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- From: PA146008@utkvm1.utk.edu (David Veal)
- Subject: Re: Term for blacks has changed
- Message-ID: <PA146008.577.725052065@utkvm1.utk.edu>
- Lines: 32
- Sender: usenet@utkux1.utk.edu (USENET News System)
- Organization: University of Tennessee Division of Continuing Education
- References: <1992Dec22.142254.28877@novell.com>
- Distribution: na
- Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 19:21:05 GMT
-
- In article <1992Dec22.142254.28877@novell.com> bboerner@novell.com (Brendan B. Boerner) writes:
-
- >Hello,
- >
- >Has anyone noticed references in the media (paper, radio, TV) to blacks
- >as "people of color"? I started noticing this about 6-8 weeks ago and
- >now I hear it all the time. I've got four questions regarding this:
- >
- >1) What's wrong with "black"?
- >
- >2) How was this change affected?
- >
- >3) What's the distinction between "people of color" and "colored
- >person" such that the latter is racist and the former isn't?
- >
- >4) Who decided that this should happen?
-
- All groups that are either scelf-concious about themselves, or
- worried about some form of dislike or discrimination go through these
- cycles. Whatever the current name for them gets bad connotations, because
- some other group starts to use it that way. They then insist they be called
- something else which doesn't have that unpleasant baggage. At which point,
- over time, the new words gain the same problems that the old ones did.
- (Also see cripple to handicapped to specially abled)
- I'm waiting for the next move, where the response to "African-
- American" will be "What, are you implying I'm not a real American?"
-
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
- David Veal University of Tennessee Div. of Cont. Education
- Information Services Group
- PA146008@utkvm1.utk.edu (Mail to VEAL@utkvm1.utk.edu will bounce.)
-