Truly color blind, or just politically correct?

[MHopkins2]

[OT and in a tiny voice, so TM2 doesn't smack me]

Uh, who's Perry Walker?

 

[tiggersmom2]

[OT and in a tiny voice, so TM2 doesn't smack me]

Uh, who's Perry Walker?

My bad....Perry KING!! Yes, I am a doofus...here is his

But he was 30 years younger in that movie and oh so fine!

 

[disykat]

I am much more likely to avoid other physical characteristics than skin color. I might say the black or white person, but avoid mentioning weight, twitchy eyes, etc. Mainly I try to make the discription complimentary, and I see nothing that could be considered offensive about skin color.

 

[phyllis1966]

I remember back in college, there was a group discussion regarding racism in one of my classes. We broke up into smaller groups to further discuss and come up with who-remembers-what (maybe plans on how to teach our students about tolerance versus racism?). One of my group members, who was black, asked the rest of us how we would describe him to someone else. He wanted to see if we would list "black" as part of our description. He felt very strongly that it would be racist to do so. I have never forgotten that. However, it sure as heck would be a lot easier to accurately describe a person to someone else without always worrying about being PC.

I have absoltely no problems with anyone who wants to describe me as "that stunningly beautiful Italian/white chick!"

 

[Hippychickali]

I don't see why it matters. These people obviously have good intentions and they aren't hurting anyone by describing your coworkers in this way. That being said, I think there are many people who are used to lliving in multi-cultural places and do become "colour-blind" after awhle. Is this is bad thing?

For the record, I don't feel it's necessary to describe someone using race or a possibly offensive physical description. I wouldn't want to be described as the "fat chick" when "the lady in the blue shirt" would do just fine. And I would certainly rather be described in a way other than the "white woman".

Ali

 

[mamajoan]

ok.. it is heartwarming for me to read these things.. since op is from the midwest... and my family is moving back to the midwest from living on the west coast in CA an HI for the past 25 years.....Things are changing.. when we left Illinois in 1980.. we were often refered to as "the salt and pepper couple".. no kidding.. really and truly....

why you may ask.. well I am a white-with- freckles woman married to a coffee black man. We are the parents of 4 beige children...well lets say.. 1-eggshell girl,1-medium tan boy, 1-ivory-in-the-winterboy/latte-in-the-summer and 1-light carmel girl They have been described as Samoan, Filapino,Mexican, Pacific Islander..etc.. etc.. etc...

I am happy to hear that people can describe one another without race. However, none of the people in our family find it insulting, discrimanitory, bigoted, or prejudice to describe them as Black, White, Bi-racial.. really it is just describing how we look.

When asked to describe a person.. I feel it is fine to say " The gentleman in sports was of great help.. if there are two gentlemen in the sports dept.. I certainly feel it is fine to say The young white gentleman or The young black gentleman....

That is a objective comment NOT a prejudicial comment.

However:

If I were to say "the young Nig...was of great help ( not to offend) or the white cracker was of great help"... (again not meant to offend).... then that statement would be prejudicial or bigoted......

again please forgive me if I offended anyone with my use of derogatory terms. They were used to illustrate.

so there you go.. jmho

 

[Charade]

You can certainly use other physical attributes besides color (don't think race) but just be careful. If it's only to help you idenfity someone and not used to degrade, then it's ok.


I mean come on, we are NOT all the same color, shape or size.

If you were asked to identify which of two store workers standing side by side which one you were referring to and one was black, the other white, or one was heavy, the other thin, or one was Asian, the other was French...

you get the point.

 

[luvthatduke]

I think people are just trying to be PC,
hence the "embarassment" when called on their description.
I do agree tho, that race doesn't need to be the only qualifier,
& there are many times it would not be needed to describe someone.

This reminds me of how some news is reported,
both on local news, national news, & in some newpapers.
If someone robs a bank, or a description is given
of someone who is alleged to have committed
a crime and is on the run, why is it not acceptable
to describe them as, "Tall white man w/mustache"
or "Short black man wearing cowboy boots."
You get the picture.

I can never fathom why a more accurate description
is not given when a serious crime has been committed??
I can't tell you how many "non" descriptions of people
I have heard & read in the past several years, clearly omitting race.
And I mean to say that the descriptions should
certainly include every racial skin color
- White, Asian, Black, Hispanic, etc.
I mean, come on, if I committed a crime someone would need
to know that I'm a white, middle-aged female, & on the short side!

