Politically correct terms for race

[Hugo Drax]

Why is colored offensive? Calling black people colored seems pretty neutral and non threatening. Simpler as well.

 

[Brigandier]

Why is colored offensive? Calling black people colored seems pretty neutral and non threatening. Simpler as well.

I think as you do and have called "black-colored-African-American's" colored before, I do not recommend it, it causes an awkward feeling the size of the Sears' Tower.

 

[MotionMan]

Why is colored offensive? Calling black people colored seems pretty neutral and non threatening. Simpler as well.

As I have been told many times, it is not for people who are not part of that group to decide what is appropriate.

The Catch-22, as has been discussed here, is that the members of that group cannot agree on the proper term.

MotionMan

 

[RossMAN]

What about an Asian Canadian living in Kenya?

 

[BladeVenom]

Why is colored offensive? Calling black people colored seems pretty neutral and non threatening. Simpler as well.

Euphemism treadmill.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Then why not keep it super neutral. And classify people on the Fitzpatrick scale.

So black people could be type 5 Americans or type 6 Americans for example.

 

[Brigandier]

Why is colored offensive? Calling black people colored seems pretty neutral and non threatening. Simpler as well.

Read my post, it isn't "really" offensive, it's offensive for the times.

 

[Childs]

What about an Asian Canadian living in Kenya?

If they dont have African citizenship, and they call themselves an Asian Canadian, the answer is simple! Still think its simpler just to ask the guy/gal.

 

[RossMAN]

If they dont have African citizenship, and they call themselves an Asian Canadian, the answer is simple! Still think its simpler just to ask the guy/gal.

What about a Black Polish guy living in Nepal?

 

[Childs]

What about a Black Polish guy living in Nepal?

Again, assuming the guy calls himself Black Polish, and not African Polish, if he doesnt have Nepal citizenship he is Black Polish! But ask him!!! Black Polish living in Nepal must have some interesting stories, what better way to find out those stories than to ask him where he is from.

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

New Jersey sun tan-colored-Americans?

 

[CZroe]

Yes, it is. The "acceptable" term has changed so many times that there is no acceptable term. See my previous post. "_____ American" simply does not work.

LOL wtf are you talking about? Are you writing about the Black experience in the US for the Britannica Encyclopedia or something? This shouldn't effect you in any way. If you actually had any black friends, you would know this is a non issue..

Look up NAACP. Now look at what some of our black forumers said they would do to you if you called them "colored" and you were a white person.

So you assume not every black person is a citizen, and I'm guessing that applies to all white looking people as well. Maybe do the same for black people that you would do for them?

And if someone corrects you about calling them black, are they black? If not tell them to STFU. If they are black, then you have you answer.

Yes. At work, we have two people named "Stan." Myself and one of the two Stans are the only white people out of about 15 employees. The, err, "non-whites" (the other Stan is Nigerian) routinely stumble around and awkwardly apologize for saying "black Stan" to distinguish him even though they, themselves, are black. They think it's wrong to describe someone's ethnicity even when using it purely to distinguish without calling it out in a negative context. You seem to have completely misinterpreted Ichinisan. His mock conversation is attempting to describe a man to another man without knowing anything about the man's citizenship.

 

[blankslate]

I refer to myself as a "mutt"

or if filling out a form that asks about it, I check the multi-ethnic box if that's available

 

[Pardus]

