Does the term African-American annoy you?

[QUOTE="BPoole96"]I'm white as well and I have actually been corrected in the past when I've used the term African American. Certainly there are African Americans, but I don't see why a black person who was born in the US should be referred to as that. Their nationality is simply Americanoptiow

Yeah it definitely is a touchy subject and varies from person to person. Its hard not to distinguish people by their race since that is the most noticeable physical trait

Yeah it definitely is a touchy subject and varies from person to person. Its hard not to distinguish people by their race since that is the most noticeable physical traitBPoole96

Yes, I do. Even though I just used it in another thread. Other than my ethnic background I have no ties to Africa, I'd much rather just be called an American, or referred to as black if one must acknowledge my ethnicity. clayron

I wouldn't say it annoys me. I'd just rather blacks not take offense with being called black. Call me white. Although I'm more of a peach, I don't take offense to you calling me white, because... I know you don't mean any offense when you do so. Now... call me cracker, and that's when I pull out the baseball bat... JustPlainLucas

I wouldn't say it annoys me. I'd just rather blacks not take offense with being called black. Call me white. Although I'm more of a peach, I don't take offense to you calling me white, because... I know you don't mean any offense when you do so. Now... call me cracker, and that's when I pull out the baseball bat... JustPlainLucas

Whatever, peachy:P

yeah i think it's stupid. people call black americans african american when they weren't even born in africa.

Whatever, peachy:P

Joshywaa

It doesn't make sense when referring to people such as Martin Luther King who wasn't born in Africa, and makes even less sense when referring to Africans. Is a black man who is born in England an African-American? Is a black man who has never been outside Africa an African-American? I just think the term is incredibly stupid, I'm not trying to offend anyone.Eleckidding

Yeah, it's a sensless term and in a way it is racest towards white Americans. White Americans aren't referred to as British American nor Irish American or whatever, they are just refered to as whitie or white. WHICH doesn't bother me because theyobviously are,but why do we need to refer to black people as anything other than black?

[QUOTE="Eleckidding"]It doesn't make sense when referring to people such as Martin Luther King who wasn't born in Africa, and makes even less sense when referring to Africans. Is a black man who is born in England an African-American? Is a black man who has never been outside Africa an African-American? I just think the term is incredibly stupid, I'm not trying to offend anyone.MagnumPI

Yeah, it's a sensless term and in a way it is racest towards white Americans. White Americans aren't referred to as British American nor Irish American or whatever, they are just refered to as whitie or white. WHICH doesn't bother me because theyobviously are,but why do we need to refer to black people as anything other than black?

No, but it annoys me when it's used to refer to ANYONE who's black.

[QUOTE="Danm_999"]I think the biggest problem with the term is that it assumes black skin automatically means one of your ancestors was from Africa. To be honest, this isn't always the case.weezyfb

But that also applies to every single human on Earth...

[QUOTE="Danm_999"]I think the biggest problem with the term is that it assumes black skin automatically means one of your ancestors was from Africa. To be honest, this isn't always the case.weezyfb

Well, technically, every human can.

But some 'black' humans, like Aboriginal Australians and Pacific Islanders, have (according to anthropologists) been out of Africa longer than some Europeans and Middle Easterners.

It makes little sense to call them African, and not Europeans, Middle Easterners, etc.

[QUOTE="weezyfb"][QUOTE="Danm_999"]I think the biggest problem with the term is that it assumes black skin automatically means one of your ancestors was from Africa. To be honest, this isn't always the case.yabbicoke

But that also applies to every single human on Earth...

[QUOTE="yabbicoke"]

[QUOTE="weezyfb"] at some point a person with black skin can trace their ancestry to Africaweezyfb

But that also applies to every single human on Earth...

[QUOTE="weezyfb"][QUOTE="yabbicoke"]

But that also applies to every single human on Earth...

