[xDMufffins]

I'm walking home with my friends from school and then we see a group full of Chinese schoolmates across the street.
(You know those people who only speak Chinese and wear those clothes? Yeah..)
And then one of my friend yells "FOB MOB!" and the rest laughs..
And then I got mad..

I'm with my friends at school and I see my brother and his friends (they speak Chinese because it's more convenient then speaking English) and I go over jokingly (and lightly) slam my brother into the locker (he's older than me and bigger too). Then after I go with my friends and one of them asks,
"Who is that?"
"My brother."
"You're brother is a fob."
"No, he's not."
"Does he speak Chinese?"
"..."

Really..it's so irritating when people call others 'fobs'. Like, does it make them feel superior that they can speak English properly and that they wear 'such nice clothes'? No one would call someone a fob if they have a Spanish background or any other one, they'll think it's so cool. Every time someone calls someone else a fob, they're ALWAYS Asian. What? Are Asians not good enough? Specifically, the Chinese?

Like really.. it's so insulting how they say it. We're all Asian (mostly Chinese) ourselves, and just because we speak English and wear stuff like Stitches, Aero, Abecrombie, etc. it's as if they feel like they're 'better' than them.

I spoke to most of them about it and how it's so rude and disrespectful and such, but some of them still say it. They don't like it when others call them that, so why are they calling someone else it.

It's not like it's their fault that they can't speak English properly. If they went to Asia and tried to speak the language fluently, they wouldn't either.

I understand if someone's joking around with a good friend and they call them a fob, but when you say it to compete strangers, it's so disrespectful.

I feel like I'm the only who's against that word.

So, how do you feel about that word? Do you use it? Hate it? No opinion?

EDIT

I meant like, to people you don't know. I understand if they're joking around between friends, I do it myself (it's funny). I just think it's disrespectful when someone says someone else is a fob when they don't know anything about them. Like, they say it in 'that' voice like they're a lower standard or something.

[ParappaRappa]

lol, i never knew what a fob meant until my friends started using it in middle school. they would use it to describe the new people that came from korea. the word "fob" pretty much became a commonly used word around school. the word "fob" is still commonly used around my friends in high school too. yeah, i guess to some it is demeaning, but we don't mean it to be. i had a friend that got mad at me because she told me that calling someone a fob was like calling someone an a-hole. that was the first time i heard that. so that's when i learned it could also insult people.

i never mean it in a demeaning way and i only use it jokingly with my friends. or people that know they are fobs/call themselves fobs, lol. it's just not that big a deal here, i guess? i do know what you mean that it's usually used on asian people and no one else.

btw, i'm korean. and the people i usually use the word with are other asian people. i guess we all just know that we don't ever mean it in a rude, disrespectful way.

[xDMufffins]

lol, i never knew what a fob meant until my friends started using it in middle school. they would use it to describe the new people that came from korea. the word "fob" pretty much became a commonly used word around school. the word "fob" is still commonly used around my friends in high school too. yeah, i guess to some it is demeaning, but we don't mean it to be. i had a friend that got mad at me because she told me that calling someone a fob was like calling someone an a-hole. that was the first time i heard that. so that's when i learned it could also insult people.

i never mean it in a demeaning way and i only use it jokingly with my friends. or people that know they are fobs/call themselves fobs, lol. it's just not that big a deal here, i guess? i do know what you mean that it's usually used on asian people and no one else.

btw, i'm korean. and the people i usually use the word with are other asian people. i guess we all just know that we don't ever mean it in a rude, disrespectful way.

LOOOOL I know
I'm okay with it when it's between friends, I meant like, when they say it to someone they don't even know. ><

[charrex]

what bear474 said is true.

as a fob myself, i love calling other "asian" fobs. i often joke around my abc friends by calling them fobs lol

[hishari]

My boyfriend moved to the states from Taiwan when he was in 5th grade, but he speaks English fluently and you can't even tell he's born in another country.
I call him a fob all the time...he doesn't seem to mind.

