Why are black people, called African American? Options

[brooklyneast05]

i've contributed to the topic plenty, which u wouldn't know since as u already said u don't read the posts, u just post to post.

so anyway, to get back on topic

^ So what do you call Asians/Hispanics/Indians?

that still stands as the question

[*steve330*]

^ So what do you call Asians/Hispanics/Indians?

Yellow/moist/brown. duh. American Indians = red.

Anyways. I don't see a problem calling blacks black, or African American, but think it's ridiculous that blacks should get offended if we call them one but not the other.

[kimmytree]

I usually just call them what they are. If they look Hispanic, I call them Hispanic. If they're Asian, they're Asian. But that's just me.

[*steve330*]

While I agree with you that there is a large variation in colors of black, I could argue the very same for most other skin colors. There are very dark Indian (country) people, and very light. There are very dark Caucasians, and very pale, with colors in between. I tend to have a slight red tint to my skin, and I've been very pale in the past lol.

One of the toughest groups to call something universally are people of Indian/Middle Eastern descent. There are many countries around that area, and simply calling them brown doesn't seem to fly (in most places). Whites can be called white without taking much offense, because, well, idno it just seems to be that way. Asians are conotated as eastern/oriental asians from my experiences (As I'm sure many others) even though Asian encompasses much more than the east (i.e. Russia, India, Pakistan, Nepal, etc etc.)

*shrug*

[brooklyneast05]

i think anymore it's almost impossible to call anyone a color or race and be accurate u know, we're kinda just guessing either way
skin color is kinda irrelevant, or starting to become so
because while my girl clearly looks white, her dads black, she's half Jamaican. but she wouldn't get offended by being called white by anyone who didn't know her background, because that's what she resembles more. even though i know some people who are half one thing and get offended by being referred to as just one race.


i agree, and never know what to call people of Indian/Middle Eastern descent either. i'd like to know what's preferred.

[NoSex]

Identifying people by their color has proved to be not socially acceptable.

Yeah, same thing with not believing in Jesus, being a socialist, or happening to be sexually attracted to the same gender as your own. What is socially acceptable most certainly is not always what is "right," or even what is most useful.

If I'm calling someone black it's due to utility and utility alone. Often, it's a convenient, distinguishable, and understood identifier. In the case of an Asian, calling them "Asian" is probably a lot more useful than calling them "Yellow" or "Green." It's just about utility. I don't care what color your skin is, but your skin truly has color. I don't care where you come from but you definitely came from somewhere. These bits of information serve as identifying characteristics and physical traits. Nothing to be sensitive or offended about, unless of course you happen to have an insecurity or problem with recognizing simple characteristic differences.

Most sincere and honest adults, insofar as I know, do not have a problem with such utility. Come on, if this were about accuracy we wouldn't be able to call anyone anything!

[brooklyneast05]

Come on, if this were about accuracy we wouldn't be able to call anyone anything!

that's what i was getting at in my above post, that we don't really know what anyone is. so i agree. i don't have a problem with being called black, or african american. but yea i think calling people by color specifically only really works with black and white. if i was asian, i don't really think id want to be called yellow.

[popoberry]

i figured it was the other way around . 'why are african-american people called black people' ? ahhaha

[*Sandraaa*]

You know ... we (the majority) still haven't found people who think it's offensive.

[brooklyneast05]

You know ... we (the majority) still haven't found people who think it's offensive.

i keep waiting for someone to come in here screaming and yelling about it
i wish they would hurry up already

[kimmytree]

^ You're probably right about that. Black kids my age like being called Black. But I've always heard older adults refer to themselves as African Americans.

Could that be because the older African population struggled back in their day, unlike later generations? They were faced with so much racism.

[HoodNigga]

I'm not exactly sure why some "African-Americans" get offended when other races call them black. or "nigger." I'm against using the word 'nigger,' but I think it's stupid when blacks are like "ONLY WE CAN CALL OURSELVES NIGGAZ, WE AIN'T GONNA TAKE IT FROM SOME WHITE PEOPLE!"

