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> If you're black, I think you wouldn't give a damn You're not, and neither am I - it's not your right to say one way or the other, but it is my right to be pr
by ricksplat 11y ago
> If you're black, I think you wouldn't give a damn
You're not, and neither am I - it's not your right to say one way or the other, but it is my right to be prudent. But this isn't just a racial issue - it's one of generally accepted social mores. Language changes and evolves. Nothing is lost in the transition to more eloquent terms.
It's like when visiting Southern Africa a few years ago - whenever I asked for black coffee I was prompted "you mean coffee with hot water?" on a few occasions before I realised it's a politeness thing. As oversensitive as that might sound to my privileged ears it wasn't my place to argue - so from then on it was "coffee without milk please!" - as with leader/follower nothing was lost in the translation but I found myself getting fewer funny looks.
- Cyph0n 11y agoI agree, it's not my place to represent black people. Regarding your anecdote from SA, I find that a bit extreme to be frank. It's likely because the apartheid is still fresh on peoples' minds. However, I don't see how it connects with the master/slave example.
- ricksplat 11y agoIt connects, because selecting one set of terminology over the other makes little difference to you, but it might matter to somebody else - even if for reasons you're wholly unable to appreciate.