The Term African American

[LΩVE]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Which explains why you are forcing this topic.

No offense to the white GCers who can take how people self-identify and let it be, but topics such as this are often perpetuated by whites. It is similar to some whites who want to probe blacks on the use of the N word. This isn't an in depth discussion of race dynamics and race interactions that generate and perpetuate these categories. It's a surface-level probing that gets extremely annoying when people have essentially told you that blacks are not monolithic and opinions will vary.

Americans of near or distant African descent understand why "black" and "African American" and "black not Hispanic" and "Hispanic not black" are relevant for Census, research, record keeping and other purposes where categories of humans are necessary. But as for cultural and ethnic identities that include but transcend race, people know what they identify with and as.

For instance, an olive complexioned Greek-American has cultural and ethnic identities. For race identity, he or she is classified as "white" but can PERSONALLY prefer to be called something else. That doesn't mean that their personal preference will be acknowledged by everyone or that it socially overshadows the general category of "white" that is used to simplify matters. The people who responded to this thread acknowledge the categories and were sharing their opinions of them. However, they aren't unaware of the social reality of these categories.

Ok, maybe I am not making myself clear, but I am beginning to think I shouldn't blame myself at this point.

As I have said...repeatedly...if no one wants to discuss it THAT IS FINE. I cannot have a discussion with myself. But I AM NOT obligated to NOT discuss with anyone who cares to because some people think it's stupid. NO ONE IS FORCING ANYTHING. If no one is interested no one will discuss. What a simple solution!

Now we are getting into another interesting discussion...the fact that my posts have (obviously to myself) not been read thoroughly, but skimmed and assumptions made because I said I was "white". Nowhere in my posts have I made the assumption that "all black people think the same" and have pointedly discussed the fact that "all black people" DO NOT think the same...hence the interest in the topic. All "white people" do not think the same either, by the way.

Maybe some are overly sensitive or defensive and on message boards I expect that, but the posts I write are to individual posters and not to an entire ethnic group, and that is the entire point of them. No one person here can speak for all people of a similar ethnic group, and I never have assumed that they could. Now, if anyone wants to respond to what has actually been written, and not to a skimmed over and pre-conceived notion filled version of what is there in black and white, fine. Otherwise, advice duly noted, though it doesn't exactly apply. Should I one day decide to place all people of one particular ethnic group into a category I will take your sage words into account when speaking with the selected spokesperson. But until that day...leave be.