I guess when people are trying to be polite and cause the least amount of damage possible, they use the term "African American" because it is the nicest way. :D

LOL , well I don't run up to a white person like "Whats up my Cracker" or "What up my chink" to an asian, so I'm not exactly sure why this is even an issue with people from the outside looking and wanting in. I don't even see how thats relevant to this thread.

[kimmytree]

LOL , well I don't run up to a white person like "Whats up my Cracker" or "What up my chink" to an asian, so I'm not exactly sure why this is even an issue with people from the outside looking and wanting in. I don't even see how thats relevant to this thread.

I wouldnt be offended at all if you called me a Cracker. Do you even know what a Cracker originally was? The term "Nigger" is an offensive term... its what slaves used to be reffered to as. Chink and Cracker is just a slang term for a race, with no offensive past.

So really, it is relevant. I'm German, and my grandmother's German... so does that mean I can call her a Nazi? No. So how is a black person calling another black person that remotely appropriate?

[brooklyneast05]

^^rightio

[kimmytree]

Oops. I edited.

[HoodNigga]

I wouldnt be offended at all if you called me a Cracker. Do you even know what a Cracker originally was? The term "Nigger" is an offensive term... its what slaves used to be reffered to as. Chink and Cracker is just a slang term for a race, with no offensive past.

So really, it is relevant. I'm German, and my grandmother's German... so does that mean I can call her a Nazi? No. So how is a black person calling another black person that remotely appropriate?

Just because you don't get offended doesn't mean another white person might not get offended. Same as the word nigga, some blacks get offended and some don't.

And as far as chink goes, I seen one guy make a thread complaining about how he was called chink, so I doubt its just slang for a person's race.

Well for one I don't throw the N word around when I'm around certain people. If I let someone I'm not cool with use that word, they would just take advantage of it. So I gotta draw the line at some point.

[*Sandraaa*]

I wouldnt be offended at all if you called me a Cracker. Do you even know what a Cracker originally was? The term "Nigger" is an offensive term... its what slaves used to be reffered to as. Chink and Cracker is just a slang term for a race, with no offensive past.

So really, it is relevant. I'm German, and my grandmother's German... so does that mean I can call her a Nazi? No. So how is a black person calling another black person that remotely appropriate?

You wouldn't but there are many people who would. There've been topics here about people complaining because they're constantly being referred to as 'Chinks'.

I personally would be extremely angry if someone should call members of my family Crackers.
Besides, doesn't cracker mean slave owner? How isn't that offensive? Not all White people owned slaves.

[*Steven*]

I was always under the impression that white people got the term cracker from cracking whips *shrug* who knows

[*Sandraaa*]

^ Who knows? I read it off some Black racist website (can't quite recall the name). Anyway, it still boils down to the same thing. Not all Whites cracked whips!

[*Steven*]

No indeed they all did not. I personally don't get offended as I view it as words. I've stated it before, I'm a White Anglo Saxon Protestant (used to be protestant) male living in the United States. I'm the root of all evil apparently.

[kimmytree]

A cracker is like a hick or a hillbilly, a term mostly used in the south. And then there's Florida Crackers, something a person who's had family here for multiple generations calls themselves.

I've never heard of it being a racist term. It may be, but I've never heard that.

[*Sandraaa*]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cracker

I guess Steven was right after all. Kimmytree, it IS a racist term. It's some kind of retaliation against Whites by Blacks. I'm not sure Black people call you guys Cracker because they ... like you?

[*Steven*]

I don't think a lot of people know what it means and have just accepted it as a slang for white people.

[kimmytree]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cracker

I guess Steven was right after all. Kimmytree, it IS a racist term. It's some kind of retaliation against Whites by Blacks. I'm not sure Black people call you guys Cracker because they ... like you?

Oh... woah. I'm 18 years old, living in the south... and I never knew that. I've actually never been called one before, or really ever heard anyone call someone that in a non joking way.

I cant believe I never knew that. I feel really stupid now.

[*Steven*]

^haha tis all good, I didn't learn about it's "meaning" til I was 18, about 9 months ago.