PC Madness- Child suspended for saying 'Brown People'

[CaptainChewbacca]

When I was 10 and read Mark Twain's books, I learned all sorts of words that shouldn't come out of a fifth-grader's mouth, but which did anyway.

[Skgoa]

All caucasians are called white.

Actually Europeans are called Caucasians only in america. (and countries that copied that PC bullshit from them.)

[Darth Wong]

My kids called them "brown people" because we never told them what the "correct" term is, and they watch very very little TV. So a child, if given no particular input, will naturally refer to them as "brown people" because that's the most straightforward description.

They're getting older now so they're using the more accepted terminology, but that was their first impulse, and why not?

I dunno, if my little sister, when she was still young, called you a "yellow person" I would wonder why and make her stop. Of course I've never met a person of Asian decent that is actually yellow either. Brown is definitely a skin color though.

That's the whole point. We aren't actually yellow. There's no reason why anyone would refer to an Asian as being "yellow" unless he's spouting racist nonsense (note that "yellow" is associated with cowardice and dishonesty in the English language).

[Spin Echo]

Frankly, I'm disturbed by the growing number of orange people in our country. They're ruining our youth and corrupting our values and generally being tasteless.

[ArmorPierce]

All caucasians are called white.

Well not true depending on who you ask. The term caucasion is used to categorize people whom are thought to have originiated out of the causcus mountains and these people includes people from the nordic regions all the way to afghanistan and India. Depending on who you ask some of these people may or may not be classified as "white" by certain people.

[Sarevok]

Yeah Armor is right. Depending where they live people who look caucasian can be called anything from brown (the ones in Indian subcontinent) to sand niggers (arabs). Just having pasty white skin does not automatically grant teh white god !!! status. It seems where someone comes from is much more important than something vague like the like color of their sense. Which ultimately does make a lot of sense.

[Sarevok]

God damn typo ! It should read "color of their skin".

[nickolay1]

The term caucasion is used to categorize people whom are thought to have originiated out of the causcus mountains and these people includes people from the nordic regions all the way to afghanistan and India.

The "thought" that Indo-Europeans were from the Caucasus originates from 19th-century phrenologist pseudoscientists. Use of the term in that manner today ought to be an immediate sign of idiocy and ignorance.

[Darth Wong]

The term caucasion is used to categorize people whom are thought to have originiated out of the causcus mountains and these people includes people from the nordic regions all the way to afghanistan and India.

The "thought" that Indo-Europeans were from the Caucasus originates from 19th-century phrenologist pseudoscientists. Use of the term in that manner today ought to be an immediate sign of idiocy and ignorance.

Except that the term has become part of the English language, and is no longer associated with its origins.

[ArmorPierce]

The "thought" that Indo-Europeans were from the Caucasus originates from 19th-century phrenologist pseudoscientists. Use of the term in that manner today ought to be an immediate sign of idiocy and ignorance.

Yes I realize that. Doesn't change the fact that that is what Caucasion refers to and the fact that some people would disagree with all caucasions being white.

[Ypoknons]

It's black. If they're in America, they're fucking Americans. What do you call them if they're in China? Sino-Africans? We don't split hairs with whites, so this bullshit "African-American" term for any African who isn't donning tribal wear and doesn't get ghetto/rap/whatever is annoying.

It's just a guess - I'd venture that "African-American" was probably the production of American public policy, which rarely goes into the whole international thing. A lot of Americans don't think internationally anyways - they have tendency to use the word American where they could just said people.

It definitely sets off a rift between my American-Chinese friends and myself too - in their minds American makes them really, really different from someone's who's actually a complex mix of American/Canadian/Australia/Hong Kong influences.

[Phantasee]

The "thought" that Indo-Europeans were from the Caucasus originates from 19th-century phrenologist pseudoscientists. Use of the term in that manner today ought to be an immediate sign of idiocy and ignorance.

Yes I realize that. Doesn't change the fact that that is what Caucasion refers to and the fact that some people would disagree with all caucasions being white.

