A word is just a word…until it’s not

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

~ Romeo "&"; Juliet; 

William Shakespeare

According to Wikipedia, the word “Nigger” comes from the ” Spanish and Portuguese word negro (black), and from the now-pejorative French nègre (negro). Etymologically, negro, noir, nègre, and nigger ultimately derive from nigrum, the stem of the Latin niger …”

The word “colored” “…is a term that was formerly used in the United States to refer to black people (i.e., persons of sub African ancestry; members of the black race). According to the Webster dictionary, the word colored was first used in the 14th Century.^[1]

“People (or persons) of color” “is a term used primarily in the United States to describe any person who is not white. The term is meant to be inclusive among non-white groups, emphasizing common experiences of racism. People of color was introduced as a preferable replacement to both non-white and minority, …”

“Caucasian” ” is the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western, Central and South Asia.^[2] 

Ethnicity or ethnic group is a socially defined category based on common cultural heritage, shared ancestry, history, homeland, language or dialect, and possibly other aspects such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, physical appearance, etc. 

What about the word “Cracker”?  Urban Dictionary defines the word as “Originally the white slave driver because he would "crack" the whip, hence the noun cracker.” Also, “Noun. Slang word used to refer to those of European ancestry. The word is thought to have either derived from the sound of a whip being cracked by slave owners, or because crackers are generally white in color.”  And, “opposite of nigger, an insult to whites... except white people aren't dumb enough to walk around calling each other that word because it's intended to be demeaning.” 

But what about “White Hispanics”?    This makes no sense at all!

So personally, I can be a “Caucasian Cracker”, even though I’ve never whipped anyone and I wasn’t born in Europe.  I’m also considered “White” although my skin tone is more tan than white and my heritage (ethnicity) is from Italy and Ireland. 

I can’t use the word “Gay” because I would be hateful and bigoted, but people who are homosexual can have groups named after them that use the word “Gay” and that’s not hateful or bigoted – it’s just giving them a place to feel safe.   When I was younger, “gay” meant happy.  Kookaburra the bird had a song about how “gay your life must be” and my parents regularly used it to mean joyful or very happy.  Now, “Gay” is a sexual orientation and if someone is “Gay”, they can use the word, but if you’re not “Gay”, then it’s mean and bullying to call someone else “Gay” (even if they are, in fact “Gay”).

Rap artists and people of color can use the word “Nigger” or any variation they want when they sing or talk or joke, because it’s their identity.  But I can’t use the word “Nigger” or any variation because it means I want them to be slaves and that I think less of them (don’t get me wrong – that word isn’t in my vocabulary; nor do I want it to be).

I’m not saying that I agree with using words that have a hateful meaning or that cause pain to groups or individuals, but at what point does any word or EVERY word make someone angry?  Many people who are incorrectly called “African-Americans” are neither African in descent nor are they related to any African country.  Many are Jamaican or Australian or from New Guinea. 

People who are considered “Caucasian” for government forms like the Census, are not from any of the countries that are considered ethnically Caucasian.  I know many people who are American – born in the United States – that may look “Asian” or “Latino” but identify as American.  Not white, not Asian, not “of color”.  Originally census forms asked for the country of birth for the respondent, and each of their parents.  It did not identify the person as “white” or “African” or Irish. 

If we are truly to be a country of diversity and tolerance, we should stop identifying people by groups of race, ethnicity or color.  No more hair or eye or skin color on licenses or applications.  I’m not sure how to identify two women named “Joan Smith”; but forget about age and race and identifying by looks.

Perhaps we should just tattoo everyone with a number and that’s how we ‘classify’ them.  Let’s just jump ahead a few centuries and tie everyone’s identity to a number which can be put into a system and logs everything about that person ever.  I think there's a name for that too...