Facebook Follies of Friends and Families

[dps]

Well this got cringy fast. 

Why? I mean it is not a big deal but the fact there is not really a term that describes the descendants of the enslaved people in the US only has been a thing for awhile.

But not every black American is a descendent of those who were held in slavery in American.  There were always a number of free blacks in the US, and there are black people who came to the US after the abolition of slavery.

Even if they were free blacks they were still part of that society and culture.

And yes I am aware there are now huge numbers of black people who are, or are descended from, more recent immigrants, that was my entire point.

Excuse me if I missed your point.

Actually, I'm not sure exactly what point I was trying to make.

Oh, I remember.  We were discussing how confusing it can be to find the correct term to refer to Americans of African descent without offending anyone, and I was trying to say that whether or not a particular such American was a descendant of slaves was not relevant.

[The Brain]

Is Swedish chef with US passport Marcus Samuelsson African-American? While Nigerian-American (for instance) often would correctly suggest a black person Swedish-American (what Samuelsson is) might not.

[Tamas]

Americans are so weird with the whole black thing.

[garbon]

Americans are so weird with the whole black thing.

Maybe white people on the whole black thing.

[11B4V]

I'm not sure that one belongs here. This is a sentiment that my father has expressed as he otherwise feel like we are qualifying his American status. He'd much rather be called black.

Yeah I never understood why "African-American" was used than just saying "Black"

Besides there was a time when you knew exactly who that term referred to, but now we have so many immigrants from Africa that it gets confusing.

Well, actually, that's the point--it's used to distinguish black Americans from, say, Nigerians or Ugandans.  Sort of like "Irish-American" distinguishes Americans with Irish ancestors from people in Ireland.

Also, I'm not sure when the term "African-American" came into use, but I think it might have dated back to a time when calling someone "black" was almost as rude as calling them the n-word.

I can certainly see garbon's father's point.

If you're from Nigeria or Uganda you're not really an American?

Huh?

If you are from Nigeria and are an American, then you could be called a "Nigerian-American". But if you are from Nigeria and not an American, then no, you are not really an American.

I don't understand the confusion here...

Nor do I understand black people not liking being called "African-American". On the other hand, I don't understand them not liking being called "black" or "colored". Hell, I don't really understand any of the social rules around what to call minorities.

But I don't really have to understand - not really. I am pretty happy calling them whatever term they prefer to be called, within reason. That seems to be just simple politeness. And if it changes over time, that's ok too - it doesn't seem like such a burden to adjust.

Why would I call anyone that? Why would I need to?

[Admiral Yi]

Americans are so weird with the whole black thing.

Maybe white people on the whole black thing.

My impression is it was black people who did the continual changing of what's acceptable.

[Tonitrus]

Why would I call anyone that? Why would I need to?

"How would you describe the suspect?" 

I tease, but really a serious question.

My personal anecdote on the topic...

One time at work, a more senior NCO (who was black) was asking me where someone who had recently passed me, referred to by name, had gone to.  I didn't know the person's name, but I said someone had recently passed.  The aforementioned NCO asked me to describe that person.  While I started to fumble over my consciousness of political correctness while trying to eake out "African-American", he impatiently asked "was he black?".  To which I meekly/white-ly affirmed in the positive. 

[Valmy]

Americans are so weird with the whole black thing.

Maybe white people on the whole black thing.

Again you started this whole thing by talking about your dad and his issues with the terminology. What is the non-weird way to think about it? Since you seem to know.

[The Brain]

Blackstreet's black, alright!

[Syt]

[dps]

Is Swedish chef with US passport Marcus Samuelsson African-American? While Nigerian-American (for instance) often would correctly suggest a black person Swedish-American (what Samuelsson is) might not.

Swedish chef?  Muppet-American, obviously.

[Valmy]

Yet they feel the need to constantly whine about everything.

[Eddie Teach]

Whining is an essential part of the human condition.

[Syt]

[Habbaku]

  I think that must be satire, right? Given what it implies about Trump?