Posted on 11/06/2014 2:59:25 PM PST by DogByte6RER
‘Negro’ is an acceptable term for black soldiers, U.S. Army says
• Color it a confusing command update. One military official says using the word to describe ‘a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa’ might be for people who prefer to refer to themselves this way. But another calls it ‘the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.
What year is it again?
Army regulations still allow for black soldiers to be labeled Negro — a term that faded in the late 1960s.
The archaic policy was spelled out as recently as Oct. 22, when the Army issued an update to some of its command procedures. But the review failed to strike the term from its books.
Negro is an acceptable classification for “a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa,” according to section 6-2 of the Army’s AR 600–20 regulations.
The same clause — part of the Army’s equal opportunity policy — also gives the OK to use “Haitian” in addition to the more common black or African-American.
The Army said it didn’t know how long the paragraph had been in its directives. It could stretch back decades.
A spokesman said Wednesday that a change was already in the works.
“The racial definitions in AR600-20 . . . are outdated, currently under review, and will be updated shortly,” Lt. Col. Alayne Conway said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
Is “mulatto” an acceptable term for the Commander-in-Chief, then?
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2013/0525/Fired-for-word-Negro-in-Spanish-class
Negro is the Spanish word for the color black. This bronx bilingual teacher got fired for using the word in the context of colors while speaking Spanish, and it was not used to describe any persons of color. By the way, the teacher is black. Negro is not a bad word, it describes a color.
When the term "African American" came into vogue in the late 1960s, a black soldier friend of mine would take umbrage at the term and demand, "Don't call me an African. My ancestors were in this country long before yours left Ireland. You can call me a black American, but don't call me an African."
Should I be upset by being called "Eggshell" rather than "White"? (some days I could legitimately be called "off-white" as in "that white boy is a little 'off'! ")
You can call me Ray, you can call me Jay...just don't call me late for dinner!
“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.
Non-Hispanic whites are often referred to as Anglos, a term that many of them almost certainly resent.
I read an old piece today by Roger Ebert, reviewing “Night of the Living Dead” when it first came out in the 60s, and it was strange to see him use the word “negro” so often in reference to the protagonist of the film. The really odd part was that Ebert didn’t just mention that the lead actor was a negro, he continued to refer to him throughout the article as “the negro”, as if that was his defining characteristic (he referred to other characters by such characteristics as “the teenagers”, “the mother”, “the father”). Now, at the end of the piece, he does refer to him as the “hero”, but it made me wonder, why he couldn’t refer to him by that name throughout the article?
You could justify by the standards of the day using the word to mention the significant fact that the main character was a black man, but to make that his defining characteristic really seemed to me to show Ebert as a bit of a racist, at least back then. Here’s the article, check it out:
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-night-of-the-living-dead-1968
Pretty typical of an era. Ebert may have been a little behind the times, but not by much. He did go on to marry an African-American woman, though.
I’s guess the reason someone thought negro was an acceptable term is that it means black.
Wow that’s crazy.
But I am an Anglo-Saxon. many Americans from the formation of this nation were.
I once publically humiliated a blowhard liberal spouting off how negro was word invented by English slave traders. It was in the middle of our design studio. I pulled a box with an India Ink bottle inside. Slowly rotated so each side became visible to all. Labels were; black, noir schwarz, and negro. Man never forgave me. It’s a good thing.
Me too. When I was a kid “negro” was considered to be the most polite word to describe black people. The word “colored” was OK to use and was the most common term. I was taught that calling them “black” was offensive. The “n” word was always considered to be extremely offensive where I grew up. Now that I am getting old and confused I am ready to start calling them “negroes” again.
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.
About 1970, a black woman who was friends with my mom was talking about the terms you listed and they were up to African-American by then, I think. She said, "I wish they would figure out what we're supposed to call ourselves, I get tired of changing all the time."
“Soy negro. No disparo.” —The Alamo (2004)
However, the Post reported that Smith, a black woman from the West Indies, said she only used the word in reference to the color black. She then reportedly explained to her students that it is not a derogatory term and that the Spanish word for a black person is “moreno.”"
“Black” isn’t a race, “negro” is. “African-American” fails to account for negros who are not American, and for white/asian Africans.
“Colored” is an apt descriptor, but somehow racist.
Of course, many AAs are more white than black, so negro isn’t very correct.
“Negro — a term that faded in the late 1960s.”
Not to worry, it’ll be in vogue again.
Some don’t want to be called “negro”, preferring “black.” Others don’t like “black” and insist on “African American.” Still others can’t abide “African American” and demand to be described as a “person of color.”
And, of course, in intra-group settings, the nom de choice might be “_igge_.”
It’s a very fluid situation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.