Since it's “SPYLD” today, a post relating to language is most fitting! 😺
Have a post of part of an interview with (the late 😿) Mr Gregory Charles Rivers in which he talked a little bit about his relationship with the English language, after having learned Cantonese and staying in Hong Kong long-term for decades.
Date of interview is unknown but if I were to hazard a guess I'd say it's circa 2010s? Mr Rivers looks to be in his 40s to 50s here.
Although the term ‘gwai-lo’ (also sometimes spelt ‘gwei-lo’) did start out from a degoratory term, used to discriminate and alienate Caucasian people by Chinese people, through the sands of time, the usage of ‘gwai-lo’ (and its adjacent terms, ‘gwai-po’, ‘gwai-mui’, ‘gwai-zai’) has become less provocative, its meaning softened.
At least, that's what a group of people think! As of now, there is still a considerably large size of people who use ‘gwai-lo’, etc., in a neutral manner. These people are of the opinion that using ‘gwai-lo’ etc., is (or should be) no different from using the more politically correct terms, ‘Caucasian/Westerner’. Some even see ‘gwai-lo’ as a term of affection. Like Mr Rivers.
Of course, there are also people who still view ‘gwai-lo’ as a bad term and are of the opinion it really shouldn't be used anymore. And there indeed are still people who do use ‘gwai-lo’, etc. as an intended racial insult. So to use or not use, how the term is being received, it really depends on the situation, depends on the person.
Trivia: Apparently there's a kind of craft beer you can buy in Hong Kong called “Gwei-lo Beer”!
n.b.: ‘gwai-lo’, ‘gwai-po’, ‘gwai-mui’ and ‘gwai-zai’ mean literally, “ghost man/woman/girl/boy” respectively.