To refer to a black man as a black man

[ShakeRattleNRoll]

The other day i was talking about this black man who lives down the road to a neighbour and she said it was politically incorrect of me to say 'you know that black man who lives there' after I had said it.I thought well i never.What's wrong with calling him a black man when he is a black man? How should have I described him? TYIA

LadyGaga, I wondered that too and thought she was muddying the waters but then she went on to say he was a very big guy who was a biker so I gave her the benefit of the doubt and assumed it was a tight leather trouser sort of comment.

Sorry, that should obviously by lazyGaga. Auto correct seem to be on the nose with popular culture.

I don't think it's wrong, my African friend referrs to say 'the white woman next to me' 'or she's a white woman'. It works the ther way

I say "he's the central asian looking boy" when asked which child is mine at rugby...

the thought of trying to describe him in any other way amongst 30 7 yr olds all wearing the same kit when he is the only central asian kid there makes my head ache.

Mind you I did get offended when a complete stranger said to my then 2 year old "hello chinky"

Its all about the context, isn;t it?

Mind you I'm wasting my time because nobody knows what "central asian" looks like and I refuse to describe him as oriental or chinese.

I think the problem here is that Amber is referring to racism in general and Gangsters is talking specifically about this thread

I haven't seen anywhere that either Gangsters or anyone else has been racist on this threat therefore when she is talking about 'chip on the shoulder' it is with reference to her assumption that Amber is being offended by the OP's use of the term black to describe her neighbour

Gangsters was talking about this thread, but her comments about chips on shoulders and looking for offense sound more general and indicate a general mindset about such things.

I also made clear my opinion on what the OP said and acknowledged that she conceded that she could have used different terminology.

Gangsters went on to make her points that sounded general after I had said this.

If it is wrong to say "black man" because it's deemed offensive, then that implys that the word "black" and everything it describes is something not nice. I really don't understand why the word causes such hysteria. The PC brigade have to take the blame for their constant meddling with the English language. Lets face it if you look hard enough you could find offence in so many ordinary words. If I was black I would find it offensive that the use of the word "black" in everyday language is considered a dirty word.

This has nothing to do with the use of the word black and everything to do with whether it has any relevance. One of dp's colleagues was describing a little boy running around the park and referred to him as 'a little black kiddy' it had no bearing on the story at all yet he just couldn't see that it was wrong

Moanalot. It is about context.

Been thinking about this some more and actually I think 'black' in this context is fine. I would hate it to become unacceptable to use a perfectly clear imo inoffensive word to describe somebody when it's fine to use white in a similar context. As somebody said it implies there is something wrong, unspeakable about being black. Also I think the use of it normalises it, in the same way as describing somebodies hair colour, maybe the more it's used in situations like this the more normal it will become?

I'm mixed race (and grew up in a very, very racist country where being black or mixed race meant your house was burned down, you'd get told that their ancestors had owned your ancestors and blah de blah) and don't mind being called 'the dark girl' (I do mind being called the 'black girl' because I'm mixed race, not black!). If this is my outstanding feature, say it. If there is no reason to give an outstanding feature (yesterday, and Asian guy got on the bus and said...) then it's racist as it assumes giving their ethnicity or race tells you more about them- that you need it.

I have been called 'that woman'- being a woman was my outstanding feature. When I was a teen, 'the one with the dyed hair'- having dyed hair was an outstanding feature as I wasn't the only girl there, but was the only one with dyed hair. Being called 'the mixed raced one' isn't that out of the ordinary (which isn't true anymore, as now I live in London, now I think about it) because it was the outstanding feature at the time.

I'd prefer people to see my race as a part of me than to avoid it. Imo, seeing race as a 'dirty' thing not to be mentioned makes the issue worse.

Technically white is absence of colour.

Thinking about it some more, I live in Devon (very white) The Black Farmer farms in Devon, he uses his race to distinguish him and (very successfully it seems) as a marketing tool.

seeing race as a 'dirty' thing not to be mentioned makes the issue worse

I certainly don't see race as a 'dirty' unmentionable thing.

That doesn't form any part of my argument.

H has always been happy to be referred to as "the black man" if necessary. Same as we are happy for DD to be referred to as the little black girl (the only one on our street and one of three in the village) even though she is mixed race.

He would fine "person of colour" ridiculous, says it is an American affectation because there is a bigger political issue with colour than over here.

So, he is an actual black farmer?

I met an interesting young man recently. He is from Nepal. He has a masters in Sustainable farming in the developing world. He did his work experience in Africa. He could not find work in his field, so got on the digital marketing bandwagon instead.

Sorry, just a small piece of trivia there

I'm currently trying to get my Dad to stop doing this. If he mentions anyone who's not white! he has to mention their skin colour/race/ethnicity. He gets all offended when I ask why it was relevant that the couple in the chip shop who told him that the Co Op is closing down are Chinese. He just can't get it. He mutters about the PC Brigade too

yes

I find it interesting that the people who shout loudest about things being offensive etc are people who are not those who are going to be offended!

H, his family and black friends dont give a toss about such things (N word aside) but find it rather amusing to watch PC white people tie themselves in knots in order to avoid an imagined slight!

He was once told on MN that he was being racist by referring to himself as half caste (he is mixed race but his colour is full black due to his heritage), before he revealed his heritage and was then told it was still offensive to the white woman who replied!

Lovely sausages BTW

H, his family and black friends dont give a toss about such things (N word aside) but find it rather amusing to watch PC white people tie themselves in knots in order to avoid an imagined slight!

Mine too!

BogeyFace he may not find the term half caste offensive but many do! And yes its great to have a thick skin and not be offended by erms coming from the slave era etc. But it doesn't mean someone is wrong to be offended by such outdated terms

"the guy who lives at number 22, the one who is a fireman, the one who drives a porsche. I am sure there was some other way to let her know who you were talking about"

I think we pussy foot around too much these days. If I was the only white person living somewhere I wouldn't be offended if I was described as that white woman who lives at the top of the hill.

Most people don't know which house is which number, or what the inhabitants do for a living. MIL hasn't a clue about cars, so the most obvious thing is to describe what someone looks like. I wouldn't care if someone described me as that ugly, tall, skinny woman with glasses. At least the other person would know who I am.