What do you prefer to be called?

[Wilkin]

Hello.

This stems from a previous thread I made where I expressed my dislike of the term "African-American" in detail, along with other common politically correct racial terms, and was wondering what the general populous thought of them in relation to themselves.

In my head, there's no problem with being politically "incorrect", but being from where I am and only knowing what I know, it would be enlightening to find out how everyone feels.

My original thread: http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...ad.php?t=92543

Originally Posted by Wilkin, "Why I hate the term 'African-American'"

Well, not necessarily the term, but the reasons for which it's being used today.

It really ties in with the fact that I usually don't like politically-correctness at all. I mean, I'd rather a professor address the whole Clinton-Lewinski thing as "He received oral sex from an intern toward the end of his second term" than "He got blown in the Oval Office". Other than that, though, I find it to be generally evasive to the truth and used purely for the fact of making one seem smarter or hide a less "mature" word.

I didn't really realize exactly how I felt until I listened to George Carlin's take on euphemisms. He compared the condition soldiers that break down go through WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. While it's the exact same condition for sixty years, it went from originating as "Shell Shock", to being renamed as "Battle Fatigue", "Operational Exhaustion", and finally "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder". It loses all feeling and becomes a strictly technical term, with no connotation whatsoever.

How does this tie in with "African-American", though? Well, think of it this way: Think of your heritage or ancestral ethnicity. I, for example, am predominantly Irish and Polish, and yet for some reason don't prefer to be called an Irish-Polish-American. Last time I checked, I was born in this country, thus making me an American. If you wish to classify me by the color of my skin, I would be a White American. So when someone wishes to be referred to as African-American rather than Black, I can't help but believe they are not an immigrant from Africa.

This exists for other ethnicities as well. Just like there's Black and White, we also use the terms Asian, Indian, and Mexican/Latino. While we rarely say Japanese/Chinese/Korean/Indian/Iraqi/Latino/etc-American, we still use African-American like we're going to be ostracized from society if we dare use the term Black, or if anything we say could possibly be conceived as offensive.

I'm white. You're black. He's Asian. She's Indian. Big whoop. If I ever have to perform a politically-correct presentation for the United Nations, I'll be sure to include an athletic African-American, a Japanese-American wearing glasses, a bilingual Indian-American, and a little Caucasian in a wheelchair. Until then, I'm not referring to anyone using more than three syllables.

I don't have a problem with "Native American", though, because it's the truth. It's not sugar-coated at all. It's not a hybrid citizenship, it's the group of people descended from the original inhabitants of the land we're on.

And yes, the Three Syllable Rule applies to Canadians.

Damn hosers.