Nick Against the World (82 Viewers)

Martin

Senior Member
Dec 31, 2000
56,913
swag said:
:lol:

An English friend of mine (bastard lives on the Costa del Sol of Spain these days ;)) used to tell me how bewildered he was when people called him "African-American" here... given that he's not the least bit American.
I saw that in a Daily Show clip actually.. :D


But they do say White, don't they? It should be European American. Or how do you feel about Caucasian American?

I don't get what is so wrong with Black..
 

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swag

L'autista
Administrator
Sep 23, 2003
84,956
Martin said:
I saw that in a Daily Show clip actually.. :D


But they do say White, don't they? It should be European American. Or how do you feel about Caucasian American?

I don't get what is so wrong with Black..
They say "white". Sometimes "Caucasian" on formal forms and surveys -- even if that has Cossack roots that people forget. (It's a dumb enough term that I joke that I am Asian sometimes: Cauc-Asian.)

There wasn't anything wrong with black until some took issue with it in the 60s. Some believed that "black" had a negative connotation, so it was a way to PC avoid that. However, problem was that the bad stereotypes still followed the people and not the term for them.

Today I sense there being a relaxing of the political correctness of the multi-syllabic "African-American" thing here. "Black" is more widely acceptable again, though in some circles it was never deemed unacceptable. James Brown said it loud, after all in the 70s, he's black and he's proud. :tup:
 

Jem83

maitre'd at Canal Bar
Nov 7, 2005
22,871
Seven said:
"America stands for liberty, for the pursuit of happiness and for the unalienable right for life. This right to life cannot be granted or denied by government because it does not come from government, it comes from the creator of life."
(George W. Bush)

Don't you think that's a funny quote for someone who starts a war, wants to hang someone and couldn't care less about the death penalty?
He's right in every word, just take a look at what the United States constitution says. America stands for all of that. But he, personally, doesn't, I think that would be pretty obvious to everyone.
 

Martin

Senior Member
Dec 31, 2000
56,913
swag said:
They say "white". Sometimes "Caucasian" on formal forms and surveys -- even if that has Cossack roots that people forget. (It's a dumb enough term that I joke that I am Asian sometimes: Cauc-Asian.)

There wasn't anything wrong with black until some took issue with it in the 60s. Some believed that "black" had a negative connotation, so it was a way to PC avoid that. However, problem was that the bad stereotypes still followed the people and not the term for them.

Today I sense there being a relaxing of the political correctness of the multi-syllabic "African-American" thing here. "Black" is more widely acceptable again, though in some circles it was never deemed unacceptable. James Brown said it loud, after all in the 70s, he's black and he's proud. :tup:
What about Colored? Is Colored worse than Black? I suppose you could say that, that it's a wider generalization and could be seen as a racist term from European Americans (I think I'm gonna use this now :D), but that's just one interpretation.
 

swag

L'autista
Administrator
Sep 23, 2003
84,956
Martin said:
What about Colored? Is Colored worse than Black? I suppose you could say that, that it's a wider generalization and could be seen as a racist term from European Americans (I think I'm gonna use this now :D), but that's just one interpretation.
I love these questions, btw, Martin. They make me question some of the cultural norms here that we take for granted.

"Colored" is possibly worse than "black" because it is probably more often associated with the term used in the South during its segregationist heyday. It was the term used on signs for separating drinking fountains, etc. I don't think you'd offend anyone by any means -- just that people would look at you like you just stepped off a Greyhound bus that left Selma, Alabama in 1962. The term is quickly become antiquated and dates the user.

The "People of Color" term cracked me up a while ago. That basically stood for "non-white", which is as common a race of people as "white" is for that matter. (Though you could debate whether white itself was a color or not, depending on active or passive light sources to be a physicist about it. ;)) Fortunately that has fallen out of favor rather quickly since the 1990s.
 

Martin

Senior Member
Dec 31, 2000
56,913
Yeah People of Color didn't seem to offend anyone, did it? If we abbreviated that, it would be PC. Or PoC, but that looks too weird.

Btw I always thought of 'color' as being such a poor description of race. When I think color I'm thinking red, blue etc, not 'cream white' or 'dark brown'. It makes me want to bring up that Hue/Saturation dialog box in Photoshop.
 

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