OK, I see that I skipped over the part about “under a certain age”. The problem is that there is no hard line for that age. You/we also don’t know how this 50-year old (or whatever age) person lives. Has he become a social shut-in? Does he give a rat’s behind about pop culture or attitudes? Is he just ignorant?
As I said earlier, I used the word in a specific context:
“If you’re using terms in a discussion about things specific to race as opposed to culture, i.e., negro and caucasian, I don’t know what other term would be appropriate. What term would you use? I believe it is the only “anthropological” (I think that’s the right word) term available to me.”
I’m not uninformed. I’m not racist. I’m not trying to annoy anyone. I get it. I understand it, OK? I’m just saying that I thought the word “negro” has a place in SOME conversations, but not the in way it used to. I guess I would ask how you would phrase the sentence above. Would you say “black and caucasian”? Somehow that just doesn’t mean the same thing.
You know Whoopi Goldberg?
Sorry Kalhoun, but you were mistaken on this one. “Negro” and “Caucasian” are not current anthropological terms. I would not say “Negro and Caucasian”, nor would I say “Black and Caucasian”. “Caucasian” is just as badly out of date as “Negro”, if perhaps less likely to cause unintended offense. I have difficulty imagining any conversation taking place in the past few decades where the terms “Negro” and “Caucasian” would be necessary. Not only are they old-fashioned, they refer to a simplistic racial grouping system that is no longer accepted by the general scientific community.
In fact, I just flipped open my Webster’s and the entries for these outdated racial terms have “No longer in scientific use” at the end.
Well, I stand corrected on the usage of both terms. I guess I need to brush up on that. But it was an innocent mistake and I still fail to see where usage in this sense would be offensive. Outdated, maybe. But offensive? It was CLEARLY not being used in a derrogatory fashion. Anyone who knows me understands that I’m on the FAR LEFT of racial, civil liberties, and general human rights issues.
I agree with threeorange about owlofcreamcheese’s ‘rule.’ Just because someone has learned to express racist views with subtlety doesn’t make them less racist.