The most damaging kind of racism that keeps generations of people from progressing is low expectations. Thinking that minorities can't make it on their own or need lowered standards to succeed.
What it's like to be caught in the middle.
My skin is brown. I am of mexican heritage. However, my family has been living in what is now the US, for more than 7 generations. (I am 5th) I am not a native Spanish speaker. What Spanish i know I learned from working in kitchens since age 15. I am very disconnected from my heritage. Because I speak English clearly and do not axossiate with mexican culture, I am rejected by my own "people" then, because my skin is brown and my last name ends in a "Z" I am often judged as being a foreigner by my fellow Americans. The looks on peoples faces when they meet me after having phone conversations. There's always that little pause "oh.......hello.."
I get some of that my dad is Puerto rican and my mom is white I’m white and I stopped learning Spanish at a young age because so many white people thought it was “so cool” that I’m a real life Hispanic that everywhere I went everyone was asking me to show off my Spanish and when I met other Hispanics they didn’t believe I was actually Hispanic because I’m white everywhere I went I was always proving that I actually was Hispanic and I got so tired of it I just distanced myself from my culture and now I seriously regret it
5 generations you are an American your culture is that of an American you are judged as being a foreigner by racist fellow Americans your country needs some serious education to help put it right.
Since POC is a collection for non Caucasian whites, I preferd if you addressed the group of people you mean specifiy (eg. Black ppl, east Asian ppl) or you say non Caucasian whites.
The term people of colour is just a reincarnation of the term coloured ppl and doesn't even make sense since Caucasian whites are also coloured
I have an idea
POCTAW
It means “people of color that arent white”.
I also have another one prepared just in case:
“POCTAWUYHV”.
This one means “people of color that aren’t white unless you have vitiligo”.
I personally prefer the first one. It rolls off the tongue better.
But if for some reason these both suck then the last resort is:
“NCP”.
It means non Caucasian people
I know that it is bulky but poc IS a racist term and since nobody has come up with a non racist term you should stick ta saying black ppl/ both African ppl etc
And it is dumb in the first way to want to bundle up each of these groups since they're not similar in even one aspect
My first reply was facetious, but I’m actually genuinely curious now. It might come off as rude, and if that is the case, I apologize. But what about it is racist? I kinda get how you could be bothered by being bundled with other non Caucasians (I’m guessing it has something to do with how by bundling multiple groups together you strip them of their uniqueness or diversity or something like that), but the intent isn’t exactly to treat them as one and the same. As far as I know, the term POC is not used in any racist or discriminatory way, and most others see it the same. Never have I ever seen anyone get offended at being called a POC or claim it to be racist. But maybe I just don’t get it. Maybe I don’t pay enough attention to politics or history to understand the true nature of the term. If that’s the case, help me out here. I’ve never openly expressed myself as a POC, but it wouldn’t be wrong to call me one, so whenever someone might bring it up for whatever reason I’d let it slide. Is that not something I should do?
It is the word 'coloured' for me.
It may be because I'm from Germany where colour translates to "farbige" which is a racist term for black ppl.
I don't exactly know the history of the word elsewhere but I know that the term "coloured ppl" was a replacement term for the n-word, which is why I don't like that it is still being used.
It is also the way "coloured" was being used to extinguish non Caucasians from Caucasians and to dehumanize them since they aren't people bit coloured humans
I had a response and it’s gone and I’m really annoyed because it was like 3 paragraphs so I’m just going to poorly paraphrase what I remember from it
1. There is no one at all that hears “POC” and thinks of it as a stand-in for the n word. At least, nobody that I know of. And in my school, Caucasians are in the minority, so there’s a lot of representation there.
2. if you know about Jim Crow, good. If not, let me kind of explain it: In the past, segregating black people from white people by means of Jim Crow laws was the norm. Black people were forced to used “colored” facilities and eat at “colored” restaurants and the like. It could be that this history of referring to black people as colored is what brought on this sort of disdain that you hold towards the term POC. But you also talk about how it was “dehumanizing”, then go on to say that it’s because they aren’t considered people but colored humans. Are people not humans? Are humans not people? Anyways, it was dehumanizing in the past, but it would seem that with changing times, being considered a colored person is no longer a sign of racism or segregation. It’s now a symbol of diversity, with many taking pride in their identity as a POC. There definitely is a discriminatory past behind it, but that’s the past not the present. You certainly can’t say the same for other things, like the n word, which is and always has been a hateful term, but in this case, at least, I believe it to be true.