That was an important point for two cases in the US Supreme Court. One was a guy from India, he said he should get citizenship because he was Caucasian, but they said he had to be white. Japanese guy said he should get citizenship because he was white, but they said he had to be Caucasian. I don't remember which guy had his case first, but it doesn't really matter: Supreme Court was just fucking around with both of them anyway.

[Ryan Thunder]

note that "yellow" is associated with cowardice and dishonesty in the English language).

To be fair, I don't think most people would make that association offhand...

So it might have been the original intent, but that's been lost to obscurity.

Just like saying Africans are "black". Black is associated with night and evil and all that fun stuff. Might have been the original intent, but its all relatively harmless now.

[Darth Wong]

note that "yellow" is associated with cowardice and dishonesty in the English language).

To be fair, I don't think most people would make that association offhand...

Bullshit. "Yellow" is still a widely used synonym for "cowardly" today.

So it might have been the original intent, but that's been lost to obscurity.

Again, bullshit. "Yellow" as a synonym for "cowardly" is still a well-known slang form.

Just like saying Africans are "black". Black is associated with night and evil and all that fun stuff. Might have been the original intent, but its all relatively harmless now.

Not the same thing. Black is associated with too many things to be thought of in such specific terms. "Yellow", on the other hand, is still associated with cowardice and deceit. Hell, the phrase "yellow journalism" is still in widespread use.

[Ryan Thunder]

note that "yellow" is associated with cowardice and dishonesty in the English language).

To be fair, I don't think most people would make that association offhand...

Bullshit. "Yellow" is still a widely used synonym for "cowardly" today.

So it might have been the original intent, but that's been lost to obscurity.

Again, bullshit. "Yellow" as a synonym for "cowardly" is still a well-known slang form.

Just like saying Africans are "black". Black is associated with night and evil and all that fun stuff. Might have been the original intent, but its all relatively harmless now.

Not the same thing. Black is associated with too many things to be thought of in such specific terms. "Yellow", on the other hand, is still associated with cowardice and deceit. Hell, the phrase "yellow journalism" is still in widespread use.

Well ok, but not among the people I'm familiar with. *shrug*

[MKSheppard]

That's the whole point. We aren't actually yellow. There's no reason why anyone would refer to an Asian as being "yellow" unless he's spouting racist nonsense (note that "yellow" is associated with cowardice and dishonesty in the English language).

LIES. You are part of the Yellow Peril!

[Androsphinx]

The yellow terror in all his glop?

[Ryan Thunder]

"Yellow", on the other hand, is still associated with cowardice and deceit. Hell, the phrase "yellow journalism" is still in widespread use.

Well ok, but not among the people I'm familiar with. *shrug*

Sorry, I think I should mention that the last time I associated Asians with yellow was maybe when I was oh... four or something.

[Havok]

"Yellow", on the other hand, is still associated with cowardice and deceit. Hell, the phrase "yellow journalism" is still in widespread use.

Well ok, but not among the people I'm familiar with. *shrug*

Sorry, I think I should mention that the last time I associated Asians with yellow was maybe when I was oh... four or something.

Really? Are you color blind? Even as a kid I never associated any Asian with yellow.
If you were making that association that young, then you should have a talk with your parents and ask why they taught you that.

[Justforfun000]

Really? Are you color blind? Even as a kid I never associated any Asian with yellow.
If you were making that association that young, then you should have a talk with your parents and ask why they taught you that.

Actually, I vaguely remember something about a quote that racist pricks would pull out that was supposed to reference the Chinese. It was something like "beware the yellow horn"...I can't quite recall, but that's how I first heard the reference to Asians being yellow.

[Ryan Thunder]

Well ok, but not among the people I'm familiar with. *shrug*

Sorry, I think I should mention that the last time I associated Asians with yellow was maybe when I was oh... four or something.

Really? Are you color blind? Even as a kid I never associated any Asian with yellow.
If you were making that association that young, then you should have a talk with your parents and ask why they taught you that.

I dunno. If I remember correctly, it was some retarded Sunday school thing.

[Pu-239]

Strange, I'm Vietnamese, and I hear older Vietnamese use yellow self-referentially (i.e. the yellow color of the South Vietnamese is based on our skin color or somesuch). This doesn't really contradict Wong's statements, it's just somewhat ironic and strange.