--- Carvalho <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I have yet to come across an alternative to the > word, which unfortunately has its origins in its > latin genesis meaning "black". In America, "blacks" > is an acceptable term but I have always found the > term unacceptable and have refrained from using it. > I also refrain from calling them Africans because > Africa consists of Arabs, Semites, and any other > number of races which are not "negroid" genetically. > Mario asks: > Selma, You don't know any American blacks well enough to discuss their race with them, do you? > Isn't it a tad patronizing to decide that a name that is not only acceptable to a community but chosen by them and used within the community by everyone from their top politicians in Congress [The Congressional Black Caucus} on down, is unacceptable - just to you? > It is the members of the community that re-defined themselves as "blacks" and "African-Americans" in preference to the obsolete terms like "colored" or "Negro". I think you would be insulting them if you tried to concoct some new name to be unilaterally politically correct. > When I first came to the US, "colored" was still in use [though it was impractical with all the browns that were appearing on the scene], whereupon I began to refer to Caucasians as "colorless", which raised some eyebrows but I avoided trouble because I said it with a smile:-)) Since "colored" was too broad, the blacks chose the more specific "black", which still retains a pejorative connotation among some Asians. > You are right in refraining from calling them Africans, but your reasoning doesn't compute. American blacks and other Americans of African ancestry are not "Africans" but technically "African-Americans", regardless of whether they are black, or white or "wheatish", though the popular usage is restricted to blacks. There was consternation recently when a white African-American, of Afrikaner ancestry, was awarded a prize that was intended for a black African-American. > As a consequence, the African Arabs refer to themselves as Arab-Americans, the African Indians as Indian-Americans and the Jewish semites as Jewish-Americans. The white Afrikaners simply try to blend into the Caucasian backdrop, though their accent is a dead giveaway:-)) > In my opinion, the trick is to be sensitive and respectful, which enables one to get away with an unintended faux pas, and to not get hung up on the minutiae of race. If in doubt, ask questions. It beats making assumptions. >
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