BS: A person of color and a colored person

Subject: RE: BS: A person of color and a colored person
From: Senoufou
Date: 11 Nov 20 - 10:43 AM

My (extremely!) black husband always says he doesn't mind one bit being called 'black', 'coloured' 'African' or even 'nigger' (sorry about that). He can tell immediately if someone is being nasty or objects to his race. He's lucky in that he's perfectly secure within himself.
However, I'm sure many non-white people can be a bit sensitive to how they're referred to, and they have every right to that.
The thing is to try very hard not to offend, and to be respectful and kind. To have no innate prejudice and not to generalise. Every human being is after all an individual, whatever their outward appearance, race or origin.

Subject: RE: BS: A person of color and a colored person
From: Jos
Date: 11 Nov 20 - 10:22 AM

I would be offended if I was called a Brit - my idea of a 'Brit' is a loud, fat, tattooed package holiday-maker heading to and from somewhere like Benidorm.

In reality, most people are varying shades of brown, beige and pink.

The whole thing is such a minefield. There is a 'black' woman living near me and we exchange friendly smiles and comments on the weather. I would love to know if she was born here or in another country, and if it was here, whether she has relatives somewhere interesting and far away. But I just daren't ask.

Subject: RE: BS: A person of color and a colored person
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Nov 20 - 10:02 AM

The problem with "coloured" is that it was used for a long time as a noun, as in "no Irish, no coloureds." "Coloured person" still carries a hint of that pejorative. It's definitely best avoided. The other thing, of course, is that your car is a car, not a human being.

Subject: RE: BS: A person of color and a colored person
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 11 Nov 20 - 09:54 AM

In both terms one thing is most important.
"A coloured person" - it's "coloured".
"A person of color" - it's "person".

It is acceptable to talk of "black people" which, according to the rule above, would emphasise their race rather than them being people. African Americans are, first and foremost, Americans. Their African heritage, while important, is secondary.

The use of "a person of colour" in place of "a coloured person" is clumsy. I drive a red car, not a car of redness. I suspect it was developed to demonstrate the speaker's "wokeness" rather than there being a genuine need.

DC

Subject: RE: BS: A person of color and a colored person
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 11 Nov 20 - 09:41 AM

Innocent / naïve, non-racist [usually older..] folks
can stumble using words
no longer considered acceptable;
consequently being torn apart on social media for not knowing the currently correct words to say..
At worst they are guilty of ignorance...???

Whilst genuine racists can cynically conceal their evil
behind a façade of the prevailing socially acceptable race terminology..

What a f@cked up world we live in...


Black belt caterpillar wrestler - btw, I'm a west country boy, grew up on an all white council estate
not to many miles from the coast..

Back in the "Love Thy Neighbour" era of mainstream TV comedy,
that kind of language was the acceptable norm..

Fortunately Rock Against Racism and The Anti N@zi League
sprung up at just the right time to enlighten
my generation of provincial 1970s teenagers...

Subject: RE: BS: A person of color and a colored person
From: Jeri
Date: 11 Nov 20 - 09:07 AM

In both terms one thing is most important.
"A coloured person" - it's "coloured".
"A person of color" - it's "person".

I think it comes down to pigeon-holing a human or describing them.

I also should say that I've been told "Brit" is offensive to some.

When it comes right down to it, it's about whether the people hearing whatever term you use will take whatever else the know, or think they know about you into consideration, and think you're a dick (NOI).

Subject: RE: BS: A person of color and a colored person
From: sciencegeek
Date: 11 Nov 20 - 09:06 AM

because chattel slavery of people from sub-Saharan Africa existed in the western hemisphere for centuries and under several the rule of multiple nations, it is a most tangled history and word usage reflects that...

then there is both the polite and most impolite ways of referring to these people... and the logic is often quite twisted

an offshoot of this is how the term latino/latina is used... as a person who is half Italian it never made any sense that only those of hispanic extraction were meant... after all, where did the term latin come from the in the first place? but the roots of this go back to how the enslaved native peoples of the Americas had interbred with both the Spanish ruling class and African slaves - and their offspring where not considered to be pure enough to qualify as people of worth...

as for what is acceptable... no matter what term is decided upon, the racists out there will turn it into a derogatory one and taint it with their vileness

Subject: RE: BS: A person of color and a colored person
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 11 Nov 20 - 09:05 AM

I never saw the need for "Love thy Neighbour", those were not issues that came to the fore where I lived on the Somerset coast with foreign crew of ships and tourists around all the time.

Now, Londoners, that was a different matter:)

Robin

Subject: RE: BS: A person of color and a colored person
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 11 Nov 20 - 08:52 AM

Yes.. life was so much simpler when we all enjoyed "Love Thy Neighbour" on the telly...

Subject: RE: BS: A person of color and a colored person
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 11 Nov 20 - 08:19 AM

It is all very confusing, things seem to change from month to month and inconsistent.

For example why are you allowed to abbreviate British to "Brits" but not allowed to abbreviate Pakistani?

Robin

Subject: BS: A person of color and a colored person
From: Tunesmith
Date: 11 Nov 20 - 08:09 AM

The head of UK soccer resigned yesterday because he referred to black players as "coloured". He did explain that he had worked in the States and got confused with the terms " a person of color" and a "colored person".
   Now, am I correct in thinking that - in the States - the term " a person of color" is acceptable, but the term "a colored person" is not?
   If that is correct, it does seem a rather strange is bound to lead to confusion.