here we go

Politically Correct Terms
A Criminal - unsavory character
A Crook - morally (ethically) challenged
Abortion - Near-Life Experience
Alcoholic - Anti-Sobriety Activist
Alive - temporarily metabolically abled.
An Immigrant - a newcomer
Assassination - involuntary term limitation
Bald - comb-free
Bald - folically independent
Bald - follicularly challenged.
Battle Fatigued - shellshocked
Blind - optically darker
Blind - photonically non-receptive
Blind - visually challenged
Body Odor - nondiscretionary fragrance.
Broken Down Automobile - mechanically challenged
Broken Home - Dysfunctional Family
Bum - Displaced Homeowner
Bum - Homeless Person
Bum - Involuntarily Domiciled
Cannibalism - Intra-Species Dining
Censorship - Selective Speech
Cheating - Academic Dishonesty
China - Porcelain
Chronically Late - Temporarily Challenged
Clumsy - uniquely coordinated
Commercial Fisherman - Flipper Whipper
Computer Illiterate - Technologically Challenged
Corpse - Permanently Static Post-Human Mass
Corpse / Stiff - Metabolically Challenged
Corpse / Stiff - Terminally Inconvenienced
Cowardly - Challenge Challenged
Cowboys - bovine control officers
Crackpot - certified astrological consultant, certified crystal therapist, or certified past-life regression hypnotist
Crime Rate - street activity index
Dead - Actuarially Mature
Dead - biologically challenged
Dead - environmentally correct human
Dead - living impaired
Dead - metabolically challenged
Dead - persons living with entropy
Deaf - Visually Oriented
Delicatessen - Corpse Farm
Dirty Old Man - sexually focused chronologically gifted individual
Dish Washer - utensil sanitizer
Dishonest - Ethically disoriented.
Dorm - Residence Hall
Drooling Drunk Idiot - person on floor
Drowning - aquatically challenged
Drug Addict - Chemically Challenged
Drunk - spacially perplexed
Drunk / Junkie - in recovery
Earthquake - geological correction
Fail - achieve a deficiency.
Fat - Differently Weighted
Fat - gravitationally challenged
Fat - horizontally challenged.
Fat - horizontally gifted
Fat - People of Mass
Fat - person of substance
Fictional / Mythological - ontologically challenged
Freshman - first-year student
Frog - amphibian American
Full of Crap - fecally plenary
Gang - Youth Group
Garbage Man - sanitation engineer
Gas Station Attendent - petroleum transfer technician
Geek, Nerd, whatever... - socially challenged
Ghetto / Barrio - Ethnically Homogenous Area
Hamburger - Seared Mutilated Animal Flesh
Handicapped - Differently Abled, Handi-Capable
Having PMS - cyclically challenged
Hearing Person - temporarily aurally abled
Homeless - outdoor urban dwellers
Homeless - residentially flexible
Homelessness - Mortgage-Free Living
Housebroken - Family Disfunction
Housewife - domestic engineer
Hunter - Animal Assassin
Hunter - Bambi Butcher
Hunter - Meat Mercenary
Ignorant - factually unencumbered
Ignorant - knowledge-based nonpossessor.
Incompetent - Differently Qualified
Incompetent - Specially Skilled
Incompetent - Uniquely Proficient
Insane People - Mental Explorers
Insane People - Selectively Perceptive
Insult - Emotional Rape
Janitor - sanitation engineer
Klutz - kinesthetically challenged
Large Nose - nasally gifted
Lazy - motivationally dispossessed
Lazy - motivationally deficient.
Learning Disability - Self-Paced Cognitive Ability
Library - Educational Resource Center
Logger - Wood Weasel
Logger - Paper Pirate
Logger -Treeslayer
Loser - Second Place
Loser - uniquely fortuned individual on an alternative career path
Man-hole - maintenance hole
Mankind - humankind
MANkind, HuMAN, PerSON - Earth Children
Mercy Killing - Euthanasia
Mercy Killing - Putting Down/To Sleep/Out of Misery
Messy - differently organized
Meter Maid - Parking enforcer
Midget / Dwarf - Little People
Midget / Dwarf - Vertically Challenged
Mute/Dumb - verbally challenged
Not with somebody at the moment - romantically challenged -
Off - energy-efficient
Old - chronologically gifted
Old Person / Elderly - Gerontologically Advanced
Old Person / Elderly - Senior Citizens
Panhandler - Unaffiliated applicant for private-sector funding.
Paper Bag - processed tree carcass
Perverted - Sexually dysfunctional.
Pimp-mobile / Low-rider - Culturally Responsive Transportation Option
Plagiarism - Previously Owned Prose
Po' - financially inept
Policeman, Policewoman - law inforcement officer
Poor - economically marginalized
Poor - Economically Unprepared
Poor - monetarily challenged
Postman - letter carrier
Pregnant - parasitically oppressed.
Prisoner - client of the correctional system
Prostitute - sex care provider
Psychobabble - constructivist feminist psychotherapy
Psychopath - socially misaligned
Racist - genetically discriminating
Really Big Nosed - nasally disadvantaged
Redneck - person of region
Redneck - rustically inclined
Refugees - asylum seekers
Road Kill - Vehicularly Compressed Maladapted Life Form
Rudeness - Tact Avoidance
Runny Nose - nasally gifted
Senile Bag o' Bones - Alzheimer's Victim
Serial-Killer - Person with difficult-to-meet needs.
Shoplifter - Cost-of-Living Adjustment Specialist
Short - vertically challenged
Sighted Person - temporarily visually abled
Slum - Economic Oppression Zone
Slut - suffering from a sex addiction (female)
Someone who has no other reason to park in a handicapped zone - morally handicapped
Spendthrift - negative saver.
Stained - creatively re-dyed
Steward, Stewardess - flight attendant
Stoned - Chemically inconvenienced.
Stud - suffering from a sex addiction (male)
Stupid - differently-brained
Stupid - intellectually impaired
The Elderly - Senior citizens
Thin - horizontally challenged
Thirsty - osmotically challenged
Tone Deaf - musically delayed
Too old/young - other aged
Too Tall - people of height
Tree-Hugger - environmental activist
Trees - Oxygen Exchange Units
Ugly - aesthetically challenged
Ugly - Cosmetically different.
Ugly - facially challenged
Unemployed - Involuntarily leisured.
Used Books - Recycled Books
Vagrant - Nonspecifically destinationed individual.
Vegetable - noble unconscious hero
Vice President - Post-Coronary Leader of the Free World
Vocal Minority - target equity group
Vomiting - Unplanned Reexamination of Recent Food Choices
Waiter, Waitress - food server
War-Monger - Peacekeeper, patriot
Welfare Bum - economically disadvantaged
Whaler - Blubber Lover
White - melanin-impoverished
White American - racially challenged
White Boy - rhythmically challenged
White Trash - caucasian culturally-disadvantaged
Wife - unpaid sex slave
Worst - least best.
Wrong - differently logical.

