Coloured - racist or just a word

[Oneeyedvic]

So people get annoyed with words - sticks and stones obviously doesn't apply anymore.

So what is racist, what is ofefnsive and at what point do we stop.

Listening to 5 live quite a while ago, I remember a woman saying that she found the word "miss" offensive. Obviously TCL and j_bug find coloured offensive - or do they?

Do they actually find it offensive, or do they not like the use of the term in case some people do find it offensive?

How many people does it take to take offense at a word before it gets banned?

Best quote I ever heard was from a member of the dyslexic association. When asked if dyslexics found the term "brain storming" offensive she replied in the negative and added that they actually took offense at the word "dyslexic"

[january_bug]

PS - Just a thought, but by the logic of "'coloured' is only a word", is it ok to use the words "n1gger" and "w0g" too?  After all, they're only words....

[Gevs1966]

I'm not entering into the debate on either sied here but just wanted to point out to Jan Bug that, by your logic, if the word coloured or the n word gives a feeling of a "them and us" divide then surely describing someone as black or white will still give the same divide as you are still using different words for each ethnicity.

Just a thought

[jimmer]

Apart from being anachronistic (as is black) in describing a characteristic in a subset of a population it is both offensive and non-specific. Offensive: in that it has a history of use in segregation in the US and has been used to describe people of mixed race who were afforded a different (slightly less discriminatory) position than "blacks" under US and South African law based on having some portion of "White" genealogy. Non-specific: because the term is unnecessarily generic (potentially could include all ethnic groups including north and south european. (why Caucasian?).

jim

[Brinjal]

My husband is "coloured" as in the south african terminology as THECORBYLOON mentioned. The pc thing to say is mixed race. However this does become long winded and he i the first to describe someone as coloured. M y mother in law however hated the word coloured. She considered herself eurasian. Indian and white mix. Her husband was coloured white and black so the children are quite a mix and termed coloured. My mum in law would get irate if any said coloured but she would others of the mixed raced arkys bushies and some other not so pc terms. double standards somewhat.

[Gef]

And why do we have use the term "black"? Many so called black asians are not black at all. Also many (if not most) whites are not actually white. When asked to describe someone it is OK to refer to their actual eye and hair colour but not to the colour of their skin.

[Buddy]

I dont like anyone being referred to as coloured.

Has anyone noticed if someone is - say relating going to the hospital 90% of the time they will say that they were seen by a coloured doctor.What difference does it make?Am I being too simplistic but dont we all have the same bodily organs under our skin - so what difference does it make the tone of skin holding us together!

[El D]

So I could legitamately take offence at being called white, what with its generalisations and connotations?

Someone comes up to me in the street and tells me to **** *** - do I take offence? No. Why? His words only have as much power as I give them. Yes, words such as n1gger and *** should of course be allowed. They mean nothing. The only way they can influence me is with the value I assign them. We have a choice over how such external factors influence us.

Besides which, you also take account of who is saying it. Why would most people's opinions bother me? I don't know them, I don't respect them, their opinion is nothing to me. Finding words offensive is rubbish.

[Buddy]

El D-If finding words in your opinion offensive is rubbish - why then did you manage to bring so many examples up where words could possibly be deemed offensive.Would you not agree that it is only courtesy to treat people with respect?I would bet my bottom dollar you would soon get fed up with people referring to you continually as that white person.I am sure at some point you would respond by saying what is the colour of my skin got to do with it - I've got a name!I know I would.

[LeMarchand]

I thought "coloured" was preferable to "black", as the latter was said to have negative conotations (-magic, -mail, -hearted etc etc). Guess that directive has been superceded!

[Buddy]

I still dont get it.Why is it necessary to differentiate between skin tones?I can only think of one scenario and that is if a crime is committed and then height age skin tone clothes accent etc are an integral part of the identity of the perpetarator.

[LeMarchand]

The reason why people use color as a descriptor is because it is easy to do so in certain circumstances. (Of course, it is sometimes done in a racist or disparaging way like the "doctor" example mentioned in another post).

If a black guy moves into Little Witherington and helps an old lady across the road, people will know who she means if she tells them about the "nice black man" who helped her. It works the other way, too: if a white guy does the same in a small Indian town.

[SarCaustic]

Is Coloured a racist word?

Yes and no depending on to whom it is ascribed. Some people from ethnic minorities and multi-ethnic origin find it offensive and some don't. I can see why they do find it offensive - coloured just makes it sound like someone just got a great big felt tip pen and coloured them in.

[Otrere]

Lucky girl that I am, I work on the tills at Asda (full time mum, part time checkout chick - all that jazz) and we have to ask customers if they would like help with their packing. I am always paranoid and have to pronounce it properly when serving Asian customers in case they mishear me and think I am saying something slanderous about "****'*"!!! You have to be so very careful in this day and age.

As for "coloured", personally I consider it "just a word".

What about the word "white" then? If people with darker skin consider the word "coloured" to be offensive, surely the word "whites" can be taken as offensive by people of fairer skin?

[Buddy]

Ortrere - The point being white people are not generalised by the skin tone they have because it is inconsequential.The same should be for everyone.after all we are all in the words of Rabbie Burns 'Jock Thamsans Bairns'.In language eveyone will understand we are all the same and that comes from a very astute man clever man who had wisdom beyond we have in this so called learned age.

Of course coloured is offensive because it harks back to slavery.I absolutely dont get it at all because as I said before we all function as human beings and have all the same organs wrapped up in a skin.

[indian]

It's not always the word but the context it's used in, if it's meant to be offensive.

[Chriswood8]

i used to have a black girlfriend and i'm white and she told me there is no such thing a racist word it's just how you imply it, the tone of voice when u say it, if the word ****** is a racist swear word why do most black people in america called each other it? why?! because it's the way they say it, they say it in a friendly way that to which they dont find offensive.