I don't see what's wrong with calling someone a fob..,you're either an ABC type or a fob. One or the other.

[nobody knows]

ahhhhhh I use it kinda lightly, but I won't be screaming fob mob or mob fob or whatever to them (that's mean)

like the students that speak their native tongue in English school (it's mostly Chinese in my school), it bothers me because they're not in Chinese school or at home, they're in English school (and because like 30% of my school understands anyway) and they should be striving to improve their English or something


as far as your friend saying that to you about your brother "he speaks Chinese so he MUST be fob." that'd piss me off like crazy >_<...

..I'm prolly one of the people you hate though LOL because I like calling people fob for fun (only among friends though). sorry about that

[naoto]

I don't think either is a big deal. I'm bilingual and I dislike it when people call me cbc or fob. My name is Kevin.

In korean fellowship we had to list pet peeves in our small groups, and one of the guys wrote I hate fobs. Why? Why do that. I am friends with korean fobs, I am friends with canadian born koreans too (that guy).

[IwishIwasKOREAN]

I think it depends on how people use the context, but then again some people just don't really care about others feelings.

There are some people who just think 'FOB' is a word to describe other people, especially Asians, with accents. Even though the acronym, "F.O.B.", literally translates as Fresh Off the Boat, some people use it openly without understanding some may find it insulting.

Then there are some who use it to really distant themselves from others in a way that it's condescending or the other group is inferior.

Here are two videos that discuss the word FOB amongst Filipinos and how they've encountered problems.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjtVa1yvALI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nftBFVs2Nkc

By just googling the term FOB, I found this question posted on Yahoo..."Who Thinks Fobs are GAY?"

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...04202716AArtZTF

i do. they act like girls and always do their hair. they listen to gay music too,etc. who agrees? well some of my friends are fob... i like them but i just dont like the fob in them =0
4 weeks ago (Tiebreaker)
Additional Details
fobs=fresh off the beat. and im not being racist. i am asian too o.o
4 weeks ago

i mean fresh off the boat. as in those asians

Sounds like something Jaebom would say.

[lilian21]

I think it depends on the person who's using the word fob. Some say it as if it's an insult, and it's really not. Some say it as a description of lifestyle. To me, calling someone a fob is not synonymous to calling someone a "jerk" or a "slut" or some other derogatory word. So for example, when I use the word fob to describe someone, what I mean is that they are not very Americanized, that they dress "fobby" (typical Asian fashion). None of those things are insulting. In fact, being too Americanized is actually looked down upon by a lot of people. I think that if YOU stop taking the word so seriously, your friends probably will not use it in such a defamatory manner. I used to be really offended when someone called me a fob, but now, I actually take it as a compliment. I would say something like "hey at least I actually know 2 languages fluently" or I would tell them "well at least I know where I come from", and that usually shuts them up.

[FairyTales]

I have a few friends who are FOB and call each other FOBS .
I guess it's just how people word it?

[IwishIwasKOREAN]

I used to be really offended when someone called me a fob, but now, I actually take it as a compliment. I would say something like "hey at least I actually know 2 languages fluently" or I would tell them "well at least I know where I come from", and that usually shuts them up.

That's a good way of putting it, but I don't think everyone sees it that way. I think some people who call other people FOBS are judging the way those people speak English, so it might not appear either fluent or proper to them.

I also think it works both ways, now there might not be a popular term with everyone...but there are also others who will laugh and judge others who can't also speak even a Asian language as proper or with a different accent(i.e. Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, etc).

Then there are terms like White-washed...etc

[PRRRETTYGLiTTERRR]

I thought it was for only Asians, don't feel so offensive about it .. youre probably the only one who thinks that your friends think theyre superior.. if you think about the situation positively & not care about it, its not a big deal.. when i think of fob, i think of them as a foreigner, thats it.. chill out!

[IwishIwasKOREAN]

I thought it was for only Asians, don't feel so offensive about it .. youre probably the only one who thinks that your friends think theyre superior.. if you think about the situation positively & not care about it, its not a big deal.. when i think of fob, i think of them as a foreigner, thats it.. chill out!

