Just so you know, many people consider "coloured" a derrogatory and inappropriate term, especially in this country.
Think about it. Why should any one race be "coloured"? We're all some sort of color.
I'm not coloured. I'm the colour of white bread. Is white a colour? I don't know. My skin is also the texture of moist bread so it works out nicely.
There are plenty of bad and more ofencve terms MissCurlyCat didn't use, like the 'n' word. I hate that word. I don't think coloured is that bad. It may not be the best choice, but it isn't a bad one.
Or, here's a crazy idea, we could all just be referred to as people instead of black, white, etc.
Then my story would make no sence.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wow. You could be my twin!Originally posted by Sweet_Sweet_Goo:
I'm not coloured. I'm the colour of white bread. Is white a colour? I don't know. My skin is also the texture of moist bread so it works out nicely.
There are plenty of bad and more ofencve terms MissCurlyCat didn't use, like the 'n' word. I hate that word. I don't think coloured is that bad. It may not be the best choice, but it isn't a bad one.
No, affirmative action is not just based on race, but I still think it is wrong. It is wrong for anyone of any race, gender, economic status, etc. to get an unnatural leg up on anyone else. I think that's what affirmative action does. Others say it is leveling the playing field for less advantaged people, but I don't see anyone as being disadvantaged just because they are a woman or are black. I can see how this would've been a disadvantage for gaining jobs or admissions to universities in the old days, but not anymore.
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 06, 2006 11:37 PM: Message edited by: Tra ]</font>
Posted by The Handmaid:
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You are quite correct! White people ARE disproportionately represented in government.It is white people who are disproportionately represented in government, in business, in almost everything.
According to the US Census, as of the year 2004, white people constitute 75.6% of the population. Blacks and/or african americans were only 12.2% of the entire US population.
Compare these statistics to the Federal Executive Branch employment statistics and you will see that white people are only represented by 68.6% and black people have the advantage at 16.9%.
Next time you start crying discrimination, I'd appreciate it if you would get your facts straight. Give me a break.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Just because people are different colours and some one tells some one about their different colours in a story it's not offensive. We just need to except the fact that we are all different. Trying to lump everyone together into one category isn't the best idea. I might sound a bit racist, but I DO NOT mean it in that way. Everybody is a person regardless of their colour, but it isn't wrong to say they have a colour.Originally posted by lacherig:Or, here's a crazy idea, we could all just be referred to as people instead of black, white, etc.
The word "colored/ coloured" is offensive to many people- *especially* if a white person uses it. "Person of colour" while it seems like it makes no sense, isn't offensive. You can always say "African American" or "Asian American" or "American Indian" etc.
Not recognizing (or ignoring) someone's race is called being "colorblind." For a long time, folks thought this was a good thing. I think, however, that it ignores important parts of people's identities. Being American Indian is important to me and I don't want people to pretend I'm not. This can be true for white people too. (Although we tend to "default" to white. If you're reading a book and the author doesn't describe a character's race, most people assume the character is white.)
I don't think there's anything wrong with being proud of your heritage. It's sad that the African American boy called your classmate a derogatory name. It's also said that he lied about what he did to the teachers. That doesn't mean it's okay, however, for the 2nd child to have called the African American boy the bad name. I hope both boys have learned their lesson that these names are painful.
Racism is a tough thing to talk about. I think it may be especially tough for white people to talk about. I am a diversity educator and I frequently see that white people, when placed in a situation where race is being discussed, become very defensive. What folks (of any color) need to understand is that racism is a deep, complex problem in our society and can't be solved as easily as we wish. We need to recognize that (in our country at least) white people do get privileges (see the list in my post above) that people of color don't.
That doesn't mean that white skin isn't beautiful or that anyone should hate white people just because they are white. (Or hate anyone! I think hate is a terrible thing.)
Affirmative Action is a whole other topic. What's interesting is, most people don't realize that Affirmative Action isn't just based on race! In University admissions, the people who benefit the most from affirmative action are white women! Women also get a "boost" just for being women. Applicants whose parents also attended the school also get a "boost." Somehow, we never hear anyone complaining about members of those 2 groups getting ahead at the expense of others.
Affirmative Action exists because our country has such a racist past that many different groups (not just people of color) experience major disadvantages. If you are white and middle class, your public school was probably a lot better than if you are African American and from an urban center. School funding is generally based on property taxes- if you're from a poor area, then your school doesn't have as much money to spend on books, teachers, supplies, and pretty much anything else than if you were from a more affluent area. As a result, when it comes to be the time to apply for colleges, students of these wealthier schools do better- because they had the *privilege* of a better education. That doesn't mean those more affluent students are more intelligent, it just means they had better preparation.
So, affirmative action (which I repeat, isn't just based on race, but on economic status, gender, and legacy (when your family went to the same school/ worked in the same company)) works to allow people who experienced disadvantages through no fault of their own to be able to have the same opportunities as those who received privileges through no fault of of their own.
Tra, have you ever been in a situation where you are an obvious minority? Say, a classroom full of boys where the teacher keeps catching himself to add "and gal(s)" onto his "guys" when he addresses the class because of you?
ETA: Affirmative action-type things can go all ways. It can, say, help white men get into nursing.
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 07, 2006 04:53 PM: Message edited by: SarahS ]</font>
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