BAME - Let's stop using it

A sports pundit lost his job with sky because during a commentary he referred to a footballer as “ half caste”.
This was a polite term and one that I was brought up with.
It is now unacceptable.

I listened to an article on radio 4 some months ago where a gentleman of mixed race said he felt that was a derogatory term, he suggested combined heritage.
So it goes on.
It’s getting to the stage where I really no longer know what may offend.
My SIL is mixed race, he doesn’t really care.
Our granddaughter says that her daddy is brown, she’s the only one in her little school with a brown daddy and she is so proud.

Chewbacca

^I have an accent you probably couldn't place. If that led you to asking me where I was from the^ very least you'd get is a telling off.

And you'd get one right back for being a rude and unfriendly old baggage!

Then I'd tell you its none of your business, you nosy old.....

Let's not have a fight on Gransnet

eazybee

It would be considerably easier if some people weren't so quick to take offence, usually on other people's behalf, when no offence is intended.

I guess that'll be me then? Or am I just taking offence too quick?

I'll stand up for people who aren't here and I'll point out when people are being thoughtless, yes, that's going to keep on happening. I guess you'll just have to live with it.

Anyway, BAME....

I have an accent you probably couldn't place. If that led you to asking me where I was from the very least you'd get is a telling off.

And you'd get one right back for being a rude and unfriendly old baggage!

eazybee

It would be considerably easier if some people weren't so quick to take offence, usually on other people's behalf, when no offence is intended.

Oh but offence is often intended

Chewbacca

^Would you have asked her if she "looked" white?^

I might have done if she'd had an accent that I couldn't quite place and circumstances and situation allowed.

I have an accent you probably couldn't place. If that led you to asking me where I was from the very least you'd get is a telling off.

EllanVannin

Why single people out, we're all the same aren't we ? Regardless.

Oh come on, really? Do you mean on the mortuary table?

It would be considerably easier if some people weren't so quick to take offence, usually on other people's behalf, when no offence is intended.

If I was cooking with a friend, and they said "This is how my grandmother used to make it back home", I'd ask "Where was she from, your grandmother?" I wouldn't think, or say, "What's your ethnic origin then?"

And actually no, I'm not interested in how my friends lived as children or what their backstories are unless they want to tell me. It's none of my business. I'm interested in who they are now.

PamelaJ1

grandmajet so difficult isn’t it. I was having a conversation with a gentleman as he was tidying his garden and I was having a walk. I found myself asking where he came from. He was white British and originated from Leicester .

It occurred to me later on that day that if he had been ‘other’ that could have been a racist question? I’ve put other because I don’t know now what word to use. I can’t keep up??‍♀️

It’s about sensitivities isn’t it and being aware of them. There are many ways to ask where people are from ( if you really need to know ?) without the format ‘where are you from’ which can be misinterpreted. People from ethnic minorities do experience abuse which tells them to ‘go back where you came from’. So it’s not a neutral question to ask with some people.

Would you have asked her if she "looked" white?

I might have done if she'd had an accent that I couldn't quite place and circumstances and situation allowed.

We’re not really all the same, that’s what makes us so fascinating. Our experiences and that of our parents and grandparents shapes us in so many ways. I agree our basic humanity gives us the same basic needs and fears, but our cultural background adds many layers to that. It’s nothing to be ashamed of or touchy about , it just is what makes us all unique.

Other? Other?
It would only have been racist PamelaJ1 if you'd gone on to say "Yes, but where are you really from?"
It's not that hard, honestly.

Why single people out, we're all the same aren't we ? Regardless.

She was referring to food cooked in the traditional way of her grandparents ‘back home’ so referred to it first. Aren’t you interested in people’s back stories? Their lives as children and how different the world was then, both in the UK and elsewhere? It is all relevant to understanding each other.

Unnecessary and inflammatory awareness !

I’ve always found BAME clumsy and well sort of really impolite as it turns real human beings into an acronym. I hope we go back to using ethnic minorities.

Alegrias it matters because people get upset.

grandmajet so difficult isn’t it. I was having a conversation with a gentleman as he was tidying his garden and I was having a walk. I found myself asking where he came from. He was white British and originated from Leicester .

It occurred to me later on that day that if he had been ‘other’ that could have been a racist question? I’ve put other because I don’t know now what word to use. I can’t keep up??‍♀️

Grandmajet - why did it matter? Would you have asked her if she "looked" white?

Is it acceptable to ask people their ethnic origin? I tried once and was told sharply, ‘I’m British’. I knew that, and meant no offence, I genuinely wanted to know about her family history.
What is a polite way to ask?

It homogenises umpteen different ethnicities and in some ways is quite insulting, I've seen that opinion stated by people of black African, Caribbean and Indian heritage. I agree it does clump so many diverse people together under one not very pleasant acronym.

I’ve always disliked it. Lumping different people into one mass because they are so called minority groups does no one any favours. I would like to see all people given equal opportunity and treated with respect. Bame has become a label that detracts from the individual.

We are now to say ‘ethnic minorities’.
I can’t keep up these days with what’s acceptable.

Not just a label, a label that becomes an acronym. Then we have to remember all the actual meanings. It’s not useful at all, particularly BAME which does just clump together people of very diverse backgrounds into one group.