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US 2010 Census: Do you consider the word "Negro" to be a racial slur?
CellarDweller:
I remember seeing an episode of "All in the Family" years ago. The Jefferson's son (Lionel) was arguing with an older uncle, and the uncle used the word Negro. Lionel corrected him by saying "Black, uncle". The reply was.
"Forgive me....it took me a long time to go from 'nigger' to 'negro'. Give me some time to go from 'negro' to 'black'."
I always took the word negro to be a slur to some degree. Not quite as bad as nigger, but a slur none the less.
Jeff Wrangler:
Negro is no more a slur than is Caucasian.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on April 08, 2010, 08:42:45 am ---Negro is no more a slur than is Caucasian.
--- End quote ---
Caucasian isn't exactly free of racist subtext, itself.
From Wikipedia:
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race(or Caucasoid, sometimes also Europid, or Europoid[1]) denotes the race or phenotypes of some or all of the indigenous human populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia.[2][3] The classification has been used in scientific racism, a concept that asserts the superiority of one race over another.[citation needed]
In common use in American English, the term "Caucasian" (rarely supplemented with the word "race") is sometimes restricted to Europeans and other lighter-skinned populations within these areas, and may be considered equivalent to the varying definitions of white people. The term continues to be widely used in many scientific and general contexts, usually with its more restricted sense of "white", specifically White American in a US context.
Origin of the concept
The Georgian skull Blumenbach discovered in 1795 to hypothesize origination of Europeans from the Caucasus.
The concept of a Caucasian race or Varietas Caucasia was developed around 1800 by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, a German scientist and early anthropologist. Blumenbach named it after the peoples of the Caucasus (from the Caucasus region), whom he considered to be the archetype for the grouping. He based his classification of the Caucasian race primarily on craniology. Blumenbach wrote:
"Caucasian variety—I have taken the name of this variety from Mount Caucasus, both because its neighborhood, and especially its southern slope, produces the most beautiful race of men, I mean the Georgian; and because all physiological reasons converge to this, that in that region, if anywhere, it seems we ought with the greatest probability to place the autochthones (birth place) of mankind."
Marina:
I would have to say a qualified "No". For me, the word is antiquated and has too much of an association with that other, terrible word; so I was surprised to read that a number of people self-identify as it, and they are under 45 years of age. Who am I to argue? I tend to defer to the person and how they would want to be perceived, and would be happy in a world where labels and classifications were not necessary. In all my years on the planet, I have found that people are not so different. Some people may draw pride and strength from that word and its history. That said, sometimes people can go too far with the PC-ness; even the color black can be misconstrued as offensive when it's not being used that way, in any way. The word has many definitions and associations, and race is just one; a benign color is another. It's all about the intent, how the word is used. That other word even sounds terrible to the ear, aggressive and harsh. I am interested in history and the world's cultures; and they are exquisitely beautiful and complex, no matter where they originate. For something such as taking a census, it's benign. :) It even took me a long time to feel comfortable with the word "Queer" from which some of my friends also draw strength and pride.
"Caucasian" is a very broad category, and I believe some Georgian people, and that entire Caucasus area, can trace a history to the Middle East and ancient Persia? Beautiful.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on April 08, 2010, 09:02:00 am ---Caucasian isn't exactly free of racist subtext, itself.
--- End quote ---
Are any of these terms free of racism?
Have I missed something (which is probable)? Has anyone seen an explanation as to why the U.S. Census Bureau is still categorizing people by race in the first place?
Is this just something carried forward since 1790, when these categories were necessary for calculating representation (because under the Constitution as adopted, a "Negro" only counted as a fraction of a person)?
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