| | | quote | Originally posted by Pyrthian:
... the minute you find the need for a name for "them people" - who ever you may be thinking - you already have lost. |
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No, they did. "They" identify themselves as African Americans. Who invented the phrase ? "They" hope to elevate themselves, like Africa is somewhere to be proud to be from. It's a third world zhit hole. Let's call a spade a spade. Pardon the pun.
In the 1960s the preferred term changed from 'nrigger" or 'colored' to 'black'. 'Black' was considered racist before that. But people like Jesse Jackson preferred 'African American' because it was about origin, not about color.
Most Americans know where their ancestors come from. They are proud to be of Danish or German or Belgian descent, or whatever they are. But blacks in the US are descended from slaves. They know the continent their ancestors came from but not the specific country. Some blacks feel cut off from their roots because of this, because they can't trace their ancestry back further than the Civil War.
So many of them would rather call themselves 'Americans whose ancestors came from Africa' than 'Americans with dark skin'. So people like Jesse Jackson, Bill Cosby, etc., use the term 'African American'. It spread.
Heh ... It was funny during the 2004 election, John Kerry's wife called herself 'African American' even though she isn't black. She was criticized for it, and then reminded the person that she was born in Africa, moved to the US and eventually became a citizen. So what else would you call her?
I think she should have called herself a Mozambique American.
You have some whacked out thinking. We need names for different things. That's why every color is not called white, or every vehicle is not called a car. There is a reason why Christians called themselves Christians, and why Muslims call themselves Muslims. Black people seem to prefer being called African American ... even though if they call each other "nrigger" it is a term of endearment,
. I understand that thinking and I would subscribe to it. I am proud to call myself a high school drop out for instance.
[This message has been edited by cliffw (edited 09-11-2014).]
