AIBU To wonder why and on what basis we attribute colour

My neice and nephew are of British and Pakistani origin.

(Their father was something of a disaster area , but that was another matter. )
I was just talking to my (now 50yr old nephew) on the phone about this yesterday.

Because if the legacy of slavery most black people in the US and in the U.K. from the Caribbean will have some white ancestry.

I agree and its an absolute minefield knowing what is and what int acceotible these days. I was told quite clearly by a west indian friend that it is correct to refer to people like her as black and definitely NOT coloured (though not so long ago that was the politer thing to say.) But now I often hear the phrase 'people of colour' - how is that different from coloured? Also its difficult if you don't know where people are from to know whether to say W Indian, African, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, Sri Lankan etc. Easier to say black or Asian but none of us (I presume) wants to be offensive! Anyway many of them are British and born in Britain so to say where are you from is also inappropriate!
I also had a black colleague who thought it was ridiculous to avoid the word black when it was simply descriptive as in Baa baa black sheep, black board, black coffee -in fact he always asked for black coffee! If the term is derogatory as in black sheep of the family, little black book, black mark, that's a little different.
I also never uderstood why Obama was always referred to as black!!

pollyperkins is absolutely correct in saying it's a complete minefield these days about what we are and are not 'allowed' to say.

How about this new horrible new term used to describe us (ie white) as gammon, presumably because it resembles our skin colour?

Can you imagine the outcry if we described, say blacks as a black food. I'm struggling to think of any actually except black pudding, but the point is the same.

Of course it's all wrong, but it does seem to me that accusations of 'racism' do seem to be very one sided.

jenniferEccles
Black truffles

I think gammon applies to elderly men who rant about Brexit or other issues and go red on the face. But still offensive.

petra MUCH more classy than my suggestion - thank you!

Yes it sometimes does seem one sided. For example towards the end of my teaching career we were told not to say blackboard (had to say chalk board) yet apparently whiteboard is ok!

It's all madness isn't it?

Does anyone remember a while back, a furore over Jeremy Clarkson describing a sloping bridge?

Someone, somewhere claimed that years ago 'slope' was an insulting term to describe Asians. Despite the fact that practically no-one had ever heard the word used in that way (except of course the outraged person!) there was the inevitable outcry.

Of course Clarkson is not the most politically correct person, but it's still utterly ridiculous.

No it’s not all madness at all - anyone with the faintest idea about the way in which all sorts of ‘non white’ people have been treated over the centuries by ‘white’ people - bought, sold, excluded, segregated, discriminated against, otheed and treated as sub- human or lesser knows that.

My beautiful DGD is of 'dual heritage', could 'pass' for white but defines herself as black, despite being 75% white. She is as English as they come. Her partner is white, so if they have babies, they will be what was once called 'octoroons'!

Hasn't the message about how white people behaved in the past been hammered home enough already maryeliza54?

I'm sorry but you remind me of those university students who rant and rave and demand that statues of white prominent figures from the past be removed because they don't happen to fit in with current thinking.

I repeat - madness.

Well wd all knos how appallingly people of non white races were treated in the past bug surely its time we moved on!

Sorry about typos. Sent it quickly without checking.
We all know
But not bug!

Jennifer it’s so clear when some posts have no rational point to make - they use personal insults. Rant and rave, university students - oh please. So you and polly think that racism is consigned to history. Really? Really?

And even if racism had disappeared ( which it hasn’t) the legacy it has left would still influence how blacks people feel about their history.

pollyperkins I in no way condone slavery but those who rant about it should study the history of slavery, when and where it began, who sold what to whom, who ended (some of it) and then look at how the serfs and indenturedworkers of the U.K. we're treated both here in the UK and those who were forcibly transported to the colonies, however that may be another topic for another thread.

I did not say that at all maryeliza! Just that I cant see that it is helpful to keep referring to slavery etc all the time. Of course its important that we dont forget but continually referring to it does not help us all to get on togetger any better IMO.
I prefer to treat people as people without always thinking of their racial history although we have to be sensitive of course.
I cant see how saying chalkboard instead of blackboard for example helps anyone and tends to build up annoyancd and even antagonism.

yes,slope was a term used for asians/vietnamese and chinese.
i think it developed during the vietnam wars.whether from the french or other countries involved over the 30 years ,i do not know but have always found it distasteful.
haven;t heard it in about 20 yrs tho.
my many mixed races family call themselves mutts.

I’m not trying to belittle the topic, but a blackboard is black,what is achieved by not calling it black. It seems an extremely perverse way of tackling racism.

My point exactly. However using words which in the pat have been terms of abuse like the n word are obviously completely unacceptable.

Absolutely PP, it helps no one if commonsense decends into Political correctness gone mad.

I am not sure that the blackboard story is true. The no black in Baa baa Black sheep is not true, an urban myth.

anyone with the faintest idea about the way in which all sorts of ‘non white’ people have been treated over the centuries by ‘white’ people - bought, sold, excluded, segregated, discriminated against
and white people are not the only guilty ones as Arabs were well-known slave traders.
If we are talking about over the centuries then we must not forget that white people were enslaved too, taken from Ireland, Devon, Cornwall or captured at sea and taken to North Africa.

I beg to differ Gillt. I was told tbis at staff training - don't say blackboard it is offensive. I was also told not to use the term brain stormig as it is apparently offensive to people with epilepsy. I couldnt bring myself to say board blasting instead though!
Also DD went to a playgroup where tge children were singing baa baa white sheep. I think there has been so much derision that no-one does this anymore. And anyway blackboards are a thing of the past.