

Why not stop using the term "African American"?
#1
Posted 09 October 2004 - 01:25 AM
Setting aside the rather obvious point that every American is, to some extent, an "African American", we don't use the term to mean somebody descending from Africa. Rather, it simply means "black". White people born in South Africa are considered "Caucasian"; conversely, somebody who's eight generations removed from Africa and lives in the US is an "African American". That makes absolutely no sense.
What really drove the home point for me was a recent incident in a class, where we were discussing Europe. A girl literally said, "European African Americans..." and nobody really pointed out how nonsensical the phrase is, because we all know she meant 'black'. What should she have said? European Africans? African Europeans? Since we mean black, why not say black? I realize I may be stepping into hot water here, but "African American" seems a fairly problematic term. Why keep it?
Me: "I have a job and five credit cards and am looking into signing a two year lease. THAT MAKES ME OLD."
Josh: "I don't have a job, I have ONE credit card, I'm stuck in a lease and I'm 28! My mom's basement IS ONE BAD DECISION AWAY!"
~~ Josh, winning the argument.
"Congress . . . shall include every idiot, lunatic, insane person, and person non compos mentis[.]" ~1 U.S.C. § 1, selectively quoted for accuracy.
#2
Posted 09 October 2004 - 01:27 AM
Because it's the politically correct thing to do in this country. That's the main reason I try not to use that term myself.
The Left is inclusive, and tolerant, unless you happen to think and believe different than they do~ Lord of the Sword
Looks like the Liberal Elite of Exisle have finally managed to silence the last remaining Conservative voice on the board.
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.” ~Thomas Jefferson
#3
Posted 09 October 2004 - 01:29 AM
White people, black people, yellow people, red people. People have been taking offense to these statements for years upon years. Which is why we had to use the PC-Correct terms, such as Native Americans, African Americans, Caucasian, and many others.
Sometimes politically correct terminology, was even more offensive than what we were using before. It's far more labeling.
Rommie


#4
Posted 09 October 2004 - 01:36 AM
If not using black is the problem, we can adjust for that. I find that odd, though, since there's the "Democratic Black Caucus", comprised of black people. There's also the "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People", and the "United Negro College Fund", which are all mainstream organizations. Earlier this year (or late last year?) the Democrats even held a "Black and Brown Issues Debate"; that was the one where Al Sharpton infamously sucker punched Dean over the lack of color in Vermont's cabinet. I really don't think the lack of other "useable" terms is an issue....
Me: "I have a job and five credit cards and am looking into signing a two year lease. THAT MAKES ME OLD."
Josh: "I don't have a job, I have ONE credit card, I'm stuck in a lease and I'm 28! My mom's basement IS ONE BAD DECISION AWAY!"
~~ Josh, winning the argument.
"Congress . . . shall include every idiot, lunatic, insane person, and person non compos mentis[.]" ~1 U.S.C. § 1, selectively quoted for accuracy.
#5
Posted 09 October 2004 - 01:41 AM
But if a white person were to call a black person the 'N' word, you'd better prepare for some retaliation.
I've never been able to figure that out.
I just want to state that I do not use racial slurs. I have friends of many creeds, and I have never disrespected them. We're all human, after all.
Rommie


#6
Posted 09 October 2004 - 02:07 AM

What-do I have to walk on eggshells every time I deal with people?! It's amazing how adults have to act like little children sometimes. "Mommy, he called me a bad name!!" That's what some of this crap sounds like to me.

I remember using the term "Negro" in a story I wrote, and I pointed the story out to a couple of people to read. These people told me that the word "Negro" was politically incorrect.
Now, I wasn't angry with these particular folks at all-in fact, I respect them a lot. But I was very puzzled. I happen to be Hispanic. "Negro" is Spanish for "black." Hispanics use this word all the time. We have no problems with it. But used in an English context, the red flags of political incorrectness pop up. Why the double standard?!
It seems stupid to me, quite frankly. "Negro" is NOT "n*gger", despite the similarity in spelling.
Sure-some folks have done dumb things to hurt people based on race-but this is going WAAAY too far. Where do we draw the line?
It's sad that adults can't ACT like adults.

Edited by Digital Man, 09 October 2004 - 02:15 AM.

