'Negro' on Census Form Offends Some.....

Why would that be a problem?
 
CJB said:
It wouldn't disqualify anyone but it would sure make it harder for them to run for office.

Anyone with a non-standard dialect has a harder time when running for office. Look at Sarah Palin. She was white but she had a non-standard dialect which caused people to question her intelligence more readily than they would if she had a standard dialect.

Enter race. It's a fact that racism runs rampant, even if it's more subtle nowadays than it was back in the lynching days.

Now where dialects and race meet. There are certain dialects of English that most people associate with African-Americans. It doesn't matter who actually speaks what, if black people speak a dialect associated with their race or not, or if other races speak the same dialect, what matters is that the associations are there for many people.

So combine all these factors, and you get people questioning the intelligence of someone who speaks a dialect associated with black people, especially if the speaker happens to be black.
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That's not the situation here in South Carolina, especially in the Lowcountry area. The more "local" a politician sounds, the better are his or her chances of being elected. That includes black politicians who speak with a thick "Eastside-Charleston" accent. We have politicians in this area that would probably be almost incomprehensible to people outside this area. They get re-elected, year after year.

BTW, there is no such thing as a single "Negro dialect" in the USA.
 
How would it be a stumbling block?

So, one of the possible reason Jesse Jackson lost his presidential bid some years back was because of his "dialect"?
 
I wouldn't know. I just remember his fancy footwork on stage. It struck me a moving target is harder to hit than a still one. :D
 
netrox said:
interesting... but I've heard black celebrities call themselves "negros." I see nothing wrong with the term. African-American is more offensive to me than "negro" because it implies that they rather be Africans first.
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That's only because it is less offensive for blacks to say that to other blacks because it is part of the black culture. Anyone that is not part of the black culture, obviously will be in deep shit for saying that term...only because you are not black and don't understand what they have went thru in history.

Everyone SHOULD know that word is offensive...it's so damn old word that nobody likes anymore cause it's nothing nice about it.

It's pretty embarrassing thou...that America never seems ready to talk about race and accepting race fully...while alot of other countries fully accept race.


even I still know some people who are racist or wont accept their sons/daughters dating black people or whatever...they don't even care what u think and just rather having things their way...yea pretty pathetic alright.
 
Local politicians are NOT the same as national politicians as each demands a different situation.
 
Al Sharpton pretty much gave the green light that it's ok to say "negro" in a debate with Coulter a few days ago saying what Reid said was no big deal. So did the Black Caucus. And from the NAACP, too, all forgave Reid faux pas but imagine if a Republican said that. If they are now saying directly or indirectly that the word "negro" isn't that offensive if used in a context of race then fine.

There's a story about how more than 50,000 wrote in the word "negro" on 2000 Census form since the choices they wanted to choose from weren't available which is why we're seeing the word "negro" on this latest 2010 Census form.
The word 'Negro' on 2010 census form sparks debate - San Jose Mercury News
 
netrox said:
Local politicians are NOT the same as national politicians as each demands a different situation.
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Yes, however having a particular accent or dialect isn't and shouldn't be the problem here. If it were the case, Jimmy Carter wouldn't have been elected in the first place.
 
Reba said:
That's not the situation here in South Carolina, especially in the Lowcountry area. The more "local" a politician sounds, the better are his or her chances of being elected. That includes black politicians who speak with a thick "Eastside-Charleston" accent. We have politicians in this area that would probably be almost incomprehensible to people outside this area. They get re-elected, year after year.

BTW, there is no such thing as a single "Negro dialect" in the USA.
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You're absolutely right that the audience makes a big difference. I was speaking in terms of the national audience, i.e. for a presidential election.

I know there isn't any such thing as a single "Negro dialect." And I never said there was. I said that people associate a dialect or family of dialects with African-Americans. I happen to know many people who speak the dialects that are associated with black people that aren't black. And I know black people who speak all kinds of dialects. But that doesn't change the fact that the majority of people do have an association in their mind between black people and certain dialects. And factors like that play into the results of an election poll.
 
CJB said:
You're absolutely right that the audience makes a big difference. I was speaking in terms of the national audience, i.e. for a presidential election.

I know there isn't any such thing as a single "Negro dialect." And I never said there was. I said that people associate a dialect or family of dialects with African-Americans. I happen to know many people who speak the dialects that are associated with black people that aren't black. And I know black people who speak all kinds of dialects. But that doesn't change the fact that the majority of people do have an association in their mind between black people and certain dialects. And factors like that play into the results of an election poll.
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It does in retrospect. The only time anyone said Negro in a conversation was by a deaf black girl over thirty years ago. She was referring to her friend. More recently, I was the only white guy in a rap group, and I had an interpreter. At one point, she signed "Speaking dialect" to me and it was okay. I waited. Her husband is black, so I figure everything is cool, okay? :lol:
 
well the way I see this debate is that a term acceptable for all should be agreed upon. African-Americans does not fit all black people. There are black Jamaicans, there are black NZ's *forget the term they have over there* there are black aussie's and the list goes on and on and on. I can't see a black aussie wanting to check that he/she is African-American. So we really really really do need to start finding terms that are acceptable to all.
 
And there are African Americans who are not black at all. Just because one is born in Africa or have white ancestors that live in Africa doesn't mean the person is black.
 
So we can all look around and say None of us are black? Cool.
 
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