Does race, ethnicity, etc. matter

[wvjules]

when telling a story? For example when talking about the new kid at school, does it really need to be added that they're black, or Asian, or Hispanic? Why not just say the new kid at school is from Little Rock instead of the new Asian kid at school is from little rock? For some reason, adding those details to a story really irritates me.

Does it bother anyone else?

 

[dizneenut]

Yes, it bothers me, too!

 

[aahmom1]

A real pet peeve of mine.

 

[Jenzebelle]

It bothers me too!

 

[mamajoan]

Sometimes race is used as a descriptive term.
In the situation that you described I don't feel that race needs to be added to the tale.

Something I notice when reading a crime story in the newspaper if the criminal is white it is not usually mentioned in the story. However if the criminal is black or hispanic, that is mentioned in the first paragraph of the story. Most of the time the race had no bearing on the story's outcome.

JMHO

 

[gepetto]

I don't like it either.

 

[binny]

yep major pet peeve of mine too.


On the news too. Unless it is neccesary as in " the armed perpetrator is white ( or Asian or whatever) 6 foot, with tattoos, be on the lookout"
It really annoys me when they say it as the only point of identification.

 

[Judy from Boise]

annoy's me too !

 

[Steve H.]

It bothers me too -- unfortunately, I have a few relatives who do this all the time.

 

[abaldacci]

I ask my DS who is five who his best friend was at school and he said the boys name and then add " you know the brown one, why is he brown?" I jsut told him that people have different colors of skin and even mine and his is not quite the same color. I love that my son doesn't know the differnce in race and so forth and I hope he never does. oh ya and to ans. your ? =I don't like it either.

 

[Kermit]

That bugs me too. The only time it's necessary is when the physical description of the person is important for some reason. If what the person looks like isn't going to affect the way I interpret the story, I don't need to know.

 

[Rajah]

I guess I'm in the minority -- it doesn't bother me if race/ethnicity/etc is used to describe a person, as long as it's not done/meant in a derogitory way.

 

[minniepumpernickel]

I'm biracial and it doesn't bother me as long as it isn't meant in a deragatory way. Maybe some people are just using it as a descriptive term.

It doesn't matter to me what anyones race, religion, sex, sexual orientation is. It doesn't matter to me if someone is a welfare recipient either!

 

[KimR]

I agree with Rajah. In fact, my DD has often had children from other countries in her classes at school and will always talk about so-and-so, the girl from Pakistan, Korea, Canada...or whatever. She mentions it becuase it is a big deal to her....she's interested in other cultures, enjoys learning to write her name in Korean, likes helping the children learn English as well as learning words from their languages. I don't see anything wrong with it. It's not as if being from another country is an affliction or something people should be embarassed about, so what's wrong with mentioning it?

Kim

 

[Blondie]

Originally posted by Rajah
I guess I'm in the minority -- it doesn't bother me if race/ethnicity/etc is used to describe a person, as long as it's not done/meant in a derogitory way.

Ditto!

When explaining a situation or reading a novel, I think it's important to give a description so you can get a mental image. I think it would be pretty boring if we all imagined everyone as a nondescript stick figure.

 

[grinningghost]

Yes it bothers me too. And guys, please don't flame me, but I don't see that kind of thing changing until the world stops having organizations devoted to a certain race. Like for instance, not long ago, I saw something on the news about The National Society of Black Engineers (might have the exact name wrong, but you get the idea). Why do people scream about racism, yet form organizations that only allow certain races in? That's the big issue, yet nobody wants to touch it.

 

[disneyjunkie]

It doesn't bother me. As long as it's not used to put someone down I don't have a problem with it.

 

[JAP]

If the person's race is relevant in some way ok. But I typically do not use it when describing someone new that I have met.

 

[Beauty]

I agree with Tammi too. Sometimes for smaller children it amazes them to know someone from a different ethnic background. I know at John-Cole's school they have exchange students in the high school. There are two there now, one is from South Africa and the other from Norway. John-Cole talks about them as the girl from Africa and the girl from Norway. Thats the way he distinguishes them. He means nothing by it. He also says "They talk funny mama" to which I tell him, "Yes and to them, we talk funny." Its all in the process of learning about different people and different cultures.

 

[wvjules]

I'm not talking about children. I'm referring to adults using the descriptive when it really isn't needed.