"Latino/Latina/Latinx" are bastardizations of "Latin" which used to be the standard adjective for those speaking Latin-derived languages. At some point it was trendy to add -o and -a in imitation of Spanish, although English is shedding all its vestigial gender markers for excellent reasons (even "actress" is often now just "actor"; we cring to remember when Amelia Earhart was described as an "aviatrix"), so now that it is noticed that the gender markers are awkward some fool decided to stick an "x" on there which has no meaning or standard pronunciation in either Spanish or English and ought to be omitted.
The question wasn't whether there *is* a White identity - in fact, if you read back, you'd see I reference one (which I want nothing to do with). To be clear, there is a group who claims 'White' identity, based solely on supremacist views, but there's no underlying cultural identity there.However, the original question wasn't whether or not a 'white' identity exists, but whether it should. And regardless of the answer, the ability of those in positions of power to oppress don't arise from any co-operation - instead it's implicit in being in a position of holding power over others.
Colored is just old fashioned U.S. for Black. Kind of a refined word, in the minds of the old fashioned people who used it. Like my grandmother. Really, all the people I ever knew used it till the 60's, and from then on it was "black."
Ah, the Times. Remember how they wouldn't use Ms. until Geraldine Ferraro ran for Vice President and they couldn't say Mrs. Ferraro because that wasn't her husband's last name and they couldn't use Miss because she was married? That was lightning speed compared to how long this took.
The reasons its more a white thing? Well one is social determinants of health- its not offered/available as much. Over 65 its part of Medicare but if you're not insured....another deeper reason has to do with the history of especially Black folk and Healthcare- look up the Tuskegee Syphilis Study if you're not familiar with it. People are afraid of hospice in general and Black folks often see it as just another way to deny health care/kill off Black people. Language barriers, cultural barriers...if you have never read "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" its a great examination of intersection of culture and Healthcare. Language barriers etc.
Quick and dirty broad brush introduction to the issues- hospice is about a lot more than straight medicine and is very intimate and multifaceted. We just haven't done a great job in meeting the needs of POC
This brings to mind a discussion our Intercultural Communication class had in grad school. One student was Jamaican & one was Haitian, & they both said they preferred to be called Black, because African-American didn't describe them. I agree completely that equality & language matter!
As a total outsider I am a bit weary of the inevitable gatekeeping. There's a whole industry of dark-skinned conservative shills who make a living denying any such thing as a Black Community exists. Do they get a capital B or not? They wouldn't thank you for it.
I met two young women at a science fiction convention who were blue and green, respectively. Each wore bodysuits with all exposed skin the same shade as their bodysuit. They explained that they were going to the Masquerade as characters from The Wizard of Oz.
Is that the standard grammar rule now? Not being facetious, it's an actual grammar question.
Until now I've never capitalized black or white. I've only capitalized when referencing a named place or group like African, Asian, Italian, Democrat, Muslim, etc. I suppose I would capitalize it in a phrase like "the Blacks", but using "black" as a noun always seemed racist to me.
Just out of college (mid 70's), a friend got a job with a local insurance agency as a salesman. They specialized in life insurance for low income Black families. Their pitch was the high cost of a funeral would force them to donate their loved one's remains to medical schools for teaching purposes. He sold a lot of crappy policies to a lot of people who couldn't afford them with that scare tactic.
Don't know whatever happened to him. He was fun to party with in college.
We compliment them on their originality and move on. I think a lot of these comebacks are nothing more than realtime trolling. If we don't engage, it takes the wind out of their sails.
I think Latino is the most clarifying comparison. Both are groups made up of a mix of cultures, but they also have a lot of shared culture. Latino has been capitalized for a long time and it is only fair to add Black to that list, if for nothing else but consistency.
Also, grammar rules, like spelling rules and definitions, are descriptive, not prescriptive. So if enough people capitalize Black, then it becomes the new rule even if the text books still need to catch up.
