[wendywillow]

I did get some knowledge out of that so that was nice

[jennyjuniper]

Originally Posted by Robodog

Apologies to anyone who is offended by the word (i am mixed race and do not find the word offensive, nor have i EVER heard of it being considered an offensive term until this series of BB. As far as i knew it was a perfectly acceptable and commonly used word for a racial type.

I just wondered what everyone else thought about it.

Of course we know that the word 'N----r' is offensive. That is undeniably clear to us all.
But 'Negro'? When did that become a racial slur? I thought it was a generally acceptable racial category like Caucasian, Hispanic, Nordic, Oriental, Inuit etc.

So if 'White' is described as 'Caucasian' - what is the acceptable 'Black' equivalent then?

And check out this Wikipedia page; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro

Martin Luther King used to the word 'Negro' to describe his race (and he didn't like the term 'Black')
Whereas Malcolm X preferred the term 'Black' and didn't like the term 'Negro'.

Confused? I am! It goes on;

The U.S. census of 2010 - still uses the word 'Negro' as a racial category.

There is also the 'United Negro College Fund' and the 'Negro League' in sports.

So how is it offensive if it is still being used in an official capacity ??

So what terms ARE we allowed to use? And who decides what's right and wrong? And how do we know if (and when) the rules change? A word that's ok one day might be offensive the next. How would you know??

It's all gone a bit mad i think!

I agree it's confusing. Especially as many 'black' people aren't black, but many shades of brown.

[lostalex]

Originally Posted by jennyjuniper

I agree it's confusing. Especially as many 'black' people aren't black, but many shades of brown.

That's just silly. Most white people aren't white, they are many shades of pink.

[Lee.]

Originally Posted by lostalex

That's just silly. Most white people aren't white, they are many shades of pink.

Or blue if you come from Scotland

[smudgie]

If in doubt, then refrain.

It js difficult at times as words and meanings change.

I had this problem with the Chinese takeaway nickname always used in this area when growing up, now I inow it is wrong, so it won't pass my lips again.

[JoshBB]

I've always thought it's the intention behind the word and not the word itself.

For example;

A person saying "hey *****" as a friendly term (such as bro, or dude) has no racist intentions and therefore would probably not be taken as offensive or discriminatory towards africans.

A person saying "ew... filthy n*ggers" obviously is incredibly offensive because of the racist and discriminatory intentions behind the words and would be wholly unacceptable.

[MB.]

Originally Posted by Firewire

If you're not black you don't really have a say

[2]

Saying "I asked my white family and they weren't offended" doesn't really prove any points.

[GiRTh]

Its an old fashioned word. Avoid it if you can.

[Dash Darington]

It's funny how people actually believe that the producers don't want to participate in the race-baiting, and are getting dragged along by some outside pressure. They want to race-bait. They pretend that people of different races (genders, sexual orientations, religions, etc.) are constantly looking to harm one another, and set themselves up as the authority to which these factions appeal "injustices."

A divided population is powerless. Neo-liberal social politics are intended to disempower the public through factionalization. Divide-and-conquer is a simple enough concept for anyone to understand.

They have succeeded in sensitizing you to a new word. You'll notice that the black and mixed-race people here have said repeatedly that they didn't even know that they were supposed to be offended by the word "negro." You're being conditioned to be offended.

[Jose Mourinho]

Originally Posted by Robodog

Apologies to anyone who is offended by the word (i am mixed race and do not find the word offensive, nor have i EVER heard of it being considered an offensive term until this series of BB. As far as i knew it was a perfectly acceptable and commonly used word for a racial type.

I just wondered what everyone else thought about it.

Of course we know that the word 'N----r' is offensive. That is undeniably clear to us all.
But 'Negro'? When did that become a racial slur? I thought it was a generally acceptable racial category like Caucasian, Hispanic, Nordic, Oriental, Inuit etc.

So if 'White' is described as 'Caucasian' - what is the acceptable 'Black' equivalent then?

And check out this Wikipedia page; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro

Martin Luther King used to the word 'Negro' to describe his race (and he didn't like the term 'Black')
Whereas Malcolm X preferred the term 'Black' and didn't like the term 'Negro'.

