Okay, so you prefer the term “American,” but you don’t mind if other non-white Americans prefer other terms and let their preferences be known. Got it.
Thanks for clarifying.
Oh, and to clarify my own post, the (assumedly) was meant as a modifier for “American,” not for “non-white,” and I think I meant to say “North American.” You were clear that you’re non-white, and I wasn’t questioning that. I was assuming by American you meant USian, so included that parenthetical.
With all due respect, who the hell are you to tell other minorities whether the term they choose to identify with is the “right” one?
No, but I’m willing to bet the term is in wide use in the circles Rep. Crane runs in.
Growing up, my Father and I loved to embarrass my Grandmother (his mother-in-law, who was born and raised in Southern Louisiana) when she would use the term “colored person”. “Colored you say? What color was he? Green? Blue? Purple?” She’d get so mad, but the madder she’d get, the more we’d rub it in. “Dad, you see any of those green people around here?” “They’ll stay away from this part of town, if they know what’s good for them!”
Grandma had some issues, but I miss her.
Same. And (like you), here’s the thing: it did me no harm to have the mistake explained to me, nor to learn how to do better. There was a sting of shame, but I’ve learned that being ashamed of mistakes is better than blindly repeating them. Learning to do better took a few minutes of my time and used about the same mental effort as choosing a snack at a vending machine. It really wasn’t complicated.
I’m certain that getting it wrong hurt some people. Unintentionally, I but still hurt them. I can tell, because they accepted my apology. They did not tell me there was nothing to apologize for.
The cost difference is so big; it’s next-to-nothing for me, and absolutely painful for the people on the pointy end of racism.
edit: jumbled my adjectives.
He knew what he was doing. His MAGA coalition told him to throw THAT WORD out there. See where they would get. Overton window.
So… you have a personal problem with people who are not White being called People of Color, yet you have no better alternatives to offer, whatsoever?
That seems highly problematic; as white Supremacy inherently dictates that a distinction between the ‘in group’ and ‘out groups’ MUST and WILL be made, usually on sight.
I mean, it’s all fine & dandy to say that you don’t care for the term “Person of Color” to define yourself, but the ambiguity you seem to crave is simply NOT a viable option for the vast majority of non-White folks inhabiting this current reality.
Furthermore, “Minority” in and of itself is not a concise enough distinction, as it covers more than just race and ethnicity; it also encompasses gender, sexual orientation, religion, and physical disability.
(‘American’ on its’ own is also too broad a term.)
EXCELLENT fucking question; that one statement alone reeks to high hell of virtue signaling.
Why the fuck do I need to have a solution to a problem I see? Insisting I need to have a solution is what people who want to hide problems do.
I don’t necessarily want ambiguity, but I don’t want to use the same language that racists used from before the civil war on, and I deny that the language of racists can be “right”. And I can’t avoid that, because “person of color” isn’t an identity, it’s a meta-identity. It’s a grouping of identities, and it get applied to me whether I like it or not. So why the fuck shouldn’t I object to it?
I’m a part of the queer community and more specifically a trans woman.
Sometimes it’s important to speak to one piece of my identity specifically- sometimes it’s not.
Because you are the one telling people not to use a term that other people, who are members of that “meta-identity,” prefer.
You have every right to insist on terms you prefer, but no right to dictate that to others.
This isn’t about you, or any semantic “problem” that you insist upon manufacturing.
This post is about Black people and the actual problem of people in power disrespecting us as human beings, let alone American citizens.
It might be useful for you to discuss what group you’re part of and that group’s history around the use of this term. The case you cite is specifically about Black people.
A: “You’re doing [ X ] wrong, asshole!”
B: “Oh? And what do you think is the right way to do [ X ]?”
A: “Why should I have to have a right way of doing it? I’m just here to tell you you’re wrong!”
Good luck with that approach.
I hear you but parliamentary records are never what was said, but what we choose to show as being said. They are always edited to fix mistakes etc. Their primary use as records is not by historians but legal scholars for background on what a particular law’s intent was. As such striking discriminatory language from the record is necessary. Historians can go look at (waves around) the whole world if they want to see racism. Keeping our legislative record clean of it is necessary. That one record doesn’t expose some asshole’s assholery to the future is a minor price to pay.
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