Danm_999

Yes but i am talking about 400yrs ago to the present. Most of the black people you will see in the US are descendants of Africans. Thus the term African-American. Not any different from any other group. You can be Italian American for example and never set foot on Italy or share their clulture....doesnt make them less Italian though and it shouldnt make Black people less African but people seem yo have some sort of issue with this that i cannot understand... If people want to be simply called white or black that is fine but most want to go deeper than that and they should have the right to

Should it annoy me? It's just another example of people taking something they don't understand and running with it. It happens frequently.chicknfeet

[QUOTE="Danm_999"][QUOTE="weezyfb"] yes but it would be much closer generation wise for a person with black person than others. weezyfb

Yes but i am talking about 400yrs ago to the present. Most of the black people you will see in the US are descendants of Africans. Thus the term African-American. Not any different from any other group. You can be Italian American for example and never set foot on Italy or share their clulture....doesnt make them less Italian though and it shouldnt make Black people less African but people seem yo have some sort of issue with this that i cannot understand... If people want to be simply called white or black that is fine but most want to go deeper than that and they should have the right to

[QUOTE="MagnumPI"]

[QUOTE="Eleckidding"]It doesn't make sense when referring to people such as Martin Luther King who wasn't born in Africa, and makes even less sense when referring to Africans. Is a black man who is born in England an African-American? Is a black man who has never been outside Africa an African-American? I just think the term is incredibly stupid, I'm not trying to offend anyone.weezyfb

Yeah, it's a senseless term and in a way it is racist towards white Americans. White Americans aren't referred to as British American nor Irish American or whatever, they are just referred to as White or white. WHICH doesn't bother me because they obviously are,but why do we need to refer to black people as anything other than black?

But I don't because I'm not an ass. My ancestry is irrelevant and those who claim to be African American are more than African by now. So it doesn't matter. Nobody cares where your ancestors came from and if you wereborn in America it doesn't really matter where they came from. They are history and your ancestry is trivial.

I'm the relativeof many immigrants from many regions around the world, but I don't brag about it, I keep it simple. White NorthAmerican United States Citizen.

What about white Africans whomwere formerAfrican citizens? I could just claim I'm african American too.How would they know?

[QUOTE="gamerguru100"]

The term annoys me when it's used like this:

There is an African American neighborhood in the west side of town; there is a white neighborhood in the east side.

Notice that the terms African American and white are very unequal. The term African American is formal, polite, and "fancy". The term white is not derogatory by any means, but it isn't "fancy" like the term African American. There are many instances in my American history textbook where the term African American is used to describe blacks and whites are referred to as just white. It's an eyesore to me.

There are two ways that the sentence can be "fixed".

They are:

• There is an AFRICAN AMERICAN neighborhood in the west side of town; there is a EUROPEAN AMERICAN neighborhood in the east side.
• There is a BLACK neighborhood in the west side of town; there is a WHITE neighborhood in the east side.

Notice how the terminology is now equal in the two sentences.

Other than this, the term African American only annoys me when it's overused.

-Sun_Tzu-

[QUOTE="weezyfb"][QUOTE="MagnumPI"]

Yeah, it's a senseless term and in a way it is racist towards white Americans. White Americans aren't referred to as British American nor Irish American or whatever, they are just referred to as White or white. WHICH doesn't bother me because they obviously are,but why do we need to refer to black people as anything other than black?

MagnumPI

But I don't because I'm not an ass. My ancestry is irrelevant and those who claim to be African American are more than African by now. So it doesn't matter. Nobody cares where your ancestors came from and if you wereborn in America it doesn't really matter where they came from. They are history and your ancestry is trivial.

I'm the relativeof many immigrants from many regions around the world, but I don't brag about it, I keep it simple. White NorthAmerican United States Citizen.

What about white Africans whomwere formerAfrican citizens? I could just claim I'm african American too.How would they know?

[QUOTE="weezyfb"][QUOTE="MagnumPI"]

Yeah, it's a senseless term and in a way it is racist towards white Americans. White Americans aren't referred to as British American nor Irish American or whatever, they are just referred to as White or white. WHICH doesn't bother me because they obviously are,but why do we need to refer to black people as anything other than black?

MagnumPI

But I don't because I'm not an ass. My ancestry is irrelevant and those who claim to be African American are more than African by now. So it doesn't matter. Nobody cares where your ancestors came from and if you wereborn in America it doesn't really matter where they came from. They are history and your ancestry is trivial.

I'm the relativeof many immigrants from many regions around the world, but I don't brag about it, I keep it simple. White NorthAmerican United States Citizen.

What about white Africans whomwere formerAfrican citizens? I could just claim I'm african American too.How would they know?