Politicians are like bananas; they hang together, they're all yellow, and there's not a straight one among them.
"We're relevant for $ and a vote once every two years. Beyond that, we're completely irrelevant, except of course to consume, and preach the gospel according to [insert political demigod here]."--Cait
#7
Posted 09 October 2004 - 03:09 AM
Technically, West Indians, or Carribean Americans should be called African-American, and they often are. However, the process of slavery in the Carribean was significantly different from what it was here in the US, with the result that Carribean Americans have a strong sense of identity with their birth places that is inherently an "African" identity of sorts, as they form the majority populations on these islands. They therefore do not have the same identity issues that blacks born in America do.
Then, of course, there are the recent immigrants from Africa - who are still called African. Whites from Africa should be called African, but I tend to think that they call themselves by the country in Africa that they come from.
In any event, as I've been doing here, I think the term "black" is more ubiquitous of meaning "any black person" by racial identification, while African-American really does mean an American black who decended from Africa - in general usage, I think it means an American born in America. In fact - I'm sure of it - when speaking about folks in the neighborhood, there is a distinction between immigrants from the Carribean, and the next generation, who are considered African-American.
The racial thinking underlying the dichotomy of black people being the only ones considered African American is far from "politically correct" - it stems from the racial politics of America, is a direct response to it, and cannot be changed by decree - these are deep rooted attitudes that most people simply take for granted, like the air they breathe.
HM07
Een Draght Mackt Maght
#8
Posted 09 October 2004 - 03:21 AM
Hotspur Rovinski, on Oct 9 2004, 02:36 AM, said:
If not using black is the problem, we can adjust for that. I find that odd, though, since there's the "Democratic Black Caucus", comprised of black people. There's also the "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People", and the "United Negro College Fund", which are all mainstream organizations. Earlier this year (or late last year?) the Democrats even held a "Black and Brown Issues Debate"; that was the one where Al Sharpton infamously sucker punched Dean over the lack of color in Vermont's cabinet. I really don't think the lack of other "useable" terms is an issue....
The word "Black" is not offensive, so far as I know. It just has become, in common usage, proper to use in some contexts and not in others, where the more formal "African-American" is the common usage. The history of labels attached to black people in America is reflected in the names of the institutions you reference. The NAACP grew out of a time when "Colored" was still the common phrase. And, while "colored" has become practically a slur these days, the usage "people of color" is still acceptable, and broader than just African Americans. Various institutions called "Black" are likely outgrowths of the sixties, when "Black" became popularized as a positive term. It displaced "colored" at least partially because "colored" was seen as a self-negating avoidance of blackness. "Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud" was not just a song - it was an ideology of the day.
While people may be frustrated with the pc feel of the whole name game in the African-American community, I think that most African-Americans expect, and hope for indulgence from the world at large on this subject, because the work of sorting out our identity positively has been a challenging one...
HM07
Een Draght Mackt Maght
#9
Posted 09 October 2004 - 03:50 AM
I have a simple rule. I try not to use labels at all. If I must use a label, I try to use the one the leaders of that particular community have chosen. So for example (using my own ethnic/religious heritage), Irish instead of Potato Eaters. Catholic instead of Papist. If tomorrow, the Irish were to declare they'd like to be refered to as Celts or Gaels or Hibernians, I'd go with that, but I wouldn't use those terms now because, as labels, they're outdated.
The African-American community in the US has politely asked to be refered to as "African-American." This reflects their continental origin instead of their skin color, the same way Irish-American expresses my cultural heritage as opposed to "Pasty White Boy," which is based on my appearance.
So if a community asks to be addressed a certain way, why not comply with this simple request? It's just common courtesy, really. Why's that so hard?
"There are monsters, there are angels...
There's a peacefulness and a rage inside us all."
----------------------------------
Voice of the Beehive
#10
Posted 09 October 2004 - 03:56 AM
Hotspur Rovinski, on Oct 9 2004, 06:25 AM, said:
In Europe (or at least the UK), in my experience, people of African descent are generally refered to by their specific national or regional origin. So Kenyan. Nigerian. Ghanan. Sudanese. This is a bit easier there since, by and large, Europeans of African descent are able to trace their specific national origin, which, unfortunately in the US, is very often not the case.
Europeans please correct me if I'm mistaken.
"There are monsters, there are angels...
There's a peacefulness and a rage inside us all."
----------------------------------
Voice of the Beehive
#11
Posted 09 October 2004 - 04:09 AM
Handmaiden07, on Oct 9 2004, 08:09 AM, said:
Just FYI, my wife just mentioned that she saw an article in PEOPLE that said there are new genetic tests which can give you an idea of your nationality/ies of origin. Offered (for profit of course) by a company called African Ancestry.
There's a story about it here: http://abcnews.go.co...040723_208.html
"There are monsters, there are angels...
There's a peacefulness and a rage inside us all."
----------------------------------
Voice of the Beehive
#12
Posted 09 October 2004 - 04:59 AM
#13
Posted 09 October 2004 - 10:05 AM
One poll at infoplease, for example, shows a breakdown of preferred terminology: http://www.infopleas...a/A0762158.html
Now this poll is just something I googled, but I believe it shows the diversity of opinion that is out there concerning terminology. And how easy it might be to accidentally offend without intention.
-LV
The Vulcan-Pixie alliance is strong.
#14
Posted 09 October 2004 - 10:10 AM
We shall harness for God the energies of Love.
Then, for the second time in the history of the world,
we will have discovered fire."
--Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
#15
Posted 09 October 2004 - 11:04 AM
Robert Hewitt Wolfe, on Oct 9 2004, 04:50 AM, said:
Thing is, I don't always know how a person wants to be addressed. Hell, I'm half Japanese, half American (my dad always said he was "Heinz 57"