"Latino/Latina/Latinx" are bastardizations of "Latin" which used to be the standard adjective for those speaking Latin-derived languages. At some point it was trendy to add -o and -a in imitation of Spanish, although English is shedding all its vestigial gender markers for excellent reasons (even "actress" is often now just "actor"; we cring to remember when Amelia Earhart was described as an "aviatrix"), so now that it is noticed that the gender markers are awkward some fool decided to stick an "x" on there which has no meaning or standard pronunciation in either Spanish or English and ought to be omitted.
An NYT article about Meat Loaf described him on second reference as Mr. Loaf
The question wasn't whether there *is* a White identity - in fact, if you read back, you'd see I reference one (which I want nothing to do with). To be clear, there is a group who claims 'White' identity, based solely on supremacist views, but there's no underlying cultural identity there.However, the original question wasn't whether or not a 'white' identity exists, but whether it should. And regardless of the answer, the ability of those in positions of power to oppress don't arise from any co-operation - instead it's implicit in being in a position of holding power over others.
Colored is just old fashioned U.S. for Black. Kind of a refined word, in the minds of the old fashioned people who used it. Like my grandmother. Really, all the people I ever knew used it till the 60's, and from then on it was "black."
I use the term "melanin content." It shows how meaningless and ridiculous the difference of skin color is.
Ah, the Times. Remember how they wouldn't use Ms. until Geraldine Ferraro ran for Vice President and they couldn't say Mrs. Ferraro because that wasn't her husband's last name and they couldn't use Miss because she was married? That was lightning speed compared to how long this took.
The reasons its more a white thing? Well one is social determinants of health- its not offered/available as much. Over 65 its part of Medicare but if you're not insured....another deeper reason has to do with the history of especially Black folk and Healthcare- look up the Tuskegee Syphilis Study if you're not familiar with it. People are afraid of hospice in general and Black folks often see it as just another way to deny health care/kill off Black people. Language barriers, cultural barriers...if you have never read "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" its a great examination of intersection of culture and Healthcare. Language barriers etc.
Quick and dirty broad brush introduction to the issues- hospice is about a lot more than straight medicine and is very intimate and multifaceted. We just haven't done a great job in meeting the needs of POC
This brings to mind a discussion our Intercultural Communication class had in grad school. One student was Jamaican & one was Haitian, & they both said they preferred to be called Black, because African-American didn't describe them. I agree completely that equality & language matter!
As a total outsider I am a bit weary of the inevitable gatekeeping. There's a whole industry of dark-skinned conservative shills who make a living denying any such thing as a Black Community exists. Do they get a capital B or not? They wouldn't thank you for it.
I met two young women at a science fiction convention who were blue and green, respectively. Each wore bodysuits with all exposed skin the same shade as their bodysuit. They explained that they were going to the Masquerade as characters from The Wizard of Oz.
They were the Whores of a Different Color.
What's the old saying? Give a white a capital, and he'll put up a Confederate monument.
Is that the standard grammar rule now? Not being facetious, it's an actual grammar question.
Until now I've never capitalized black or white. I've only capitalized when referencing a named place or group like African, Asian, Italian, Democrat, Muslim, etc. I suppose I would capitalize it in a phrase like "the Blacks", but using "black" as a noun always seemed racist to me.
Just out of college (mid 70's), a friend got a job with a local insurance agency as a salesman. They specialized in life insurance for low income Black families. Their pitch was the high cost of a funeral would force them to donate their loved one's remains to medical schools for teaching purposes. He sold a lot of crappy policies to a lot of people who couldn't afford them with that scare tactic.
Don't know whatever happened to him. He was fun to party with in college.
I always found it kind of clunky. Ask white people where they're from, they say, "I'm Irish," or "I'm Italian."
The only time you see Irish American or Italian American is in some official pronouncement by a benevolent society.
We compliment them on their originality and move on. I think a lot of these comebacks are nothing more than realtime trolling. If we don't engage, it takes the wind out of their sails.
I think Latino is the most clarifying comparison. Both are groups made up of a mix of cultures, but they also have a lot of shared culture. Latino has been capitalized for a long time and it is only fair to add Black to that list, if for nothing else but consistency.
Also, grammar rules, like spelling rules and definitions, are descriptive, not prescriptive. So if enough people capitalize Black, then it becomes the new rule even if the text books still need to catch up.