african american whaaaaa??????

[Al B. Sure!]

Currently, in polite society, it is what African Americans prefer to be called and who am I to say that they're "wrong"?

what African Americans prefer to be called... yes, that great big monolithic group of nigg... err... African-Americans. (I meant err as in error not finishing nigg! I even have African-American friends!)

thats what kind of attitude you just portrayed

[JohnT]

Albert if you knew what the hell you were talking about, I'd continue this debate. But for now I'm gonna close it with the following:

The recent success of African American offers an interesting contrast in this regard. Though by no means a modern coinage, African American achieved sudden prominence at the end of the 1980s when several Black leaders, including Jesse Jackson, championed it as an alternative ethnonym for Americans of African descent. The appeal of this term is obvious, alluding as it does not to skin color but to an ethnicity constructed of geography, history, and culture, and it won rapid acceptance in the media alongside similar forms such as Asian American, Hispanic American, and Italian American. But unlike what happened a generation earlier, African American has shown little sign of displacing or discrediting black, which remains both popular and positive. The difference may well lie in the fact that the campaign for African American came at a time of relative social and political stability, when Americans in general and Black Americans in particular were less caught up in issues involving radical change than they were in the 1960s.

http://www.bartleby.com/61/22/B0292200.html

[Imran Siddiqui]

Albert Speer is a moron!

[Al B. Sure!]

and what does that have to do with your racist conception of group-think? we're dealing with individuals, not a monolithic group of "coloreds".

The difference may well lie in the fact that the campaign for African American came at a time of relative social and political stability, when Americans in general and Black Americans in particular were less caught up in issues involving radical change than they were in the 1960s.

nah... i alluded to it earlier with that picture of the olympic award ceremony and the power fists... Black became a positive term in the 60's and 70's (black power, black is beautiful, etc.). that is why there was no anger at the sustaining of the term Black as opposed to the anger against Negro and colored back in the day.

[Gibsie]

Originally posted by Tingkai
Oriental is equally vague. It originally meant everything that was not occidental (European and American). It's also a leftover from the colonial era and similar to Far East.

Oriental was equally vague. This isn't the colonial era any more (Except with PA ), when I say Oriental, you know a lot more than if I just said Asian.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by Albert Speer
and what does that have to do with your racist conception of group-think? we're dealing with individuals, not a monolithic group of "coloreds".



nah... i alluded to it earlier with that picture of the olympic award ceremony and the power fists... Black became a positive term in the 60's and 70's (black power, black is beautiful, etc.). that is why there was no anger at the sustaining of the term Black as opposed to the anger against Negro and colored back in the day.

You are sounding like an idiot. Racist conception of group-think? You just go looking for racism.

Which qualifies you as a racist. You hate white people. Which includes yourself.

Must be tough to hate yourself.

ACK!

[Thorn]

Kaak I recommend you call them Negros or coloured people, I think those terms would fit you the best....

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Albert Speer
again... this is a silly issue. why would anyone get mad at being called Black as opposed to A-A? that's just stupid.

Speer, it happens. Just as there are some people who still call themselves Negroes and some even still call themselves colored. What it comes down to is, if someone asks you to call them something, it's generally a politie thing to do to respect their wishes.

[Al B. Sure!]

i can't imagine anyone caring that much... this seems to be an issue that only white liberals worry about.

like Patrice O'Neal says, there'll be a race war in america but not between blacks and whites. between liberal whites and conservative whites.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Kaak
Calling them african doesn't connect them with any particular heritage. To think so is ridiculous. And to answer your question: If the people are from africa, or italy, or ireland, then I have no problem with them calling themselves such. But if they were born in the united states, they are only american.

Basically, you're trying to make a political statement. What you don't get it that it's insulting and rude. You feel that your feelings on the matter are more important than historical, geographical, and ethnic ties that bind communities together. In other words, you think you're more important than others and disregard their wishes.

There is a term for such people. It's called an assh0le. If you wish to be one, by all means, go ahead an be one. Just don't expect the vast majority of decent people to validate your selfishness.

Calling people African does connect people with a particular heritage. If you actually had a clue as to what you were whining about, you'd understand that there are, in fact, deep emotional ties to Africa in the African-American community as well as linguistic and cultural ones.

As for whether or not only immigrants can call themsleves -Americans, I suggest to you that there there are several hundred million -Americans in this country who would disagree with you. You go into Little Italy or Bidgeport and tell people they aren't Italian-Americans or Irish-Americans. Tell Lucy Lu she isn't a Chinese-American. At best you'll be laughed at.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Albert Speer
i can't imagine anyone caring that much... this seems to be an issue that only white liberals worry about.

What you can or can't imagine, Speer, generally has little to do with the way the world really is. Haven't you learned that by now?

[Kaak]

thorn, i'm not racist. The point is, if you must use a term, use one that is accurate and descriptive. I think it best not to use a term at all; that we should all just be americans. No check boxes on applications or anything else. African american, if used, should be used to describe people that are actually from african and have become american, as that would be accurate. And definately not limited to black people.

The term african american just isn't right as it is currently used. It is used to refer exclusively to black people, though there are many on or from the continent who aren't black. Also, one would think the ethnicities would be somewhat important...

[Al B. Sure!]

kaak:

It is used to refer exclusively to black people, though there are many on or from the continent who aren't black.

well the people you're describing are immigrants like the Boers, etc. except for the north africans, which are native to africa but not black/negro.

what you're proposing is like saying its inappropriate for someone to call you European just because there's some non-whites in europe.

[Al B. Sure!]

chegitz:

you'd understand that there are, in fact, deep emotional ties to Africa in the African-American community as well as linguistic and cultural ones.

bull**** and you know it. sure you'll have an occasional dredlocked nationalist who pretends to be/live/act/think african (and a ****load of followers in the prisons) but the only black people in america with any ties to africa are Ghanan, Sudanese, etc. immigrants. africa is just a vague mystical place to even the most 'connected' black power types.

don't pretend that aint true.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Kaak
thorn, i'm not racist.

Actually, you are. You are dismissing the importance of history, ethnicity, and race in people's lives, and defining American as the only true American, instead of realizing that what makes our country special is our inclusion of others, rather than the exclusion which you would like to create.