Confused? I am! It goes on;

The U.S. census of 2010 - still uses the word 'Negro' as a racial category.

There is also the 'United Negro College Fund' and the 'Negro League' in sports.

So how is it offensive if it is still being used in an official capacity ??

So what terms ARE we allowed to use? And who decides what's right and wrong? And how do we know if (and when) the rules change? A word that's ok one day might be offensive the next. How would you know??

It's all gone a bit mad i think!

Bored of this debate tbh. In a nutshell Alexander kindly explained to Ken that his use of the word might get his "Ass kicked". There is no doubt there was a time when the word was acceptable, but as Alex kindly taught us all, that time is no longer and it is clearly no longer acceptable. Who are we to argue with a man of his experience? Hope this answers your question.

[lostalex]

Originally Posted by Dash Darington

It's funny how people actually believe that the producers don't want to participate in the race-baiting, and are getting dragged along by some outside pressure. They want to race-bait. They pretend that people of different races (genders, sexual orientations, religions, etc.) are constantly looking to harm one another, and set themselves up as the authority to which these factions appeal "injustices."

A divided population is powerless. Neo-liberal social politics are intended to disempower the public through factionalization. Divide-and-conquer is a simple enough concept for anyone to understand.

They have succeeded in sensitizing you to a new word. You'll notice that the black and mixed-race people here have said repeatedly that they didn't even know that they were supposed to be offended by the word "negro." You're being conditioned to be offended.

but why did Ken say it again, after he was already warned by big brother, and after Alexander had already told him that he was offended by it. Alexander explained it to him in the most forgiving manner possible. Alexander was clearly offended, but he reacted in a calm cool and collected manner and explained it calmly and with some humor.

I can accept that maybe the word is not as well known in the UK as an offensive term, but he was told twice not to use it, both by big brother and Alexander, and then he went on to use it again.

Just like when it came to women, it was explained him by both big brother, and the women in the house that what he was saying was offensive, and then he continued to try to offend them.

He is either completely daft, or he was intentionally being offensive and trying to get kicked out. I think probably both are true.

[GiRTh]

Originally Posted by Dash Darington

It's funny how people actually believe that the producers don't want to participate in the race-baiting, and are getting dragged along by some outside pressure. They want to race-bait. They pretend that people of different races (genders, sexual orientations, religions, etc.) are constantly looking to harm one another, and set themselves up as the authority to which these factions appeal "injustices."

A divided population is powerless. Neo-liberal social politics are intended to disempower the public through factionalization. Divide-and-conquer is a simple enough concept for anyone to understand.

They have succeeded in sensitizing you to a new word. You'll notice that the black and mixed-race people here have said repeatedly that they didn't even know that they were supposed to be offended by the word "negro." You're being conditioned to be offended.

This black person is well aware of the history of the word. Its not the most offensive word ever used to describe black people but due to its misuse over the years and transformation into other words it has been a taboo word for a quite a few years.

[Pincho Paxton]

Here are some more future racist remarks...

Ace of Spades!!!
Shovel of Coal!!!
Batman!!!
Honky!!!
Cue Ball!!!
Frostbite!!!
Snowman!!!
Marshmellow!!!
Blackjack!!!

[lostalex]

Originally Posted by Pincho Paxton

Here are some more future racist remarks...

Ace of Spades!!!
Shovel of Coal!!!
Batman!!!
Honky!!!
Cue Ball!!!
Frostbite!!!
Snowman!!!
Marshmellow!!!
Blackjack!!!

i thought cue ball was a slur against bald guys, not white people. or is it dual purpose?

Would a bald black guy be an eight ball?

[Pincho Paxton]

Originally Posted by lostalex

i thought cue ball was a slur against bald guys, not white people. or is it dual purpose?

Would a bald black guy would be an eight ball?

Yeah Eight Ball that's another one. You can see the problem if we allow this to continue.

[Robodog]

Originally Posted by Jose Mourinho

Bored of this debate tbh. In a nutshell Alexander kindly explained to Ken that his use of the word might get his "Ass kicked". There is no doubt there was a time when the word was acceptable, but as Alex kindly taught us all, that time is no longer and it is clearly no longer acceptable. Who are we to argue with a man of his experience? Hope this answers your question.

