Using the term "you people"

[bumbershoot]

To me you people is no different than using any of those
OP, I have no issues with the term unless its specifically used in a negative way.

Agreed.

I'll admit it's an awkward sounding phrase, though. Easier if you have lived in the South and feel comfy saying y'all. (even if you never used it while IN the South)

 

[KristaTX]

"Epcot's people"

My mother, my husband, and I would also all refer to ourselves as "Epcot's people" .

 

[C.Ann]

If not used in a condescending manner, it doesn't bother me at all.. I use it myself - just used it on my adult DD today.. She and her DH are coming up to the lake for a post-Thanksgiving party on Friday at a friends (on the other side of the lake), spending the night there, and then will be coming here (in her DH's truck) to get me moved out for the winter and back to their place..

So when I was talking to her, I was trying to get a time frame and said, "What time do you people think you'll be over here on Saturday?" Nothing condescending - so no offense was taken..

Now if I had said, "What time are you coming Saturday? You people are never here when you say you're going to be here.." - that could be considered offensive..

 

[Becky2005]

I was trying to think and that is one of those phrases that just listing it on a message board, there really is no way to convey what to think about it.

The body language, the make-up of the family, the whole context...I know we've used it in a way that is probably offensive to someone but as far as I know, no one in my family is offended by it (considering at one point in time pretty much have all said it) -- basically it gets used as "You people are all crazy" (which is usually when some antics have started up once again at a big family gathering and it's done in a fun joking way)...of course "you all are nuts" has also been said too.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I think we really need the context here to be able to tell.

I think in some cases it would be fine, but if used as a racial/ethnic stereotype it would sound rude.

 

[NMAmy]

I don't think the phrase itself is inherantly bad--the tone and the context would make the difference but that's true for just about any phrase.

 

[tlbwriter]

You know, my first reaction was to say it depends on the context. But as I read the replies here that said it's exactly the same as "y'all" or "you guys," that somehow struck me as not quite true. It *is* less friendly to me, for some reason. Context still matters, but for some reason, "Have you people decided what you're doing for Thanksgiving" just sounds harsher to my ear than "Have y'all decided what you're doing for Thanksgiving." I don't know why, but it does. Used humorously ("You people and your oyster stuffing! I don't understand why anyone would want something other than cornbread dressing!") it doesn't have that same effect on me.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

You know, my first reaction was to say it depends on the context. But as I read the replies here that said it's exactly the same as "y'all" or "you guys," that somehow struck me as not quite true. It *is* less friendly to me, for some reason. Context still matters, but for some reason, "Have you people decided what you're doing for Thanksgiving" just sounds harsher to my ear than "Have y'all decided what you're doing for Thanksgiving." I don't know why, but it does. Used humorously ("You people and your oyster stuffing! I don't understand why anyone would want something other than cornbread dressing!") it doesn't have that same effect on me.

This. It would irk me a bit if someone used "you people" in a conversation with me, because I wouldn't be entirely sure what group of people they think I belong in (sorry for ending with a preposition). But I am extremely sensitive. And I'm from the South and everyone says "ya'll", so it would stand out, and probably in a negative way, if someone said "you people".

 

[Heidict]

LOL. I don't know your ethnic tradition, but "your people" IME is pure Irish. No one with an Irish surname can meet an elderly Irishwoman without getting the question, "And where are your people from, dear?" It comes from the diaspora, when parts of every family emigrated somewhere or other, and you never knew when someone might once have been a near neighbor. It's Irish vernacular to refer to one's family as one's "people".

I think it is used in a lot of different cultures. My German grandfather was fond of it as was my English great grandmother. You tend to find it in the older generation.

In regards to 'you people'. I don't find it offense in general. I can be used offensively if that was the speakers intention.

 

[Zandy595]

It's really all about how it's used and who says it to whom.

I say it all the time to DH and DS. As in, "You people better get your dirty clothes in the hamper if you want them washed." Or, "You people drive me crazy."

 

[AmongMadPeople]

You know, my first reaction was to say it depends on the context. But as I read the replies here that said it's exactly the same as "y'all" or "you guys," that somehow struck me as not quite true. It *is* less friendly to me, for some reason. Context still matters, but for some reason, "Have you people decided what you're doing for Thanksgiving" just sounds harsher to my ear than "Have y'all decided what you're doing for Thanksgiving." I don't know why, but it does. Used humorously ("You people and your oyster stuffing! I don't understand why anyone would want something other than cornbread dressing!") it doesn't have that same effect on me.

This is essentially how I feel. I would never use "you people" as a replacement for "y'all" and I don't think I've ever heard anyone use it that way. (That may be a regional thing, maybe I'm too far north for that. People think it's strange I say y'all to begin with.) If you're using it to describe a racial, ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, etc. group, it's offensive. I've never heard it used in this way and not be offensive.

However, I do use the phrase, but only when making jokes, and only to people I'm close with. "You people and your green bean casserole" is a good example

I feel guilty for even participating in this conversation because I think we're just providing some free entertainment for someone, and not helping someone interpret a situation or judge someone's intentions.

 

[Stitchfans]

Doesn't bother me a bit & I use the phrase myself. I don't let phrases like that offend me. Was their intent to be insulting? In that case, they're just ignorant. Otherwise, I'm not one to look for ill intent when none was intended.

I hope that made sense.

My thoughts exactly. I use the phrase also and never really thought twice about it.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I guess it depends. Is your family African American, and is the speaker Ross Perot?

 

[Ceila]

After reading all these replies, I'm guessing that this must be a regional thing. To me there is a slight negative connotation, and I would never use it in place of you, you all, or y'all. Of course, it would depend on the context in which it was delivered.

 

[CathrynRose]

I believe I would be offended by it, only because I -personally- use it with offense implied.

As in (Me to my 15 & 19 y/o boys, and possibly their friends):

"You people need to keep it down!"
"You people need to quit acting as if I am your maid!"
"What do you people think? The Laundry Fairy does all this?"

So, I think it's generally said with offense intended. At least here, it is.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

"You people" is generally used as a negative. It's a grouping and it usually involves finger pointing...

I will use it, but only in jest, and generally sounds like "youz guys-es". Take it or leave it.

 

[wvjules]

Ha, I just used that phrase in another thread.

 

[cm8]

It would depend on the delivery.

 

[luvsJack]

Sorry, but I think ya'll are reading way too much into two little words.

I have NEVER heard "you people" used negatively except, as I already said, on TV or in movies when its some racist saying something stupid. Maybe I just don't talk to racists IRL, I don't know, but I am in the very deep south and have NEVER heard it used that way.

It simply means a group of which the speaker is not a member of, that group could be anything from people of a certain hair color to a class of 12 year olds. Y'all, you all and you guys all mean the exact same thing.