• betanumerus@lemmy.ca
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    19 hours ago

    Y’all are strange to see “black” as referring to people first. Everyone in the world has a word for that colour (non-colour) hair and the night sky, and all baristas know what black coffee means.

    If saying “black” makes you uncomfortable, maybe get a checkup.

  • shweddy@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Comes off racist if youre scared to use the word black for describing the color of a thing to someone who is black. Black isnt a bad word but you’re thinking of its negative connotations applied to people by racists.

    • pHr34kY@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Calling a black object “black” = Does not offend.

      Calling your car’s late ignition timing “retarded” = Does not offend.

      Calling your dog a “bitch” = Does not offend.

      Calling your rooster a “cock” = does not offend.

      Calling a tied bundle of sticks for burning a “removed” = Does not offend.

      Just follow your friendly dictionary and you’ll be fine.

      Also: Hi mods. You’re probably here because of your word filter.

      Edit: Something replaced “f-a-g-g-o-t” with “removed” automatically. I’m going to leave it because it’s hilarious that bundled sticks are forbidden.

        • Logi@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          That’s literally fascist propaganda. Fasces is Latin for a bundle of sticks and that was the image of strength that Italian fascists were trying to evoke.

      • k0e3@lemmy.ca
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        1 day ago

        Oh, so there is an automated censoring system in place. I thought people were saying removed en lieu of re-tard on Lemmy on whichever instance I was visiting. Kind of like how people use unalive.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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          1 day ago

          I don’t think it’s Lemmy. I think it’s per-instance. Lemmy.world is not a great or open place. They’re very close to Reddit, with way too much control over Lemmy where it’s almost synonymous. Take this as a warning if you’re creating a community or new account to spread things out.

            • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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              20 hours ago

              .ml doesn’t influence Lemmy much. Lemmy.world is the largest instance by far, and they leverage that control to force things on the larger Lemmy community. ml has issues, but at least they don’t force things on anyone else. The lead developer of Lemmy is there, so they could, but they don’t.

              Anyway, the point is that Lemmy is only as safe as it is diversified. People should be joining smaller instances, and communities created on other instances, rather than just going to the largest one.

                • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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                  20 hours ago

                  Yeah, like I said, they could, but they really don’t. How often do you see posts from that instance in your feed? They influence each other, but it doesn’t spread far beyond that.

        • Funkt4st1c@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          Its basically never used in a legitimate way unless youre a british smoker or something, and even then you are likely aware of the slur.

          Kindling or whatever the other word im blanking on is would likely be more appropriate

          “Hey can you grab me that F____?” Would mentally auto correct to “Hey, can you grab me that, F_____?” In my brain

    • threeonefour@piefed.ca
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      2 days ago

      Reminds me of The Office joke where Michael asks Oscar what his ethnicity is and Oscar says “Mexican” and Michael says “There’s gotta be a better word to use than that”.

      • NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Also the bit in 30 Rock.

        “It’s not because you’re a… uh, what do you call yourself?”

        “A Puerto Rican.”

        “No, I know you can say that, but what do I call you?”

        “A Puerto Rican.”

        “Wow… that does not sound right.”

    • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      I think the crack about Spanish is because the Spanish word for “black” is “negro.” But it is also not pronounced the same way as racist southerners say it. Spanish uses a short E, where as rednecks insist on saying it “neeegro,” perhaps in the hopes that it’ll make them taller. So don’t do that.

      The peanut gallery will win no points for guessing that the origin of the n-word is a mutation and/or corruption of “negro” and its various permutations in the other Romance languages that white people were all dragging with them across the Atlantic, all of which are just the words for the color black. For instance, in Latin it’s the even closer “niger,” single G.

    • noob@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      So decades ago I worked at a bike shop and some college students came in. One of them was black, everyone else in the shop was white. She sat down on a bike, that was all black with dark grey lettering. And I said “this bike looks great, I love the black on black look.” Everyone looked at me funny, she immediately got off the bike, and i literally died inside and froze up.

      20 years later and i still think about this.

      Also I should note that it was not the first time I used that phrase for that bike - when you work sales you end up with little automatic narratives that you barely think about.

      • nwtreeoctopus@sh.itjust.works
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        1 day ago

        Ehhh, context and tone can go a long way.

        In a neutral context, absolutely. I’ve heard people use saying it as an attack in some vile ways.

    • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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      1 day ago

      I agree, but also black for coffee isn’t just describing the color. It’s describing the character. Sugar doesn’t change the color, but that isn’t black coffee. Black for coffee is a label/category, not a description.

      It’s still stupid to be scared to call it black, just as it’s stupid to be scared of calling black people black. It’s a common term that everyone understands, and it isn’t an insult.

    • Saapas@piefed.zip
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      2 days ago

      The implication I got from the comic imo is that the person is going to ridiculous lengths to appear anti-racist

      • chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        2 days ago

        I don’t know about the specific scenario in the comic, but it seems understandable to be afraid of being perceived as racist just because of how much of a touchy subject it is, if you aren’t able to be confident in knowing how what you say will be interpreted.

        • Kangae_Hishiryo@scribe.disroot.org
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          23 hours ago

          That’s exactly the problem. Anything can be touchy or sensible for at least one person. You don’t know what will trigger someone. That kind lf overcorrectionism is hazardous as it might cause everyone to freeze and be unable to say virtually anithing out of fear of touching anyone else’s sensibility.

          I think freedom of speech should only be limited in the case of immediate and/or evident danger, but not just by mere feelings or sensibilities.

        • Saapas@piefed.zip
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          1 day ago

          To me it’s hard to see this comic without thinking we’re supposed to laugh at the ridiculousness of the person in it and not as much sympathize with his position

          • 5too@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            I honestly think the intent is both. It’s funny because we can recognize it’s a bit ridiculous, and still see ourselves in that position

      • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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        1 day ago

        There is a long tradition of “black” being used to describe evil things, which may or may not be related to racism. I think being conscious of this can be useful, but black means a lack of light, and a black hole is something that light can’t escape from. It’s a perfect term for that.

  • FrChazzz@lemmus.org
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    1 day ago

    Was in an anti-racist training event for work and the man running the meeting told us a story about this time his white friend’s son referred to him as “Black” and the white dad gets all embarrassed. He scolds his son and then apologizes to his friend. Dude just goes, “it’s okay. I know I’m Black. There’s no need to try and hide it.”

  • TheObviousSolution@lemmy.ca
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    1 day ago

    I think it’s much more racist to claim someone who has nothing to do with Africa or its politics (although that’s misleading, given how many countries there are in Africa and how politics differ throughout) is African American just based on skin color.

      • TheObviousSolution@lemmy.ca
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        1 day ago

        ? They are literally in the American continent, so that’s the part that actually checks out. Unless you mean that there are also multiple countries in America, meaning it’s somewhat insulting for the US to appropriate what “being American” means. I didn’t comment about it because the relation is much closer than a continent with an ocean away and with a legacy centuries apart.

            • bampop@lemmy.world
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              1 day ago

              Your comment: “I think it’s much more racist to claim someone who has nothing to do with Africa or its politics… is African American just based on skin color.”

              Which is perfectly valid btw. African American is an ethnic category, not a skin color. Which is why using that category as a way to describe skin color is inherently racist. Assuming someone is American, based on skin color, is every bit as absurd as assuming they are African.

              • TheObviousSolution@lemmy.ca
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                1 day ago

                I literally was just referring to the use of the term African American, Einstein, not your strawman. Reading comprehension, huh. Do I need to specify the obvious context so that you geniuses don’t run with it off with your strawmans now?

                • QuantumSparkles@sh.itjust.works
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                  19 hours ago

                  Cool down man. People aren’t arguing against you. They are pointing out another aspect of how the logic you spoke out against is flawed

                • bampop@lemmy.world
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                  23 hours ago

                  Not sure if you’re replying to someone else or just didn’t understand what I wrote.

                  Edit to respond to your edit: I would guess that your assumed context is black people in the USA, since that’s where the term “African American” is used most commonly. To describe a black person as “African American” assumes two things, neither of which is necessarily true. You wouldn’t describe a white person as “White American” if you didn’t know they were American. Being in the USA doesn’t imply you are American. People travel sometimes, and to assume otherwise when a person is black is of course racist.

                  The absurdity is more obvious when people use the term in a broader context. I tried to find a video I saw a while ago but alas it seems to have been scrubbed from the internet, of an athlete, Kriss Akabusi perhaps, being interviewed after a race and the interviewer was asking him about being an African American athlete. Akabusi pointed out that he was black and british, but the interviewer kept trying to correct him, referring to him as “British African American” at one point. Sorry I can’t find it, it was really quite funny.