How do you say Black Person?

[Suburbanite]

just wondering

[harumscarum]

If I am around a bunch of white people or black people I know it is black person. If I am around a black person I do not know I just avoid it.

[voyager]

I have noticed that "whites" use one expression when in the company of "blacks" and another when in the company of "whites"

[Technosoul]

Also, what if you are speaking about a black person who lives in France?

Yo, you people?

Just kidding, that is a no no.

Nationally they are African.

I guess if you ever had to fill out a police report you could see what the government wants you to call each race or nationality.

But a lot of that is useless nowadays because of all the inter-marrages and so eveyone is mixed up with every other race gene wise and so you might as well forget trying to sort out what is what.

[Paavo]

But a lot of that is useless nowadays because of all the inter-marrages and so eveyone is mixed up with every other race gene wise and so you might as well forget trying to sort out what is what.

In America maybe, but not here up north. My guess would be that the Finnish population is perhaps ~1% other than white. I'm not a fan of "race-mixing" just because difference is a good thing. Cultures are more or less race-orientated (among other things, of course), I want to keep the Finnish culture as it is. I'm sure people from a country with a black majority wants to preserve their culture too. If all races would get mixed, we end up with a single, boring one - with no feeling of belonging in anything but...anywhere. Let's be white, black, yellow and red! Not grey.

Anyway, if I speak with a black person (on the internet), I speak of Black people, simply.

[Paavo]

I've never really understood the "African American" label. Sure, they're all originally from Africa, but that's probably a few generations ago. No white American is a native American, so why aren't you all called Irish American, Swedish American, French American etc etc?

(Sorry if I'm going offtopic)

[Mia]

How does one say "white person" ?

[kharmajunkie]

I don't have a lot of black friends, but the black people I do know I know from the comedy club and if someone called a black guy "African American" they would make fun of him. It's a different atmosphere though; political correctness is considered a disease in that crowd.

[bergeron]

A lot of people down south say "nigger."

[Mia]

If I am required to say 'african-american', I will ask that I be called an 'english/french/irish/welsch-american'

That's stupid to me!

[Technosoul]

Originally posted by Mia, If I am required to say 'african-american', I will ask that I be called an 'english/french/irish/welsch-american' That's stupid to me!

Irish eh? Decendant of an anicent celtic witch - oh my gosh, get the dunking chair!

[Mia]

Originally posted by Technosoul,+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Technosoul,)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-Mia, If I am required to say 'african-american', I will ask that I be called an 'english/french/irish/welsch-american' That's stupid to me!

Irish eh? Decendant of an anicent celtic witch - oh my gosh, get the dunking chair![/b][/quote]

Do I remember correctly that if I drown, I am vindicated on the charge of being a witch, and if I do not drown, it means I'm definitely a witch and must now be burned to death? :(

[nogoodideas]

I usually say "Black Man" or "Black Woman" that way the focus on black is lost.

[PatrickHenry]

Hawaiian for black is "popolo." Not pejorative, descriptive.
But since my language is from the mainland, I usually say "black."

[Inquisitor]

The scientific name of this race is negroid. Therefore people who belong to this race must be called negroes.

Which is indeed the case in languages not yet poisoned by political correctness. E.g. Russian word is negr and there are no other words exist.

[Mia]

...

[Mia]

Must? According to whom?

Black/white/latino/arabic/whatever... these are descriptive terms.

I don't say I'm caucasion and no authority has told me I must.

What authority told you black's 'must' be called negroids, and by what power is this person or entity granted such authority?

[Mia]

...

[Nono]

Why is this such a difficult question? Because it's the source of great tension. And why is that? Racism.

I say "black" and "white" (including when talking with blacks) to keep things simple. Of course, there's always the risk of offending someone, but you can never make that risk go away.

In my lifetime the acceptable (for blacks, by whites) term in North America has gone from "negro" to "black" to "Afro-American" to "African-American". And when that last one runs out of steam owing to continuing racism, well, people will have to think up a new one.

The problem ain't language, it's racism.

[Nono]

Originally posted by Paavo I want to keep the Finnish culture as it is. (...) If all races would get mixed, we end up with a single, boring one - with no feeling of belonging in anything but...anywhere. Let's be white, black, yellow and red! Not grey.

What about the Lapps, eh Paavo? (Or the Sámi, as I think they prefer to be called -- see "African-American".) Weren't they there before you Finno-Ugrics showed up?

The fact is that you can't keep things "pure", which is a myth anyway. Until the US, Canada and Australia came along, there was never a better gene-mixing machine than the waves of migration across Europe.

And, like it or not, you can't get away from global technology, global trade and global migration. The technology is simply accelerating what has always gone on anyway. How did our biggoted friend Inquisitor end up in the States or wherever he is? (I assume it isn't downtown Sverdlovsk.) Migration, that's how.

No white American is a native American, so why aren't you all called Irish American, Swedish American, French American etc etc?

Oh but they do: Polish-Americans, Ruritanian-Americans -- you name it. T-shirt: "Kiss me I'm Armenian" (well, some of my ancestor were...).

The "African-American" thing is to prompt people to realize that US blacks are citizens with the same rights as anybody else. And, unlike other Americans, their ancestors didn't sail eagerly up past the Statue of Liberty. They were whipped onto those shores in chains.