You seem to be suggesting that just because such word exist in the language, and there is context in which they are acceptable, that the rest of us are just making shit up when we say that there are, in fact, contexts in which “blacks” is less acceptable.
I get really tired of people around here insisting that every single subject under discussion must be reducible to one simple black and white rule, with no exceptions. That’s just not the way it works.
OK, that’s two. Wow, the “‘blacks’ is bad” movement is really taking off!
But then, not two hours ago I was in my car listening to public radio and heard the news announcer (who is black himself, if I’m not mistaken) use the term “blacks” several times while discussing Atlanta’s drop from first to second place as a desirable location for… well, blacks… to live and start businesses.
I can try to find a phone number for the station, if you want, or you can just send a letter or email informing them of their improper use of a reductive and dismissive term. I’m sure they’ll be at least as welcoming of your opinion as I am.
Well, that’s why I mentioned Jews and Arabs and Native Americans and all those sorts of things too. Can you show me a context in which “blacks” is clearly less acceptable than “black people”? The post which started this all off didn’t seem to me to be an example of one. But perhaps you can change my mind.
The main thing is that my experience has not been that blacks find “blacks” less acceptable than “black people”. But it’s an empirical question, and I could be shown wrong, I suppose.
Hmm…I’m actually not aware that “black” is considered unacceptable in certain contexts. I suppose there’s a certain tone of voice that could imbue it with a negative meaning, but I’ve been taught to use “blacks” as a physical descriptor, and “African-American” when referring to the culture. Have I missed a memo?
Thanks for ignoring the rest of my post, to leave room for your insistant ignorance. Nothing about your post hasn’t already been addressed in multiple threads above.
I read the rest of your post. The platitude about “language evolving,” right? Good stuff. Also saw your concession that members of a group (like Jews) should be allowed to determine whether a particular term is offensive to them or not. The point you insist on missing is that “black” is also one of those terms, and that unlike you and one other Doper who has piped up thusfar, most people don’t appear to find it inherently offensive.
You strike me as a person with a desperate need to be right at all times. In this case, you have my sympathy.
Well, I’ll play devil’s advocate for a moment, and draw your attention to this gem. Mind, I’m only half serious in this post. ETA: Read the comments on that link though, sheesh! :eek: and :dubious: and :mad: and
No, just enough of an idiot to give you the benefit of the doubt, that you’re worth continuing to discuss this with, when all the other people who’ve said what I’m saying have long ago moved on to more productive things.
I could ask as to why Black Africans are so quiet? I used to work in an office that took in a lot of African students and most of them spoke more quietly than I do (and I get a lot of grief about being unheard :rolleyes: )
While I hate to interrupt the politically correct lovefest that has ensued telling us what we already know about how stereotypes are not entirely correct. It brings me to wonder what is so bad about asking about how boisterous black people are? bet if I went out on my street (I live in a black neighborhood) and posed the same question without painting it in a negative light people would probably have some interesting responses.
I think it is more acceptable to be boisterous in black culture, not to keep it bottled up inside, than it is in white culture. Far from being a negative, this had brought us, Jazz, the Blues, Hip Hop, Rock and Roll, Techno, Funk, Krumping, Tap, and a whole host of other aspects of our current culture that I happen to be rather appreciative of. Certainly I have met plenty of quiet black folk. I see them regularly, but proportionally I see more loud black groups than I see loud white groups. It just seems to be a cultural thing, a difference in the way people express themselves. It’s neither good nor bad, but I don’t think it’s such a sin to notice it.
I’m a white kid and I go to a mostly-white school. I now work in a mostly-white area.
But I take the bus home. And, at least in St. Louis, there are definitely more black people on the bus most of the time than white people.
And I used to work in a predominantly african-american part of town.
And I observed a lot of things. None of them are undeniable sociological facts, but there were certainly trends.
And my theory… which may be insulting to everybody… is that it’s a socioeconomic sort of thing and related to the way you perceive your place in the world. People who have, at some point, gotten the idea that they’re above someone else don’t tend to want to talk to just anybody.* For example, my sisters don’t know the names of the children who live across the alley. They don’t talk to them becuase they’re “hoosiers.” They tell me I’m brave because I take the bus.
The thing about the bus and being in low-economic areas is that, while there is a lot of crime, there’s a lot of cameraderie. People look out for each other. And I think that may have something to do with it. If I’m sitting on a bus in the ghetto with two other people from that area, chances are good that, by the time the bus comes, somebody will have made a joke and somebody will have exchanged or given something (cigarette, a pair of gloves, change for a dollar, twenty-five cents, a piece of candy…). They’re just very very friendly and don’t have a lot of sense of… reservedness. And the majority of time, it’s not a bad thing. It’s just big personalities that were never told to be small.
*this is not to say that people who don’t like talking to random people think they’re better than everyone. Just that it can be a reason.
You mean saying that “black” is unacceptable as a cultural identifier, in preference to “African-American”? I think “black” is less precise, but I’m not sure I’d deem it unacceptable. Or are you referring to the “tone of voice” part of my comment, because I’m not sure.
A lot of things shaped jazz and blues. African music is a big influence, but traditional Irish and Scottish folk music also played a big role (whitey sang the blues too - Scots Irish and Welsh people in rural America had a lot to be sad about,) gospel and religious music of both whites and blacks, and even classical (Charlie Parker, for instance, was a passionate fan of Stravinsky.) I wasn’t aware that Klezmer influenced it, but it wouldn’t surprise me since there are many elements in common.
I blamed both. Please read again. I said I I don’t know which made me cringe more. That’s quite different than saying “One made me cringe and the other did not.”
ETA: Read the comments on that link though, sheesh! :eek: and :dubious: and :mad: and 
