We frequently hear people trying to describe other people. As an example, in the news, we see witnesses' attempts to describe what and who they see in criminal acts... "the person was 6' 2", male, slim, and African-American." Wait a minute. African-American? How do they know that the person they saw was even American in the first place, or Jamaican, or from some other country? Because they can't be so sure, wouldn't it be better to just describe the person as "black?"
2006-11-30 18:06:46 · 20 answers · asked by Sleepless Bookworm 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
absolutely! Lately I have seen criminal descriptions in the news that will not even state what race the person was. This whole PC thing is getting way way out of hand.
2006-11-30 18:10:00 · answer #1 · answered by The Pig! 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
African american is the polite term for a person other than white ..specifically black..people don't care if you come from Jamaica or Vortex 12..you've got a dark complexion you've committed a crime..thats what matters to them . Besides now your being prejudice wanting to divide black people. we all started in Africa there were no 'blacks' just lounging around in Jamaica in the beginning of time.
describing someone as black would be discriminatory because black is a shade in the coulor guide. Itshould be considered derogatory especially since it was used in racist context by 'whites' towards african americans for a long time (blackie) ..
Educate yourselves on Black (tsk tsk) history
i think that when we diffrentiate and put such importance around the different kinds of 'black' we are we ignorantly force the race card between ourselves.
Good luck
2006-11-30 20:33:10 · answer #2 · answered by GreyRainbow 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm black all the way and everyday. I would like to visit Africa one day though but no, I'm not an African-American. Just a Black American. I guess some people like to be called that though because Black has negative connotations to it, black means death, evil, dirty,
But I say black is the color of oil, all of the colors in the rainbow, the color of the earth
2006-11-30 18:24:12 · answer #3 · answered by Sugar Plum Fairy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I once asked a black coworker that - would you rather be called African-American or black or what? She said, "Black" and explained (just like you did) that black people are from all sorts of places, and not just Africa. In fact, people in southern India are quite dark as are other Asians. So now, I always say "black". The teenagers I deal with seem to prefer that.
2006-11-30 18:17:16 · answer #4 · answered by masha 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Ya...but the point behind it is that every black person descended in some way from Africa...although I guess you can say that about everyone in general...
...but it's so common day that everyone equates African American to Black Americans now...
...I agree though, I am not Black American, but most people tend to clump all blacks together...similar to all whites
2006-11-30 19:33:37 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In south Africa, we have that same problem. To be politically correct, you are not allowed to use colour as a description. So in the news you hear how 4 men held up the shopping centre.. and you know it was black guys. Yet some how its ok to be called white. Surely if Caucasians can be called white why cant "Africans" be called black? Why is that raciest? its like saying you cant use gender, coz that would be discriminatory?
2006-11-30 18:19:29 · answer #6 · answered by chickyboo222 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Thank you so much!!!
I wonder the dame thing all the time. You don't know where people come from just cause of their color!
I have made the mistake of thinking a friend of mine was Puerto Rican and they were quick to tell me they were Colombian. Same kind of thing!
I would love for someone to try and be politically correct about my background. I got like 10 different nationalities in me!
2006-11-30 18:12:22 · answer #7 · answered by snshnbtrflis 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I totally agree with you. I am German and live in America, but I don't call myself German-American or European-American, I call myself American. "African"-Americans usually have such little ties to Africa, I mean their closest link to Africa is like 4-5 generations old. Their ties to Africa are about as close to a natural born American's ties to England. And like you said they could be an illegal immigrant from Jamaica, and are not African nor American in any way. There are also many "white" people that live in Africa as well. Many of them are of German or Dutch descent and have lived there for generations, they are as much African as a black man from Nigeria, but in America they would never be called African-American.
Black in my opinion is a much more accurate description, it covers everyone from the Caribbean to Africa or where ever they come from. So according to today's society, would a black person who was born in England and immigrated to America be called an English-African-American?
And we celebrate BLACK History Month in February, yet those who the month is commemorated to cannot be called "black", they have have to be called "African-American" to avoid be called racist.
2006-12-04 10:26:06 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I just think it sounded better than black isn't it??? I personally don't know what is the big deal of that word, since I don't live in US but I reckon african american sounded much better n cooler ^__^
2006-11-30 18:38:57 · answer #9 · answered by duffy_dev 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm sure they'd find a way to find that offensive.
I don't get it. It's like how some white people would rather be labeled 'caucasion'. Frankly, call me white, I'm more used to that in my life.
2006-11-30 18:09:23 · answer #10 · answered by Harsh Noise Wall 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