Political Correctness

[Neo-Scholastic]

People used to say colored people. Now that's considered racist. We say people of color now. Eventually we'll say that's racist too.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

People used to say colored people. Now that's considered racist. We say people of color now. Eventually we'll say that's racist too.

It's an interesting fact that most of the world's population is composed of people of color.

[BrokenQuill92]

People used to say colored people. Now that's considered racist. We say people of color now. Eventually we'll say that's racist too.

It's not so much racist as outdated and rude. If someone calls me colored I'm likely to think you're old and/or just ignorant.

[SofaKingHigh]

The best comedian around makes a great argument:

[paulpablo]

People used to say colored people. Now that's considered racist. We say people of color now. Eventually we'll say that's racist too.

You're a bit behind with the times, people of colour is already considered racist by people, check out this message board of diversityINC

Yes, the term ‘people of color’ is offensive because it implies that ‘non-colored’ or white is the norm or ideal. I am not of direct African descent; however, I am non-Anglo and this that using the term ‘colored’ or ‘people of color’ is extremely racist.

I feel that “people of color” is a racist and objectionable effort to group together a diverse population into one tribe (thanks for the word, Luke Visconti) united against whites – which I write with a lower case ‘w’ since I do not see whites as an ethnic group.

The term “people of color” is offensive to me. Like @BlackChickInSeattle said, this term is just used to group every single person who is NOT white together. As a white person (female), I feel slightly excluded when I hear this term being used.

Because words exclude and offend people.  The word negro caused slavery, then the word coloured caused racial inequality, now we have people of colour and it's causing real offense and exclusion.

There's pages and pages dedicated to this subject online, it's very important.

One day it's my dream that we will just find the perfect words to use in the right order and we will end all racism.

[Athene]

People used to say colored people. Now that's considered racist. We say people of color now. Eventually we'll say that's racist too.

It's not so much racist as outdated and rude. If someone calls me colored I'm likely to think you're old and/or just ignorant.

I agree BQ. The term colored is antiquated. That's why it raises eyebrows.

[Neo-Scholastic]

You're a bit behind with the times, people of colour is already considered racist by people, check out this message board of diversityINC

That's the problem with political correctness. Ordinary folks going about their everyday lives cannot keep up with the preferred nomenclature of consciousness raising minority activists. Just with respect to race, the list of what whites are "allowed" to say and not say gets constantly revised. Why are there groups called the United Negro College Fund and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People but it is racist for a white guy to refer to people with Sub-Saharan ancestors as negro or colored?

Some people are fat. "Fat" is a perfectly good word that more or less describes a value-neutral visible physical feature of some people. Some people are tall, skinny. These are still considered merely descriptive. They offend few. But in our fitness-obsessed super-model culture some people are self-conscious of their weight and when they are called 'fat' they don't interpret that as just a description, but as negative judgment. My point is that so long as a group feels disparaged then every adopted descriptive term for them will eventual be reinterpreted as an implied value judgments. Group activists will never be satisfied until they deal with their underlying insecurities about their group participation. There are really only two solutions: 1) abolish term because the group identity is meaningless or 2)accept the descriptive term with all its baggage.

Identity politics wants to have it both ways. On the one hand they want to be treated like everyone else because they say the descriptive term is irrelevant. Then on the other hand, they want everyone to accept the distinctiveness of their group.

[Neo-Scholastic]

It's not so much racist as outdated and rude. If someone calls me colored I'm likely to think you're old and/or just ignorant.

I agree BQ. The term colored is antiquated. That's why it raises eyebrows.

That's ageist and educationalist.

[Alex K]

I agree BQ. The term colored is antiquated. That's why it raises eyebrows.

That's ageist and educationalist.

You can't say "That". Thatism is discrimination against "This"

[Athene]

You're a bit behind with the times, people of colour is already considered racist by people, check out this message board of diversityINC

That's the problem with political correctness. Ordinary folks going about their everyday lives cannot keep up with the preferred nomenclature of consciousness raising minority activists. Just with respect to race, the list of what whites are "allowed" to say and not say gets constantly revised. Why are there groups called the United Negro College Fund and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People but it is racist for a white guy to refer to people with Sub-Saharan ancestors as negro or colored?

  
People are free to use whatever terms they wish, even derogatory ones. It seems that what you actually have an issue with, is others having the freedom to respond using the terms that they wish.