Anyway, I'm rambling here. Sorry. What I'm trying to say is, we don't always know how to refer to people who have, say, that lovely brown or golden or tawny skin -- not all black people are African Americans. (Especially black people who live in Europe, as Rov points out!

* (Hell, it was only a few years ago that I found out that some other Asians found the term "Oriental" to be derogatory in some way, and it was no longer acceptable. I felt kinda left out, since I never got the memo...

#16
Posted 09 October 2004 - 11:26 AM
Quote
While people may be frustrated with the pc feel of the whole name game in the African-American community, I think that most African-Americans expect, and hope for indulgence from the world at large on this subject, because the work of sorting out our identity positively has been a challenging one...
I am all for respect-but by the same token, where do you cross the line into hypersensitivity? That is something I have VERY little patience for, and I simply won't tolerate it.
Again-here's an interesting double standard: black and Negro are the SAME THING. The only difference is the language. "Negro" is the Spanish version. Based on my understanding of the name sensitivity issue, it would not surprise me if certain black folks would find Hispanics' use of the word Negro to be "politically incorrect." It would not matter that this was a different language altogether.
Does this sound far fetched? Maybe-but it would be naive to assume that there aren't black folks who would find this offensive.
I embrace all races. I have no problems with homosexual folks, either. And I happen to be a minority myself. But I seriously think that there are people who are too hypersensitive about certain things in life. Life is brutal enough-and I don't see why it needs to be made more difficult.

Edited by Digital Man, 09 October 2004 - 11:29 AM.

Politicians are like bananas; they hang together, they're all yellow, and there's not a straight one among them.
"We're relevant for $ and a vote once every two years. Beyond that, we're completely irrelevant, except of course to consume, and preach the gospel according to [insert political demigod here]."--Cait
#17
Posted 09 October 2004 - 11:38 AM
These are attempts not to use hateful and hurtful labels against people who have been so hated and hurt by labeling. Sure it gets convoluted and is not an exact science. But it is done out of the desire to cause less harm, so I've never understood all the hostility that accrues to these terms.
Cardie
#18
Posted 09 October 2004 - 11:44 AM
Quote
Yes-except the problem is that the very nature of "political correctness" being convoluted and inexact CAUSES harm. How? It makes people feel like they have to walk on eggshells.
How in the world can you live life like that?! If you have to spend every waking moment worrying about what offends whom, what kind of life are you living? What kind of interaction are you having with your fellow human beings?
A pretty damn stressful life, I'm afraid.

Edited by Digital Man, 09 October 2004 - 11:46 AM.

Politicians are like bananas; they hang together, they're all yellow, and there's not a straight one among them.
"We're relevant for $ and a vote once every two years. Beyond that, we're completely irrelevant, except of course to consume, and preach the gospel according to [insert political demigod here]."--Cait
#19
Posted 09 October 2004 - 11:45 AM
This may just be just me, but I know that I'm mostly German and Polish, but it doesn't really matter to me. My ancestors came here so long ago that I don't consider myself "German" or "Polish." Though, I suppose it's one of those "You don't know how much it means to you until you don't have it" sort of things.
And... I think there was suppose to be a point in there somewhere, but I can't seem to figure out what it is. Maybe it's because I can't wrap my head around things like this.

#20
Posted 09 October 2004 - 11:47 AM


Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: Culture, African American, lexicon, Race
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