To not know if describing a person as coloured is politically incorrect.

[WhenSheWasBadSheWasHorrid]

Was talking to a friend today and I mentioned I had met one of his colleagues (but I wasn't sure who). He said. Oh was she a coloured lady?

I said yes and we each knew who it was I had met. I was a bit taken aback as you don't really hear the word coloured used anymore. But it was probably the best way to describe her (kind of Mediterranean / Indian).

Was I being too politically correct for being at the way he described her?

Curious reaction to an honest reply however...

i'm not clear on what 'irony not ignorance' means, could you explain, pendeen?

The irony is completely bypassing me Pendeen, it came across as rude to me

Black kids in the US don't, as a group, go around referring to themselves as 'niggas' - some people do, specifically I believe in certain kinds of music (m'lud ) - it doesn't mean that it is, or ever will be, ok to use the word nigger to refer to a black person.

And all this Orwell stuff is a bit fatuous. Newspeak was designed (it's fictional, btw) to eliminate shades of meaning, complexity, thought, ambiguity .... it was to stop human emotion and thought from ever reaching articulation.

Distaste for stupid offensive words like 'coloured', by contrast, is based around the (I would think) fairly laudable desire not to call people things which you know are offensive, incorrect, or racist.

Do you see?

It's difficult to say what's ok without knowing the situation that necessitates the descriptor.

'Asian' is ok but I would say a person 'looks Asian' if I didn't know their origins. That's assuming I needed to describe a person that way. I would tend to say 'the man at the end of the bar' or 'the man that runs the IT department.' I rarely find I would need to use racial descriptors, but that may be because I live in a very diverse area so a racial descriptor wouldn't particularly differentiate a person easily.

I would never say half caste, coloured, nigger, chinky, Paki etc.

SS: " Can we have a definitive list of correct terms to use, please? "

P: " I can compile one if you like "

SS: " I didn't mean it like that Pendeen, I meant it genuinely, I'm sorry if you can't see that. "

In response I merely indicated that my original comment was ironic rather than in ignorance of your (admitted) genuine confusion over definitions.

As others have pointed out, your desire for a standard list of offensive terms is not going to be realised hence my (ironic) offer to compile one for you and hence the Orwell reference (ironic).

I think the problem is for a lot of people there is nothing inherently offensive in the term so they don't instinctively know to avoid it - it is just the history and context which make it offensive so people have to learn to avoid it. i find it difficult with the terms for people with disabilities to always remember which of having a disability or having a handicap is wrong as linguistically they seem similar to me so I would try and avoid the situation where I had to use generalisations

I've had an irony bypass then, and I apologise for getting narked.

And I am gutted that I missed an opportunity to say 'Did you mean to be so rude'. :(

Using the term PC? Check. You're a moron

Have to laugh, really. Not only is one not allowed to question PC words and assumptions, one is not even allowed to use the word!

Btw, in (yet) another PC list, the term "moron" is deeply offensive to the disablist community.

Just thought you'd like to know.... you can add it to your list.

Pendeed I was really thinking of whatme's references to Orwell being proud etc....

Ime folk who say coloured also say half caste, and handicapped and mongol.

'The disablist community'?

i find it difficult with the terms for people with disabilities to always remember which of having a disability or having a handicap is wrong

Me too, so I'm careful and ask or research. Sometimes I've got it wrong, so I've apologised; as I don't have malign intent the apology has been accepted, its not the end of the world and life goes on.

'The disablist community'?

Sorry, meant Disabled.

You see - you can do irony.

If you really try.

You can use the word, as I said twice already (do try to keep up), but people will think you a tool.

Do you mean "disabled community" rather than disabilist, dear? Either way, you do know that "the disabled" isn't a single homogenous entity with the same opinion on all things?

Ruddynorah - i often come across the situation where you have to describe the appearance of someone including their ethnicity - generally where you don't know the person's role - eg if you met someone at a meeting you might want to know their role/name - so you would say " who was the bloke at the end of the table?" and if asked for more- give a description. Asian is problematic as in some countries they would assume Asian meant south east asian while here we would assume indian sub-continent

i am so not getting your tone, pendeen...

yes tom that happened to me in australia, my friend had told me to meet her in the uni refectory 'where all the asian students hang out' and i wandered round for aaaaaaaaages looking for indians and pakistanis.

Do you mean "disabled community" rather than disabilist, dear? Either way, you do know that "the disabled" isn't a single homogenous entity with the same opinion on all things?

Replace "disabled" with "blacks" and you are sounding exactly like the people you accuse of racism, dear :o

I think I know what you lot don't like lists, it allows you wriggle room when hoist on your petards.

mingofmongo we might start the list with your user name - not very pleasant.

Ime folk who say coloured also say half caste, and handicapped and mongol

Whereas people who wouldn't say coloured say Moron....

You dont like Flash Gordon?

Replace "disabled" with "blacks" and you are sounding exactly like the people you accuse of racism, dear

Say what now? It is racist to say that black people (not 'blacks' btw) are not a single homogenous entity with the same opinion on all things? Is that actually what you're trying to argue?

Somebody who has trouble differentiating between 'disabled' and 'disablist' is obviously going to struggle with the complexities of 'coloured' vs 'black', I suppose.