Do you live on planet earth? You may not care but most do.. most can even give you a racial breakdown of themselves and a dozen family members. Ancestry is far from trivial and no one is bragging about it, not everyone is as simple minded as you. Ask a white African what he would like to be called if you are so curious.

[QUOTE="-Sun_Tzu-"][QUOTE="gamerguru100"]

The term annoys me when it's used like this:

There is an African American neighborhood in the west side of town; there is a white neighborhood in the east side.

Notice that the terms African American and white are very unequal. The term African American is formal, polite, and "fancy". The term white is not derogatory by any means, but it isn't "fancy" like the term African American. There are many instances in my American history textbook where the term African American is used to describe blacks and whites are referred to as just white. It's an eyesore to me.

There are two ways that the sentence can be "fixed".

They are:

• There is an AFRICAN AMERICAN neighborhood in the west side of town; there is a EUROPEAN AMERICAN neighborhood in the east side.
• There is a BLACK neighborhood in the west side of town; there is a WHITE neighborhood in the east side.

Notice how the terminology is now equal in the two sentences.

Other than this, the term African American only annoys me when it's overused.

jeremiah06

[QUOTE="weezyfb"][QUOTE="MagnumPI"]

Yeah, it's a senseless term and in a way it is racist towards white Americans. White Americans aren't referred to as British American nor Irish American or whatever, they are just referred to as White or white. WHICH doesn't bother me because they obviously are,but why do we need to refer to black people as anything other than black?

MagnumPI

But I don't because I'm not an ass. My ancestry is irrelevant and those who claim to be African American are more than African by now. So it doesn't matter. Nobody cares where your ancestors came from and if you wereborn in America it doesn't really matter where they came from. They are history and your ancestry is trivial.

I'm the relativeof many immigrants from many regions around the world, but I don't brag about it, I keep it simple. White NorthAmerican United States Citizen.

What about white Africans whomwere formerAfrican citizens? I could just claim I'm african American too.How would they know?

[QUOTE="jeremiah06"][QUOTE="-Sun_Tzu-"] There is a very good reason why the term "white" doesn't have a derogatory connotation, especially in America. The reason is that being white has never been a hindrance, it's always been viewed as a very positive and attractive thing. Even to this day you have black people trying to look white, because that's what's been romanticized by American culture for decades. the_new_guy_92

[QUOTE="the_new_guy_92"][QUOTE="jeremiah06"] How does one look white? How would a black man look black?jeremiah06

The almighty trinity.

[QUOTE="the_new_guy_92"][QUOTE="jeremiah06"] How does one look white? How would a black man look black?jeremiah06

[QUOTE="gaming25"][QUOTE="jeremiah06"] So, the media is white? Well what is it called when a white girl tries to stay a certain size because of media? Double white?jeremiah06

Actually yes, Caucasian hair is different than that of Mongoloid and Negroid (Actual terms not racist ;) ) hair. You can check it by looking at the hair under a microscope.

I think we need to actually think things through before posting some of these threads in OT. We call people Polish- Americans Irish-Americans, etc all the time. I mean its common sense, and since we dont know what country a person that is in America (bought here unwillingly by slavery) is from, then the term African-American is valid.gaming25

But the idea of any hyphenated American is ridiculous. I'm American. I may be an American of African and whatever descent, but I am not African-American. I am not Jewish-American. I am just American and proud of it.

Why do we feel the need to divide ourselves into factions?

Doesn't bother me.

[QUOTE="jeremiah06"][QUOTE="gaming25"] Size isnt a genetic of of what race you are.FrostyPhantasm

Actually yes, Caucasian hair is different than that of Mongoloid and Negroid (Actual terms not racist ;) ) hair. You can check it by looking at the hair under a microscope.

As a African American I don't mind, though black is better.:P

As a African American I don't mind, though black is better.:P

mitu123

On a related topic: I do, in contrast to "white" and "black", perceive a negative connotation with people using "yellow" to describe East Asian ethnicities.

Velocitas8

People are getting less and less skin thick. I read lately how the Chinese government is trying to fight with calling them an oriental country.

If I was jamaican it would piss me off fa sho.

If I was jamaican it would piss me off fa sho.

Plzhelpmelearn

[QUOTE="Mythomniac"]Yeah, I black (Technically mixed) and I hate the phrase to death.mattbbpl