I figure if a group wants to be called a certain thing, I’m willing to make that change once in my life.
So, in the ‘70s it was a big request by the Black community: They wanted to be called “Black”.
Okay. I can do that.
Now they want to be called “African American?” I refuse. Indeed, I suspect they want the change because their collective behavior has been so bad they left a stink on “Black.”
Kinda like “Liberal” and now “Progressive”. I’m waiting for their next branding exercise since 0bama has put such a stink on “Progressive.”
“Indeed, I suspect they want the change because their collective behavior has been so bad they left a stink on “Black.””
Spot on! It’s the same reason liberals keep inventing new terms for everything under the sun, “gay”, “differently abled”, “reproductive freedom”, etc. They think that with a new phrase, people will forget all the past associations, but I don’t think such linguistic manipulations gain them anything in the long run. If they did, they wouldn’t have to keep inventing new terms every decade or so.
A while back while looking for something else, I came across a piece written by H.L. Mencken in 1944 called “Designations for Colored Folk.” I was amazed to find out that this had been a hot topic since the late 1800’s, and that nearly all the designations we are familiar with since the 1960’s had already been recommended or tried out in the 80 years before Mencken wrote this.