"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"
~ Romeo "&"; Juliet;
~ 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.”
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.
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...
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...
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