 

[Childs]

Look up NAACP. Now look at what some of our black forumers said they would do to you if you called them "colored" and you were a white person.

When the NAACP was formed, all minorities where considered "colored". The NAACP were founded by Jewish people if I'm not mistaken. Its not a black only organization. It may seem like it these days, but thats not the charter. I suppose it could be changed to M, for minority. But in 30 years white people might be the minority. By then, maybe the organization wont exist.

Yes. At work, we have two people named "Stan." Myself and one of the two Stans are the only white people out of about 15 employees. The, err, "non-whites" (the other Stan is Nigerian) routinely stumble around and awkwardly apologize for saying "black Stan" to distinguish him even though they, themselves, are black. They think it's wrong to describe someone's ethnicity even when using it purely to distinguish without calling it out in a negative context. You seem to have completely misinterpreted Ichinisan. His mock conversation is attempting to describe a man to another man without knowing anything about the man's citizenship.

Does Stan have a last name? "You know, Stan." "Which Stan?", "Stan Fong". I have a similar situation with variations of Susies in my office. Two Asian, one white. We use last names if we need to specify. I share the same first name with another guy, as we are as different as night and day. People use last names to specify if the context of the conversation doesnt make it clear.

I will admit, I was giving him a hard time. It wasnt to be an ahole, but to convey how silly and over thought the whole issue is. Its an issue if you make it an issue, and I truly believe people will give you the benefit of the doubt, as long as you are not being a jerk. You can tell when someone is being a jerk about it, and that goes both ways. Some people are just jerks.

 

[Baked]

New Jersey sun tan-colored-Americans?

Douchebags.

 

[Ichinisan]

When the NAACP was formed, all minorities where considered "colored". The NAACP were founded by Jewish people if I'm not mistaken. Its not a black only organization. It may seem like it these days, but thats not the charter. I suppose it could be changed to M, for minority. But in 30 years white people might be the minority. By then, maybe the organization wont exist.




Does Stan have a last name? "You know, Stan." "Which Stan?", "Stan Fong". I have a similar situation with variations of Susies in my office. Two Asian, one white. We use last names if we need to specify. I share the same first name with another guy, as we are as different as night and day. People use last names to specify if the context of the conversation doesnt make it clear.

I will admit, I was giving him a hard time. It wasnt to be an ahole, but to convey how silly and over thought the whole issue is. Its an issue if you make it an issue, and I truly believe people will give you the benefit of the doubt, as long as you are not being a jerk. You can tell when someone is being a jerk about it, and that goes both ways. Some people are just jerks.

