The term "Non National"

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Mod Note: split from Dublin Bus Strike thread by ajapale

Alot of the workers in the Union are non national -should they go back home if they go on strike?
 
Re: Opinions on Dublin Bus strike

BroadbandKen said:
Alot of the workers in the Union are non national -should they go back home if they go on strike?
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What does non-national mean? I've never met anyone with no nationality. But perhaps you can clarify if you are proposing that workers from some countries should be treated differently?
 
Re: Opinions on Dublin Bus strike

What does non-national mean? I've never met anyone with no nationality
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Non-national means not from this nation, it doesn't mean they don't have a nationality :p
 
Re: Opinions on Dublin Bus strike

Havealaugh said:
Non-national means not from this nation, it doesn't mean they don't have a nationality :p
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Surely the correct term would be 'non-Irish national' then? Non-national is just plain misleading.
 
Re: Opinions on Dublin Bus strike

RainyDay said:
What does non-national mean? I've never met anyone with no nationality. But perhaps you can clarify if you are proposing that workers from some countries should be treated differently?
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Rainyday I have noticed you like to ask rhetorical questions while assuming we all know what you are getting up to. I would be amazed if someone as opinionated as yourself did not know what 'non national' meant.

Lets get back to the issue of the bus strike: Arent these the same drivers who have refused for years to open the middle doors of the buses ? My heart is breaking for them. Pushing a button a few times is so much to ask, isnt it ?
 
Re: Opinions on Dublin Bus strike

stir crazy said:
Rainyday I have noticed you like to ask rhetorical questions while assuming we all know what you are getting up to. I would be amazed if someone as opinionated as yourself did not know what 'non national' meant.
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Do I really ask lots of rhetorical questions? I guess that most posters will have picked up the fact that I was highlighting the offensive and inaccurate nature of the term 'non-national', which has regrettably drifted into common usage.
 
Re: Opinions on Dublin Bus strike

RainyDay said:
Do I really ask lots of rhetorical questions? I guess that most posters will have picked up the fact that I was highlighting the offensive and inaccurate nature of the term 'non-national', which has regrettably drifted into common usage.
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I'll never understand how the term became popular as it makes so little sense. To my mind it conjures up an image of an incredibly parochial Ireland, with a sort of implicit assumption that "if you're not from here, you're from nowhere". Nor does it ever seem to be applied to individuals from the UK or the US.
 
Re: Opinions on Dublin Bus strike

RainyDay said:
I guess that most posters will have picked up the fact that I was highlighting the offensive and inaccurate nature of the term 'non-national', which has regrettably drifted into common usage.
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In fairness I have heard loads of people, from all walks of life use that term.
I even heard a friend of mine use it and he is a solicitor and a card carrying member of the Labour Party (typical job for an Irish socialist) so if he can pass the moral purity standards test for those two illustrious groups then "non-national" can't be that bad a phrase :p
 
Lets use the term Johnny-Foreigner instead....

'Two men arrested at Dublin airport tonight for carrying 10kgs of cocaine - they were both Johnny-Foreigners"...... yep....would make the news sound more amusing if anything@
 
stir crazy said:
I am a national of the Irish Republic and have no problem being described as a non national of any country in which I happen to be a guest and not a citizen. Why ? Because it would be the honest truth and it is a statement of fact. I think some people take political correctness way too far.
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How can you be a "non national" of a particular country? If you described someone as being "non religious" people would assume you were (rather awkwardly) describing someone who didn't ascribe to any religion rather than someone who had a different religion to your own.

ajapale said:
Whats wrong with the term Foreigner?
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I've no idea but people seem to have an aversion to saying it. "Foreign national" is a more intuitive and accurate phrase than "non national" to my mind.
 
room305 said:
a "non national" of
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The following is all you need to know :)

http://www.tfd.com/of

http://www.tfd.com/national


Its' harmless in my view. Does somebody find it offensive ? I am completely surprised by this but I guess theres always a few in every audience.
This kind of [ 'manhole cover' should be 'womanhole cover'] nonsense destroys the credibility of the person who protests against it . To me its merely finding a problem for the sake of it and not identifying real issues whatever they may be.

If the OP of this split thread has a problem with racism or xenophobia I would think a more credible behaviour would be to start a thread about this and be direct and honest about the issue instead of suddenly imposing a burden of guilt on all the people who have used the term without double meanings or sinister implications. Or is it just another excuse to make Irish nationals feel guilty and wrong about themselves ?

Just my opinion. People of different nationalities have used the term non national in my presence. I think this one is a dead end. And no I wasnt pious enough to use a rhetorical question.

RainyDay said:
Why would you describe non [Irish] nationals as 'guests'?
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And I cant believe that for years we have treated tourists as welcome guests in our country and given ourselves a reputation for hospitalty abroad for someone to turn around and have a problem with that word too :confused:

If things continue along that path, It starts off with word police then it becomes thought police. And its' irrelevant and obstructive to any discussion as long as people understand one another. Just my opinion. I look forward to responses.
 
stir crazy said:
And I cant believe that for years we have treated tourists as welcome guests in our country and given ourselves a reputation for hospitalty abroad for someone to turn around and have a problem with that word too :confused:
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As long as we don't call them "Guests of the Nation" :rolleyes:
 
What was wrong with Paddys, Britts, Jocks, Frogs, Eyeties, Wops, Dagoes, Chinks, Nips, Yanks, etc?:rolleyes:

At least you knew what country they were a non-national of. :D
 
Why not use the American term for non-nationals : "Aliens". At least then we could refer to all life in the universe who are not Irish :p
 
room305 said:
"Foreign national" is a more intuitive and accurate phrase than "non national" to my mind.
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Have to agree with that statement. The immigrants who come here are nationals of another country, whether they remain friendly towards said country or otherwise. They are not non anything! If the media wants to use a catch all phrase "foreign national" is polite and clear.
 
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