I love Alexander O Neal and i am sure he is right in explaining that some people find it offensive. But clearly many people are also comfortable with it as a perfectly acceptable racial term.

For example; the official US census uses it as a proper racial category as recently as 2010 - bear in mind, that is during the presidency of Obama!

So how and why did it go from being an official government racial category to a racial slur in 4 short years??

And who knew??

[Dash Darington]

Originally Posted by lostalex

but why did Ken say it again, after he was already warned by big brother, and after Alexander had already told him that he was offended by it. Alexander explained it to him in the most forgiving manner possible. Alexander was clearly offended, but he reacted in a calm cool and collected manner and explained it calmly and with some humor.

I can accept that maybe the word is not as well known in the UK as an offensive term, but he was told twice not to use it, both by big brother and Alexander, and then he went on to use it again.

Just like when it came to women, it was explained him by both big brother, and the women in the house that what he was saying was offensive, and then he continued to try to offend them.

He is either completely daft, or he was intentionally being offensive and trying to get kicked out. I think probably both are true.

Ken either said it to illustrate that there's nothing wrong with saying it, or as a faithful recounting of an anecdote. I couldn't say for sure.

Do you believe that people have the right to not be offended? Do you think that certain social groups (eg. blacks) are empowered to forbid other groups (eg. whites) to say certain words?

As a statement of absolute fact, Alexander is a negro. If he, or anyone else, wants to supress statements of fact to protect their psychological sensitivities or prevent their ideology from being challenged, it is they who are in the wrong.

[Dash Darington]

Originally Posted by GiRTh

This black person is well aware of the history of the word. Its not the most offensive word ever used to describe black people but due to its misuse over the years and transformation into other words it has been a taboo word for a quite a few years.

Your feelings about the word have nothing to do with misuse. You've been deliberately sensitized to the word in order to further racial resentment and factionalization. There is no objective reason why "black" is a better word than "negro." In fact, they have precisely the same meaning: a reference to dark skin colour.

[Denver]

It makes me think how much longer it will be until 'Black' will no longer be acceptable

[GiRTh]

Originally Posted by Dash Darington

Your feelings about the word have nothing to do with misuse. You've been deliberately sensitized to the word in order to further racial resentment and factionalization. There is no objective reason why "black" is a better word than "negro." In fact, they have precisely the same meaning: a reference to dark skin colour.

No not at all. I have heard these words for decades , I've heard these word as terms of endearment and to cause offense, I have family who still freely use the word 'Pickney' and thus I have made up my OWN mind about these words.

Please dont ever tell me what I've deduced from my own life experience as you have no idea what you are talking aboiut.

[Dash Darington]

Originally Posted by GiRTh

No not at all. I have heard these words for decades , I've heard these word as terms of endearment and to cause offense, I have family who still freely use the word 'Pickney' and thus I have made up my OWN mind about these words.

Please dont ever tell me what I've deduced from my own life experience as you have no idea what you are talking aboiut.

You haven't deduced anything. You've been sensitized. Sensitivity to a word has nothing to do with logic, and therefore cannot be the product of deductive reasoning.

[Pete.]

Alexander was offended, so it is offensive

[jennyjuniper]

Originally Posted by lostalex

That's just silly. Most white people aren't white, they are many shades of pink.

Same difference.

[Dash Darington]

Originally Posted by Petemitch

Alexander was offended, so it is offensive

This is an aspect of British social politics that I don't understand. Who determines what offences are legitimate?

If I decide that I'm offended by any denial of the divinity of Jesus Christ, and you engage in denial, do you need to be censored? If you deny that Mohammad is God's prophet, and I am offended, should you be censored?

It seems to me that the powers that be are replacing the old religions with a new one, and that "offence" is simply another word for blasphemy. If you blaspheme against their religion, you can expect to be censured in the name of "offence." They want to give the impression that theirs is a grass-roots movement rather than an imposed ideology, which is why they use the word "offence."

[GiRTh]

Originally Posted by Dash Darington

You haven't deduced anything. You've been sensitized. Sensitivity to a word has nothing to do with logic, and therefore cannot be the product of deductive reasoning.

I dont know if youve noticed but I;ve said on here that there are words that have been used by Ken in the house that I didnt find offensive thus I dont know what you're talking about.