Go go out looting now, just a simple question.
2006-08-12 00:22:37 · 16 answers · asked by johnneedsaname 1 in Social Science ➔ Anthropology
OK, is colored OK?
2006-08-12 00:31:26 · update #1
Like pretty much any word, it depends on how you use it. The word "*****" was perfectly acceptable to refer to African Americans at one time, but it's just not used anymore. In most casual uses today, it would be considered offensive. Holdovers like the United ***** College Fund have never had any ill meaning intended, and they still don't today. The word is not an outright racial epithet, and so there's really no reason for the fund to change its name at this time.
2006-08-12 08:25:03 · answer #1 · answered by The Ry-Guy 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is nothing wrong with the word *****. But when you are associating this word with a people who were discriminated, abused and not given the right to live their own lives for well over two centuries then it will be an offending word. The word ***** is bringing into mind nascent America with its class inequalities . It is better to forget that word and put it in history books.
2006-08-13 09:41:54 · answer #2 · answered by CARLOS_TINCO 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When I was pretty young, in grade 4 or 5 I lived in Toronto, a very multicultural city, and I took a class called African History. I was the only girl, and the only white student in the class.
And I remember asking the teacher how to refer to their colour. My mom always told me to call people with darker skin coloured, never black, certainly never ****** (i can barely stand to type the work eeek) and nothing else that I might have heard. She had good intentions trying to teach me to be politically correct.
The thing that is wrong with the word ***** is not that it is a bad word, but that it seperates us, you see a group of white people, ***** people, asian people, and you never see human people.
But this teacher said to me, "that is a very hard question because it depends on the person. Personally I do not like to be called coloured, do I look orange, purple, blue or green to you?" I said no, and he said that is why he does not like it (he understands why people use it though). And he also said why do I need to use a colour at all? What is wrong with their name? I think that is probably the best peice of advice I ever recieved... Why do you need to call someone by the colour of their skin. Why do I seperate my self from others when I say "what do I call THEM"? them are people, I call "them" people.
2006-08-12 14:40:11 · answer #3 · answered by thetheatregurl 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I've never understood what is wrong with it. I think it is a dignified word, which merely defines the color black.
For me it's right up there with Caucasian.
The problem is that some people used it as a slur and so the
black people didn't want to be called that anymore. Can't blame them for that.
But I don't like African-American. It's like taking a step back from being an American. Personally I wish we were all just color blind in that respect.
2006-08-15 11:07:45 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
There isn't anything wrong with the words negroe/colored, they
just conotate old age mentality. They represent a time when
blacks were slaves & crop sharers, & restrained in their principles. To me the words tell me more about the person using
the antiquated term than anything else. It means the user is over
50 yrs.old & very sensitive(overly sensitive) to blacks. They want
to be politically correct. But don't have a clue to the plight of the
Black People as a whole. They aren't prejudice perse' but aren't
as Free-Thinking as others.
2006-08-12 09:13:45 · answer #5 · answered by anitababy.brainwash 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Connotation of words develops through usage. For four hundred years ***** was a word used by white people for an ethnic group that they felt was inferior. By another example, forty years ago "gay" meant happy. The homosexual community adopted the word gay to describe themselves to get a away from the word "queer" which they felt was demeaning.
2006-08-13 19:57:48 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
People dont use the word ***** in London england, Great Britian. Black people residing in london prefer to be called "Black". I was shocked to see online that there are parts of america who called themselves the ***** fund college or something like that.
2006-08-12 09:08:57 · answer #7 · answered by elainefromlondon 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because according to them the word ***** is a dirty and demeaning slang....and instead they prefer to be called as colored people......I think we should not use word ***** anymore even on Yahoo Platforms.
2006-08-12 07:28:24 · answer #8 · answered by indraraj22 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Nothing, it's the Spanish word for black... what's wrong with that.
2006-08-12 07:25:51 · answer #9 · answered by erotikos_stratiotis 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
nothing in and of itself, what's wrong is using it in a way to hurt people.
2006-08-15 03:25:03 · answer #10 · answered by at313 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