Originally Posted by
Insidious
Suarez said "negro" (pronounced "neh-gro") on one occasion, if his version of events is accurate.
"Negrito" is a, for want of a better word, "softer" word again. One is a physical characteristic descriptive (which in South American culture seems to be "fine") whilst the other is a touch more endearing despite having the same basic meaning.
A comparison I could make in terms of how it might be viewed through an English-speaking lens would be a couple where ("Negrito" comparison) a fella who has been with his wife for 30 years with a pre-established, banterish relationship might affectionately grab the Missus' love handles and say "my chunky Muffin" which, in their relationship context, is a term of endearment (even if it might go down a stinker with other people and even though he is basically calling her fat) whereas "Negro" would simply be the word "fat" - I have friends who would call THEMSELVES fat and I would say "fat" as a descriptive in certain contexts, but we all know that referring to someone as "fat" is, at best, open to interpretation and at worst (and often used this way at school age or amongst arseholes) packs a malicious punch.
So to use this comparison (again, I know it isn't the best) imagine referring to a woman you were in a competitive environment with (playing Chess, both trying to grab the last of an item in the Supermarket) and busting out the "fat" word - it's only going to be taken one way no matter what your intent, whatever your thoughts on that are, versus the friendly pseudo-ridicule of your curvy Missus who is very comfortable with having an extra slice of Pizza rather than hitting the Gym and pokes fun at herself for it. You might think (for example) that it's better to let people know they are far as tough love so they exercise more/eat better/live longer and be genuinely using the word from a place of good wishes as you hate seeing your mate out of breath, but that isn't going to matter to most folk, etc etc.
Given that Suarez himself said he used "negro" (excerpts from his book, referenced in the Guardian) it would suggest that "Negrito" came from somewhere else - perhaps even our PR team - though I truthfully have no desire to go back and analyse everything as it's a period our Club and fanbase could likely do with forgetting - I remember wincing when I saw that "Klanfield" newspaper article and not wanting to wear a Liverpool top for a few months in case it was taken to be a right-wing emblem for a bit by some of Northern Ireland's resident nutjobs that I wouldn't want to be associated with.
Bookmarks