Stop saying people of color when referring to black people. everyone is of color

Originally posted by Briles
It seems to me that the black community changes their "acceptable words list" every 5 mins, Coloured whilst not the best term to use still has the same meaning as black/dark etc. It is a visual observation.

I have the same confusion. I'm white, or caucasian, which I think is the most current term for my race, and I have always tried hard not to offend others.

When I was growing up I was taught that the proper term was "black." "Colored," the term my parents used, was out. Then, when I got to college, I was told to use the term African American when addressing people who are....well...however you want to be identified.

Then a famous African American writer and teacher came to my college and taught a seminar on racism. She preferred the term "people of color," which, she said, is quite different from saying "colored people." People of color, as I believe Grover has said, encompasses just about everyone who is not..uh...caucasian.

When I taught some classes at a "historically black college" (their description, not mine) they seemed to prefer the term African American. You apparently prefer black.

Hey, I'm just trying to get along with people but now I feel as though any term I use is going to offend someone. There are a lot of us "white" folks who are as confused as I am. Can you help us out here?

Originally posted by jimmy1200

also, whatsup with the, why cant i say [SNIP] they say it, crowd. stop being a baby, and just let it go. okay, one word you cant say, and if you tell me your vocabulary is so limited, that you can not use any choice of word other than [SNIP], than you probably have a little bit of racist floating in your heart, and you want to find a way to say that word, without the benefit of me punching you in the face, or jumping down your throat with a tire iron.

im sorry, excuse my rant, but for the love of god i cannot understand people sometimes. being black/rican, i dont refer to any of my white friends as racial slurs, but yet i need to correct some when it comes to referring to me, or referring to others in that manner. usually its not those truly close to me that talk like that. either way, i just dont understand it at all.

maybe its because im not an idiot, that i can communicate with people without sounding like a retard. people are so socially inept nowadays, and just flat out stupid, that sometimes im just curious as to how they function on a day to day basis. like, what do stupid people do with their day.

 

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[edit on 9/11/08 by masqua]
Mod Edit: Removed religious epithet from title

[edit on 11/9/2008 by Badge01]

You my friend have some attitude issues the word colored gets you all bent out of shape? lol come on its a term Americans used to use to refer to colored Humanse not just African American for that matter so it is passed down to use by race lifestyle and so on why do all black people in the rap industry and the youth of today refer to them selfs as 'n-word's? makes no sense to me.
Here is a great lesson!!!! I learned it in grade 2.

STICKS AND STONES MAY HURT MY BONES BUT NAMES WILL NEVER HURT ME. Ever learn that one in school... and you see smart people aren't bothered by useless # that doesn't even effect them in any way possible we annoy dumb people for senseless fun

Try being positive and names like colored shouldnt make your panties in a bunch, figure of speech btw.

I have never used that term. I use Black. I think I always will. I don't like using the term African American or Native American. I don't know why. If you are an American it pretty much says you are a mix. I don't say Irish American or Italian American or any of those. But what I don't like is when you mention that something is black and Black people think they are referring to them. Black cat. Black chair etc. Its a color and they don't own it. I don't get offended if someone says I need some white sheets, ya know?
I'm white I guess. I don't really understand the white black thing. When I was in Germany our relatives put some cookies on the table and said they were
"American cookies", smiling. I looked at the cookies and I didn't get it at first. They were half regular cookie and half chocolate. It still bugs me to this day. I would think rainbow cookies with rainbow sprinkles would classify most closely as frickin American cookies....

To say the reference "people of color" is from a "white" person is ridiculous. I have never heard a "white" person use that term. I have heard Oprah use it a lot.
I do not like the term African American- not all black people come from Africa.
I do not like the term native American-I am a native American- I was born here.
To use that term in reference to American Indians is stupid. They aren't any more native than the rest of us who were born here. None of us were placed here by God. We all come from people who migrated here. It is just that my ancestors came here a few hundred (maybe thousands) of years later.
A part of what is wrong with the US these days comes from people feeling they need to differentiate who they are by some term.
If we would all just simply call ourselves Americans we could stop the divisiveness. I do not refer to myself as a German-Irish-American.
Unless a person holds dual citizenship they should not hyphenate their name.
I have a grand daughter who is Romanian-American and her mother will be too once she becomes a US citizen because she is planning to hold dual citizenship. This is the only time one should hyphenate.
Other than that if you are American -no matter what color your skin is- proudly just say American.

Originally posted by jimmy1200
what goes through the mind of a person that feels the need to not say black, or African American, whatever, but feels the need to say "colored" instead.

no offense to the "white" people of America, peach, whatever, doesn't matter, but please stop saying stupid shyt out your mouth. it mainly comes from you. no offense, really. im sure the white people of america have something to retort with, im just addressing this issue personally, from my tons of experience with it.

im sorry, excuse my rant, but for the love of god i cannot understand people sometimes. being black/rican, i dont refer to any of my white friends as racial slurs, but yet i need to correct some when it comes to referring to me, or referring to others in that manner

Why are you so mad about it? You say " no offense to the WHITE people of America" and " I'm sure the WHITE people of America " and " I don't refer to any of my WHITE friends "

What's that all about? Why can't you just say your friends? Be mad all you want but you do the same thing. This racist stuff doesn't bother me one bit. Why do some want to be call African American or Asian America or Mexican American? Why can't they just be American. It seems to me that they want to keep the race issue alive when it could be gone by not saying certain things anymore.

Originally posted by Lucid Lunacy
Modern day Israelites? You sure this applies to the times of Jesus?

The current dominant opinion among historians and scientists is that he (Jesus) most likely had olive skin, resembling modern-day persons of Middle Eastern descent

/wiki/Race_of_Jesus

[edit on 9-11-2008 by Lucid Lunacy]

My husband has olive skin (Portuguese). That doesn't mean he is black or coloured - it means he has a great tan.

With that said though, if Jesus did turn out to be black or coloured, it wouldn't have any bearing on anything for me because I suspect he is above racism.

Edit for typo


[edit on 2008.11/30 by the siren]