--- hell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> wallyk wrote:
>
> > as to blackness and PC, do blacks take offence
> when referred to as blacks?
(snip)
> This is something I've always wondered about too.
> What is the PC term at
> the moment? >
not to jump in anyone's shit, individually, here. but
"politically correct" is my biggest pet peeve.
it might be the PC term of the moment to you, but it
might very possibly be ownership and recognition of
identity to someone else. its something real, and very
meaningful to some.
the whole idea of PC started with people claiming
their own identity, rather than having their identity
handed to them by dominant culture. i.e., "indians"
become "native americans" becuase they claimed that
terminology. they really weren't indians, they didnt
come from india, that was christopher columbus' fuck
up, not theirs. so why carry around that label, for
three hundred plus years? which is not to say that all
native americans did, many did and still do refer to
tribal affiliation. as my friend alvin says, he's
navajo, not indian. but i'm just trying to give an
example here.
african-american to some is a meaningful connection to
a land and a heritage, and retains the american
connection because that's not easily dismissible. (i
don't mean to be a spokesperson by any means, i'm just
giving my own interpretation. you could use this
analogy in any number of situations).
people, a person, an individual, has the ultimate
right to be referred to as whatever they desire. so,
if one person refers to themselves as black, and and
another fag, another irish-american, and another
african-american, and another human, then that's not
"PC term" of the moment that's ownership of language
and comfort in identity. i guess the point i'm trying
to make is, if you called a black man a negroe, is
that bad because it's not "PC"? or is it bad because
it's disrespectful and quite possibly hurtful?
or as my friend shondra (who is black) here says, "you
call me what makes YOU the most comfortable. i'd
rather have you comfortably call me black than trip
and stumble over the term african-american. but i
don't recommend you call me nigger."
words are powerful and meaningful, and they have real
consequences. that's the point i'm trying to make.
alison e. in nyc
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