*TW* To think the terms “Caucasian” and “white” race are problematic?

[LetsCombatRacism]

Hi all,

So I’m not hoping for this to be antagonistic, but this is something that does affect me.

I’m by the way considered “Caucasian” and I’m fair skinned. However I’m neither European nor “white” according to what the terms refer to.

After I traced my DNA and found that a chunk of it came from the Caucasus region, I started looking into the origins of the word Caucasian..

I passed through the idea that the “origin” of beauty is from there. And that Noah’s arc descended there.. and that every other form of beauty is somewhat considered steering away from the perfect creation of god.

Even more so, that this very concept has its rooted in encouraging slavery.. in that apparently Noah’s Son had been cursed by his father to beat offspring that are “dark and primitive” and... that the northern Africans contributed greatly towards history because they have been blessed with beinf mixed with the whiter race and so watered down the curse.

Now... I’m not reading this from a controversial source.

I’m quite disgusted and appalled that knowing this is the origin of the words and they’re still being used today.

I think a real attempt at tackling racism should start from those terminologies.

Im quite shaken by what I’ve read. It’s not because I’m naive. I didn’t grow up learning European history because I’m not European by heritage.

But I AM, by DNA partly from the Caucasus.. and I am of “semetic” descent, so those theories don’t only not make any sense to me... but they absolutely make me angry..

I feel like I need to say something.. I know we all know it’s irrational to connect the theory to the terms used today but the words we use do define our culture abs for something to have originated in something this DISGUSTING should be uprooted.

I am a woman of Abrahamic faith, and I totally respect the story of Noah but not the racial adaptations that came of it.. in my narrative there was no reference to skin tone in that story and the purpose of it’s narration was to remind everyone that they’re all servants of GOD and so such narrative indicates to me that European scholars at the time had totally used this religious story as a tool to nurture the ideology of superiority of the blond hair blue eyes and that everything steering away from that is merely contaminated.

In fact, there is NO box for me to tick anywhere for my cultural heritage..

Why?! Because people of my ethnicity don’t have their own category.

Why?! Jesus, Abraham and Noah had my regional heritage.

Why? Because I am meant to tick white Caucasian?! But I’m not, I don’t adopt the terminology. I don’t have things in common with the European culture.

My culture wnd that if my entire region descended from Speakees of semetic languages, and traditions and cultures.. we had total different historic journey...

But I need to accept that Jesus was blond and blue eyes and so he is considered “Caucasian” and so am I?! Because otherwise the average European won’t be able to relate?

Why? Is it because it would be hard to comprehend that Aramaic Jesus might be somewhat contaminated from the “perfect creation of god” which is meant to be white and blue eyes?

Was that historically threatening to the narrative that white hair blue eyes is superior in the eyes of god?!

This terminologies are all deeply routed in total hijack of faith figures and imposing racism into it.

And so this is why as a woman of faith I’m appalled.. it was a total historic hijack of crusade Europe which totally disrespected the Christian faith and decided to utelise it for horror.

And then... for those who don’t believe in faith, I wonder how the use of those terminologies and the way people were categorised this way... is justifiable rationally ??

So am I justified in wanting to start a petition to completely obliterate the use of these terminologies and classifications which have any reference to skin tone or “origin of perfect human race”?!!

Instead, say “European heritage”, “”African heritage”, “Middle Eastern heritage”... etc

@StrippedFridge
I thought Cain was exiled to the land of Nod (meaning wandering, not an actual land) and took his wife with him and then they had a child. Adam and Eve had multiple sons and daughters and it is generally assumed that they interbred, so Cain’s wife was either his sister or a child of his brothers and sisters etc.

Obviously all that only applies if you think the bible is literal, which is a fairly minority view these days!

@NotAnotherUserNumber Cain got bored wandering & now stars in Emmerdale

Good point about the sister-wife. It has been a long time since I read it. I think there were supposedly many sons and daughters who all shagged each other. I think everyone lived to at least 500 years old back then according to the bible. Maybe it is all the interbreeding that made us be so comparitively short lived today. Or maybe other things like light not diffracting were also going on.

Could also explain why Cain made his way onto Emmerdale.

