means "blondie". It's done affectionately and no one seems to take offense.

J-Renato0
Level 10
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

@Sarah977  @Melodie-And-John0 

If I may I add some information about the term in question... at least about the usage in the center of Brazil.
In Brazil g-r-i-n-g-o is a synonym for foreigner. It is used to refer to any foreigner. Europeans, North American and South American citizens, even African citizens or any person from another country that is perceved as a foreigner is a g-r-i-n-g-o . Even Mexican citzens that does not speak portuguese very well can became a g-r-i-n-g-o here. It is not ofensive, it is just a way to refer to a foreigner. However, some people prefer the term foreigner to g -r-i-n-g-o because the later is too informal. It is a slang.

@J-Renato0  It's definitely slang in Mexico, too. But Mexican Spanish is quite full of slang in general. More so than in other Spanish -speaking countries, so I've heard. They even have slang terms for Mexicans from one place as opposed to another- a Mexican from Mexico City is a Chilango, one from Guadalajara is a Tapatio. And there are words that if you look up in a dictionary, are just common Spanish words, used in their true meaning in other countries, but used primarily in Mexico to mean something quite different, and not neccesarily something you would say in front of your grandmother 🙂

Sally221
Level 10
Berkeley, CA

I consider it an honor to be the g-r-i-n-g-a mamacita of several Latinx young ladies! My girls are both fluent Spanish speakers- the elder spent 3 months in the cuts (boonies) of central America riding the Chicken buses & picking up a basic knowledge of Quechua. She was traveling solo,  I was sort of holding my breath until she got back but she had the time of her life. The younger did not do well in her high school Spanish classes but learned from  school friends &  even more from kitchen staff whilst working as a waitperson. She knows all the slang & her grammar is imperfect but her accent is lovely.

J-Renato0
Level 10
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

@Liv 

Yes. I think is important to support local shops!