I'm not being silly or over-thinking the issue. The problem is that everyone else is "silly and over-thinking" it...including you. It should be a non-issue. I don't make it a problem. Other people do.

 

[Ichinisan]

As I have been told many times, it is not for people who are not part of that group to decide what is appropriate.

The Catch-22, as has been discussed here, is that the members of that group cannot agree on the proper term.

MotionMan

This.

...and the safest term is also likely to be inaccurate in many cases.

 

[Childs]

I'm not being silly or over-thinking the issue. The problem is that everyone else is "silly and over-thinking" it...including you. It should be a non-issue. I don't make it a problem. Other people do.

If you feel its other people's issue, not yours, what can you do? Just do what you do. It doesnt seem that complicated to me. You say "You know Jim, the black one". Or "You know Jim, Jim Jackson". Or "You know Jim, the African American". Its all the same. One doesnt make you KKK. Someone gives you a hard time, maybe you can educate them on why your way is better. Or just move on. Not that hard to deal with really, as long as you are not a jerk about it.

 

[gooseman]

This question isn't worth the time it takes to read the first post!

 

[brianmanahan]

friday on my way to lunch during work, a black guy asked me if i had any african friends (while he was begging for monies). i said yes in fact one of my friends is from morocco and is currently living there. and i have a zambian friend who is living here in the US. then i asked him if he had any african friends who live IN africa. he didnt say a word, just gave up on me and walked down the street. :awe:

 

[Scotteq]

What about an Asian Canadian living in Kenya?

Clearly, that should be "Snowback" 😀 D:

 

[CurseTheSky]

I just call them people. To me, it isn't the color of someone's skin, their religion or beliefs, or anything else that doesn't harm me or others that makes a difference in who I associate with and who I don't. It's the content of their character, what type of person they are. There are "good" people and "bad" people of every race / gender / religion / sexual orientation / etc.

Not to mention, we're all such a mixed gene pool at this point, who can truly call themselves "African American" or "Native American" or "European American" without having an ounce of some other group's blood mixed in somewhere? I abhor this apparent need in our society to put a label on everything. What does it really gain us?

 

[CZroe]

Does Stan have a last name? "You know, Stan." "Which Stan?", "Stan Fong". I have a similar situation with variations of Susies in my office. Two Asian, one white. We use last names if we need to specify. I share the same first name with another guy, as we are as different as night and day. People use last names to specify if the context of the conversation doesnt make it clear.

If only it were that easy. You try to pronounce it: Nzepuome. You ask him to pronounce it for you and he refuses. People often take offense when you mispronounce their name or say something like "Stan whatever his last name is." I couldn't even get him to give me the spelling for my contact list.

If you feel its other people's issue, not yours, what can you do? Just do what you do. It doesnt seem that complicated to me. You say "You know Jim, the black one". Or "You know Jim, Jim Jackson". Or "You know Jim, the African American". Its all the same. One doesnt make you KKK. Someone gives you a hard time, maybe you can educate them on why your way is better. Or just move on. Not that hard to deal with really, as long as you are not a jerk about it.

That's exactly what he's doing. He's telling you why "black" is better and that what should be inoffensive designations invariably become offensive over time.

 

[Childs]

If only it were that easy. You try to pronounce it: Nzepuome. You ask him to pronounce it for you and he refuses. People often take offense when you mispronounce their name or say something like "Stan whatever his last name is." I couldn't even get him to give me the spelling for my contact list.

haha, when you have lots of Indians in your company, everyone understands when you go say a name like "Raju Hasamandnsnsnsnsnsns". I'm not even convinced they know how to pronounce their own names. I dont think anyone has been upset when people try to pronounce names. Better than saying, "Hey Indian".

That's exactly what he's doing. He's telling you why "black" is better and that what should be inoffensive designations invariably become offensive over time.

My point was if the person is black and wants to be called black or African American or African, thats just what they are. Not all black people are the same, so they will all have different preferences. Just like Asians might want to called Asian, Asian American, or go even more specific like Chinese. Heck, in another thread some Indians claim they are not Asian, even though India is right in the middle of Asia. I eventually had to let it go...in that thread.

Insisting on a blanket general term without consideration of the people you are referring to or the people around you, gives the impression that you are what they think you are. Not all that different than saying the n word in that respect. Again, its only an issue if you make it an issue.