# Is "Negro" an offensive word, or simply archaic?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-negro-an-offensive-word-or-simply-archaic/109342>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 16, 2002, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-negro-an-offensive-word-or-simply-archaic/109342 "2002-05-16T06:40:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shrew)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-negro-an-offensive-word-or-simply-archaic/109342/21 "2002-05-20T02:49:58Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Speaker for the Dead \*  
> I’m gonna start calling them Noires.

LMAO

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-negro-an-offensive-word-or-simply-archaic/109342/22 "2002-05-20T05:31:12Z")

</div>

What about “Oriental?” Ten or fifteen years ago, the term was in common usage. Now, it’s considered incredibly offensive among many of Asian descent; almost on a par with the “n word.”

What about “Italian” pronounced as “EYE-tal-yun”?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-negro-an-offensive-word-or-simply-archaic/109342/23 "2002-05-20T05:39:39Z")

</div>

What about “Oriental?” Ten or fifteen years ago, the term was in common usage. Now, it’s considered incredibly offensive among many of Asian descent; almost on a par with the “n word.”

What about “Italian” pronounced as “EYE-tal-yun”?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-negro-an-offensive-word-or-simply-archaic/109342/24 "2002-05-20T06:37:15Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by shrew \*  
> \*\ ***Barking Spider** , “people of color” has replaced “colored people” for the same reason “individuals with disabilities” has replaced “disabled people”. The correct/most recent form is to place the _person_ before the _descriptor_. \*\*

I have to say this is political correctness gone mad. Besides which, if I was a “person of coloUr” (well I guess I am, in so far as my colour is pasty pale pink-white) I would be far more offended at the loss of the “U” from my descriptor.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-negro-an-offensive-word-or-simply-archaic/109342/25 "2002-05-20T23:31:33Z")

</div>

As an example of PC silliness, a news report (very vague here…no cite) once described the hair found at the scene of a crime (possibly OJ’s) as an “African-American hair”.

Hair has no nationality; and for all we know, it could’ve been an African-Canadian’s hair, or just an African’s hair.

So what is the right word here?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Philosophocles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Philosophocles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philosophocles)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-negro-an-offensive-word-or-simply-archaic/109342/26 "2002-05-21T01:02:28Z")

</div>

I remember there was some encounter between Les Nessman and Venus Flytrap on WKRP, and whatever the topic was, Les somehow thought that Venus would have some special knowledge because he was black. Les was nervous and said something like, “Well you would know because you’re…uh, you know” and Venus was all confused and said “What?” Then Les whispered something in Venus’ ear, and Venus was like “A Negro???”

Of course, Les wasn’t only confused about black people, as we could see by his legendary gringo pronunciation of Chi Chi (as in rhymes with jai alai) Rod-ri-gweez.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-negro-an-offensive-word-or-simply-archaic/109342.md?page=1)