To have called this lad "black"...

[ExitStageLeft]

Genuinely unsure about this and need the bluntness of AIBU.

I work at a college, was working with a group of young men and one wandered off. I poked my head back into the office and asked if anyone had seen the missing student. My colleague asked what he looked like and I said:

"He's wearing a denim jacket, got dark rimmed glasses on â?? black lad."

My colleague was shocked I used his colour to describe him.

Totally prepared to be told AIBU...not in the least bit racist and will be quite embarrassed if I've got it to wrong....

GO!

Maybe he thought would wouldn't have added "white lad" if that had been the case? In which case maybe black could be misinterpreted as being different from your "norm".

I'm right in the middle of these questions right now as I'm trying to teach French kids how to describe someone physically in English and wondering how to cover skin colour.

Were you in that Little Britain sketch?

No I can't see the issue

I use the term black to describe people all the time, nothing wrong with it.

Oh blimey, I can see this thread descending into chaos now.

Thanks for all your input, general consensus of opinion was its fine, thank you!

I know he wasn't using the word spaz.

But saying it would be like saying that, just because you've described someone as black, is utterly beyond belief.

Spaz is a vile insult

Black is a word used to describe someone's skin colour - the same as white is.

Charis wtf - black is perfectly fine. It's an officially recognised term used to describe someone's ethnicity. A person of colour is used extensively in the states but not in the UK.

You might not say white if you were trying to identify someone in a group of mostly white people. There are a few black people in my team at work, someone was asking who X is, I said she's tall, has an accent and she's black. There are no other tall, accented black women in my team but obviously plenty of tall women and quite a few with accents. Adding the fact that she is black made it easy to identify her. I wouldn't say 'she's short, has an accent and is white' because that doesn't narrow it down enough. I'd pick some other identifier.

Go where?

No Worral, he wasn't using the word Spaz...he was saying it would be like saying that

But it wouldn't be the same at all.

Valid descriptors (IMO): black, uses a wheelchair.

Nasty spiteful hatred: nigger, cripple.

Does he not see why 'spaz' is part of the second category, and 'black' isn't?

I sometimes call myself a spaz when I spill my drink etc as I have Cerebral Palsy but if a stranger called me it I'd be a bit put out. But yeah it's not comparable to black.

I genuinely can't think of a single black person I know, who would have had a problem with that.

The white, hand wringing, lefty liberals I often work with are generally the ones tying themselves (and each other) up in knots about this sort of thing.

It's mad.

Im almost "see though" in my colouring as being born by two English parents so am called white. He is called black due to his colouring surely? Its not racist.

He has concurred it was a stupid comparison.

There is a thread on here every few months worrying about whether it's ok to use black these days and there is always someone who says we aren't allowed to use black any more. No. Black is fine, it's factual, mixed race is fine colloquially although on official forms you might want to use mixed heritage. Not ok - coloured, half caste. Those words haven't been in general use for decades so it's hardly difficult to keep up with.

Maybe he thought would wouldn't have added "white lad" if that had been the case? In which case maybe black could be misinterpreted as being different from your "norm".

If they were all black apart from one white person, and the white person went missing, then of course you'd say "the white one".

When describing someone you only want to use descriptors that are away from the norm. No point in saying "the one with legs" is there?

Crimewatch constantly refer to suspects as white, black, Asian, fat, thin, tall or short.

Exactly TTWK

I reported a street crime a few months ago and one of the questions was, what colour was the perpetrator and the victim.

They would have been pretty fucking stupid not to have asked that question, considering they were driving round the streets looking for them.

I have a black colleague who hates the term coloured or person of colour. if anyone says that when describing someone you can guarantee he'll call in and say ' when you say coloured can you clarify what colour are they blue red green? What colour are we talking about'

he finds anything less than black offensive

It would only be rude if being black was in any way offensive or the word "black" was a perjorative term. Which of course neither is true.

He is black and saying he is black is truthful and inoffensive because there is nothing wrong with being black.

TTWK, that's what I said!!!!

People have very different conceptions of what is and is not offensive. I have a hard time getting my head round why some things rile people up and others not.

I've been on US sites where posters have been (rightly) torn to shreds for calling someone a retard. A couple of times I pointed out that spaz was just as offensive, explained why, and been completely ignored. The same people who were up in arms about people using the word retard then went on merrily using spaz.
It seems as though people only think something is offensive because they think other people think it's offensive, without using any kind of their own judgement on whether it actually is or isn't.

I'd say you are on thin ice describing somehow by their colour in your working/professional life. It's just not the done thing. No organisation would allow it.
These things are usually covered in diversity training.

Taking exception to referring to black people as black is the ultimate in middle class angst and is actually pretty racist in itself.

Newbie that's bollocks. Absolute nonsense. I work in public sector and we have shit loads of diversity training and refusing to use accurate language around identity is absolutely the opposite of what we are encouraged to do.

newbieman1978 are you serious? My employer (Local Authority) has a black employee group, I'm pretty sure that you're talking bollocks

Were there loads of other lads in denim jackes and dark rimmed glasses?