 

[Hippychickali]

I mean, come on, if I committed a crime someone would need to know that I'm a white, middle-aged female, & on the short side!

Yes but nobody is committing any crimes here. The woman in the blue shirt would be fine. I don't see why it is necessary for the OP to say, "You mean the white woman?" when there is only one woman wearing a blue shirt.

Ali

 

[babar]

Well, at work one of my "black" co-workers always describes me to her friends as the "crazy little white girl I work with"!!

Who cares? I'm white, she's black. It's only when peole want to make it an issue, that it becomes a big deal.

 

[Kermit]

I do occassionally mention someone's race when it's necessary to identify a person. I think it's helpful. If I were describing a friend to you just to tell you about her, I would say she was "a really funny woman," not a "really funny Hispanic woman." However, if you needed to find her in a room filled with people, I probably would mention it.

Part of the reason people might feel inclined not to mention race is because it's so hard to find a term that doesn't offend someone. Some black people like to be called "black," others prefer "African American." There are similar issues with just about every race.

Recently, a man described a husband and wife to me as "the AA family." It turns out they were African Americans. I thought he meant they were in Alcoholics Anonymous. That would definitely be rude to mention someone was in AA for no reason.

 

[chobie]

From my perspective I avoid using words to describe people that would call attention to so-called racial characteristics. My reason for this is because most of the people I know personally, not on these boards, who often use words like black, Asian or Hispanic are implying more than just superficial physical traits, they are implying that a person acts in a certain way because they have these characteristics. I am generally politically correct and I don't think being PC is silly, I think its being respectful and polite.

 

[minniepumpernickel]

First of all, it's really nice to see you posting here again! Hope that you post more often!

Well if someone referred to me as that Asian looking chick, they would only be 50% correct. Maybe some people are afraid that they would be saying the wrong thing? I have been asked if I am part hispanic or Jewish too. I found none of these questions offensive.

This is an interesting topic. I think perhaps they are a little of both.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I voted silly and PC.

I think it's funny that people will say they are color blind, but not gender blind. I guess they are afraid that people will think they're racist for mentioning race. However, no one worries about being accused of being sexist for mentioning gender.

If you can look at me and notice that I'm a woman, how can you not notice that I'm black?

 

[katerkat]

I just don't see the big deal of using any characteristic - color, hair color, height, etc. But that may be because I forget people's names easily. If we had the policy in my store, I wouldn't mind being described as the blonde girl, the white girl, or the really pregnant girl. In fact, "really pregnant" is probably the thing most of my customers would remember about me - it happens to be the best way to identify me right now. (As long as they don't say "the waddler"! )

And I totally didn't get the movie reference, sorry TM2! It was in Mississippi, and a white person, who told me not to call the kitties black and white. And of course, the black cat was more offensive. (Obviously they hadn't met my cats, since the white one is the evil one!)

 

[yeartolate]

Over the top politically correct - ridiculous in fact. There is nothing wrong with an accurate description of person.

 

[Hippychickali]

I still don't see why people care so much when people are "overly politically correct". Even if it is extreme, it's certainly better than the other extreme of being offensive.

Ali

 

[chobie]

I still don't see why people care so much when people are "overly politically correct". Even if it is extreme, it's certainly better than the other extreme of being offensive.

Ali

That's what I think. Also I think that many people who say they don't believe in being p.c. have one or two terms that they would be personally offended by if they were used to described them or someone they love.

 

[rcyannacci]

I still don't see why people care so much when people are "overly politically correct". Even if it is extreme, it's certainly better than the other extreme of being offensive.

Ali

ITA. There is nothing wrong with people challenging themselves to describe someone without regards to race. But I also think it would be silly to call people that do describe someone as being "white," "black," or whatever as racist. As others have stated here, it depends on the context and the intent of the words.

 

[Hippychickali]

ITA. There is nothing wrong with people challenging themselves to describe someone without regards to race. But I also think it would be silly to call people that do describe someone as being "white," "black," or whatever as racist. As others have stated here, it depends on the context and the intent of the words.

I agree. I voted that these people are really colour-blind because there was no other good option. I think that many of these people say, "The woman in the blue shirt" because it's the first thing that comes to their mind, not because they are trying to avoid the race issue.

Ali