Text 10748, 44 rader
Skriven 2007-01-25 16:19:42 av mike (14185.babylon5)
  Kommentar till text 10668 av rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated (14103.babylon5)
Ärende: Re: Shades of offensive language WAS Re: Shades of "12 Angry Men (1957)
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On Jan 24, 4:37 pm, zof...@deepthot.org (Cheryl Martin) wrote:
> In article <45b78ea7$0$27621$9b4e6...@newsspool2.arcor-online.net>,
> Angelika Tobisch  <kam...@arcor.de> wrote:
>
> >Cheryl Martin schrieb:
>
> >> Is "coloured" not an offensive term in the UK? (she says noting that
> >> today is MLK day here in the US)
>
> >> I'm all sorts of offended by it.  Please don't do it again.
>
> >As a foreigner not out to offend anyone: what term is acceptable?Black is
okay.  It is silly since my skin color is actually coffee but
> it doesn't have the connotations that colored picked up during the
> days of segregation.
>
> I also don't like African-American.  But that's just me.  It is in
> pretty widespread usage.

I don't like it at all - it's *illogical*. Go back far enough, we're
all African-Americans (assuming you accept the 'out of Africa'
hypothesis). Plus this particular term seems to be used exclusively to
describe race; all other hyphenated Americans are race-neutral. A
Scottish-American is a Scottish-American whatever colour their skin
happens to be.

As an immigrant to these shores I have to say two things: first, that I
Just Don't Get the way race is treated as such a big deal by some
people in America. Sure, I know the history - but it leaves me fairly
cold, it doesn't resonate viscerally with me the way it evidently does
with some/many Americans. Second, in around six months I'll be a US
citizen: I'll be an *American*. Not some hyphenated monstrosity.
Scottish is how I was born, and I'll always be proud of that - but
American is what I've chosen to be, I don't see any reason to put
something in front of that - and I'm somewhat suspicious of those who
do.

Hell, the whole thing is down to company and context - I've even used
'nigger' in polite company; it was justified and didn't cause offence.

Mike
http://www.corestore.org
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