It's more commonly used by Asian-Americans to label Asians who speak with accents. However, the term FOB was also used before for European immigrants. I have a Uncle-in-Law who is of German descent and he told me that his family used to be called Fobs when they first came to USA.

[Mishi-san]

Hrm in Aust fob is kinda normal lol my uni has heaps of international students! Some people say it normally, and other says worse ones such as 'gook' =/

But personally, I think its quite rude just to say it out loud to strangers ahaha among friends is fine! I always call my bf a fob because he came from Vietnam when he was 11 and when typing his english is bad sometimes and I just say lololol you are so fob. I just think the word is harmless compared to what other people say about people that can't speak english properly =.=

[IwishIwasKOREAN]

I just think the word is harmless compared to what other people say about people that can't speak english properly =.=

Oh i see, kind of like what Jaebom used was harmless because he used the term Gay..instead of other worse terms, like Q****r or F*g?

[aRaMi]

i might sound stupid but.. what does FOB means???
actually a friend once called me a FOB but i didnt care coz i dont dont the meaning of it xDD.. by the way im not asian.. im from south ameria, so fob is not just for asian..?

[IwishIwasKOREAN]

i might sound stupid but.. what does FOB means???
actually a friend once called me a FOB but i didnt care coz i dont dont the meaning of it xDD.. by the way im not asian.. im from south ameria, so fob is not just for asian..?

FOB means Fresh off the boat. However, people generally just use it and label people who can't speak English properly in the USA. It's commonly used by Asian-Americans to label other Asians.. So basically people like Jet Li and Jackie Chan would be considered as FOBs.

[witchery]

Hmm interesting...
where I'm from, and around the people I know, there are two meanings of "fob". Neither of which I thought were used disrespectfully or offensively.
1. Actual fob. Someone who didn't come to Australia long ago, and has a noticeable Asian accent.
The term is used as a fact lol....the equivalent of calling someone an "international student."
2. Someone who's not actually that "fresh off the boat"....but acts like a fob. Or just looks like one. THis is the one that's used jokingly around people, eg "dude you dress so fobby"

The only reason I hate it when someone calls me a fob, is because I'm not. And it kinda bugs me because when I ask them why, they say it's because of my face...? Which is the only reason. I'm 100% ABC but everyone takes one look at me and go "yup she's fob."

Anyway, I guess it just depends on where you're located, and how they're used. I suppose in other places the term might be generally used in a degrading sense.

edit:
v
yeah, I don't think my dress sense is fobby at all. It's just I have a fobby looking face or something. LOL which annoys me, I really don't understand how I look fob. I don't even know what is a fobby looking face, anyway.

[IwishIwasKOREAN]

Hmm interesting...
where I'm from, and around the people I know, there are two meanings of "fob". Neither of which I thought were used disrespectfully or offensively.
1. Actual fob. Someone who didn't come to Australia long ago, and has a noticeable Asian accent.
The term is used as a fact lol....the equivalent of calling someone an "international student."
2. Someone who's not actually that "fresh off the boat"....but acts like a fob. Or just looks like one. THis is the one that's used jokingly around people, eg "dude you dress so fobby"

The only reason I hate it when someone calls me a fob, is because I'm not. And it kinda bugs me because when I ask them why, they say it's because of my face...? Which is the only reason. I'm 100% ABC but everyone takes one look at me and go "yup she's fob."

Reason 2 perhaps?

[Swtess]

In this day and age, there will be labels where ever you go. For me, its such a common word to describe someone that there's really no other meaning to it either than a description.
'What is she?'
Fob, fob girl, that fob group, you're such a fob...etc
I don't get offended when someone calls me a fob but in fact I kind of got annoyed by this one fob girl I met that said I sound and look so whitewashed just because I don't have an accent when I speak english and because I was wearing a hat. But then she was an annoying girl and everything she said annoyed me lol