Totally plausible.

Instead, say “European heritage”, “”African heritage”, “Middle Eastern heritage”... etc

I agree with this and it could even be broken down further if possible.

It's amusing how there's White, Black, Asian. Without seeing the people involved, you can tell where 'Asian' is from but White/Black doesn't tell you anything about the person really besides the general skin colour to expect (Different shades of Beige/Pink/Brown). Which continent, at least, is this white/black person from?

I think your voting is skewed because your OP went about three different ways. May have been better as separate threads. I voted YANBU though because I got the 'gist' of what you're trying to say though I can't really speak on most of it because of how it's written.

Which continent, at least, is this white/black person from?
They can even be Asian.

There probably was a great flood sort of event- it appears in Greek Mythology as well and loads of others. Some sort of tsunami perhaps.

BTW OP is definitely jameela jamil

@user1471565182 Why? Does Jameela Jamil have these views?

This may be an obvious answer but I really don' know.

Jameela would have trigger warnings on apples if it was up to her.

Lol. It's unusual but I can understand @LetsCombatRacism OP's trigger warning. So many people are triggered by many seemingly innocuous things and some of what's been mentioned here are a bit more sensitive/triggering - Religion, Racism, Race, Standard of beauty, etc.

BTW OP is definitely jameela jamil

Why? Because I have mentioned that I’m from the Levant which you pictured in your mind as Asia? and not grown in the UK? And English is not my mother tongue? And I have religious views different to yours?

Is that your view of Jameela Jamil? Is that how you lump everyone together who is “other” “Asian”? I had to google who that is.. and try to find something in common.

I have nothing in common with Jameela Jamil. Other than that you have just “othered” both of us.

But it goes to show my point.

Actually I’m not offended about being othered..

But I think Jameela Jamil should be..
since I’ve come across on this thread as someone who doesn’t understand the depth of British society, doesn’t think In English, hold quite polarising religious views?, and apparently suffers an identity crisis and lack of critical thinkng.

And gives unwarranted trigger warnings and is a bit bored and wants to stir trouble about topics which are irrelevant, such as the plight of the Palestinians being entrenched in racist European labelling of ethnicities based on biblical/Torah stories.. but unfortunately this isn’t story time.

But Jameela Jamil must be a person who would ascribe to that..

At the end of the day, the distance from her heritage country and Europe, might be similar to the distance between Palestine and Europe.

So we can approximate that to the European person, their features blur into each other. And so does their geography. And so does their thinkng.

Let’s lump all those people together. Because they’re the problem in society. Who needs “others”.

@LetsCombatRacism OP, I think you have a point and it deserves to be made. I just don't really have an opinion yet either way on the biblical aspect, even though I'm aware of the story.

Or because she puts fucking tirigger warnings on everything and sees racism in absolutely anything and eveyrhintg-i.e like you as just beautifully displayed again.

You even threw in a 'problematic'? just how long do you spend on Twitter?

‘Why? Because I have mentioned that I’m from the Levant which you pictured in your mind as Asia? and not grown in the UK? And English is not my mother tongue? And I have religious views different to yours?

Is that your view of Jameela Jamil? Is that how you lump everyone together who is “other” “Asian”? I had to google who that is.. and try to find something in common.

I have nothing in common with Jameela Jamil. Other than that you have just “othered” both of us.

But it goes to show my point.’

I didn’t compare you to Jameela Jamil but I assume (as everyone else seemed to other than you) that the reason you are being compared is due to you using a great deal of woke Twitter speak - trigger warnings, problematic etc and she is very well known for that.

Jamil is British, a native English speaker and isn’t known for religious views. Nobody thinks you really are her or is comparing you because you both have Asian ancestry.

The Levant factually is in Asia. It isn’t something people have made up. You want Europeans to be called European but you don’t want to be called Asian. I’m not really sure why the former is acceptable to you but not the latter.

‘such as the plight of the Palestinians being entrenched in racist European labelling of ethnicities based on biblical/Torah stories.. but unfortunately this isn’t story time’

You still haven’t given any current examples of contemporary European countries labelling ethnicities in a racist way.