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I'm not sure about your example - "black" and "African American" are still perfectly acceptable terms, or did I miss something? Regardless, it may be the case
by dTal 5y ago
I'm not sure about your example - "black" and "African American" are still perfectly acceptable terms, or did I miss something?
Regardless, it may be the case that a permanent state of euphemism treadmilling does solve a problem - a social signal, perhaps, to distinguish those who embrace social change and those who resist it. It's pretty effective at that too.
- matt-attack 5y agoIt's considered incredibly insensitive to refer to black people as "African American" as it makes a presumption about their nationality. See countless examples, of Americans thinking they're being polite and addressing, say, an Ethiopian woman, living in London as "African American".
- dTal 5y agoConsidered by whom? I happen to agree, it's a very silly term. However it's still in widespread use, and if it's losing ground at all it's to "Black" and "Black American", which is reverse to the direction you originally indicated.