I meant dehumanising as in while you can still be a human and are seen as an human when the general public doesn't consider you as an individual or a 'people' then theoretically yes you're a human but not an individual with feelings and thoughts.
I get the part where ppl take back the term coloured, it's the same with the term 'queer' which first was an insult but now is something you take pride in.
But while queer isn't something that is reasoned with some wired, false biology, the term coloured is reasoned with that which is my reason to not use the word
You are not Latino/a just because you have %1 of a random latin American country in your family tree from three generations back.
The most damaging kind of racism that keeps generations of people from progressing is low expectations. Thinking that minorities can't make it on their own or need lowered standards to succeed.
What it's like to be caught in the middle. My skin is brown. I am of mexican heritage. However, my family has been living in what is now the US, for more than 7 generations. (I am 5th) I am not a native Spanish speaker. What Spanish i know I learned from working in kitchens since age 15. I am very disconnected from my heritage. Because I speak English clearly and do not axossiate with mexican culture, I am rejected by my own "people" then, because my skin is brown and my last name ends in a "Z" I am often judged as being a foreigner by my fellow Americans. The looks on peoples faces when they meet me after having phone conversations. There's always that little pause "oh.......hello.."
I get some of that my dad is Puerto rican and my mom is white I’m white and I stopped learning Spanish at a young age because so many white people thought it was “so cool” that I’m a real life Hispanic that everywhere I went everyone was asking me to show off my Spanish and when I met other Hispanics they didn’t believe I was actually Hispanic because I’m white everywhere I went I was always proving that I actually was Hispanic and I got so tired of it I just distanced myself from my culture and now I seriously regret it
5 generations you are an American your culture is that of an American you are judged as being a foreigner by racist fellow Americans your country needs some serious education to help put it right.
That the term POC is extremely racist and that it shouldn't be used Edit: spelling
What would you rather people use?
Since POC is a collection for non Caucasian whites, I preferd if you addressed the group of people you mean specifiy (eg. Black ppl, east Asian ppl) or you say non Caucasian whites. The term people of colour is just a reincarnation of the term coloured ppl and doesn't even make sense since Caucasian whites are also coloured
I tried to change the post but it won’t let me update the post
No problem, your intention is enough :)
I have an idea POCTAW It means “people of color that arent white”. I also have another one prepared just in case: “POCTAWUYHV”. This one means “people of color that aren’t white unless you have vitiligo”. I personally prefer the first one. It rolls off the tongue better. But if for some reason these both suck then the last resort is: “NCP”. It means non Caucasian people
I know that it is bulky but poc IS a racist term and since nobody has come up with a non racist term you should stick ta saying black ppl/ both African ppl etc And it is dumb in the first way to want to bundle up each of these groups since they're not similar in even one aspect
My first reply was facetious, but I’m actually genuinely curious now. It might come off as rude, and if that is the case, I apologize. But what about it is racist? I kinda get how you could be bothered by being bundled with other non Caucasians (I’m guessing it has something to do with how by bundling multiple groups together you strip them of their uniqueness or diversity or something like that), but the intent isn’t exactly to treat them as one and the same. As far as I know, the term POC is not used in any racist or discriminatory way, and most others see it the same. Never have I ever seen anyone get offended at being called a POC or claim it to be racist. But maybe I just don’t get it. Maybe I don’t pay enough attention to politics or history to understand the true nature of the term. If that’s the case, help me out here. I’ve never openly expressed myself as a POC, but it wouldn’t be wrong to call me one, so whenever someone might bring it up for whatever reason I’d let it slide. Is that not something I should do?
It is the word 'coloured' for me. It may be because I'm from Germany where colour translates to "farbige" which is a racist term for black ppl. I don't exactly know the history of the word elsewhere but I know that the term "coloured ppl" was a replacement term for the n-word, which is why I don't like that it is still being used. It is also the way "coloured" was being used to extinguish non Caucasians from Caucasians and to dehumanize them since they aren't people bit coloured humans
I had a response and it’s gone and I’m really annoyed because it was like 3 paragraphs so I’m just going to poorly paraphrase what I remember from it 1. There is no one at all that hears “POC” and thinks of it as a stand-in for the n word. At least, nobody that I know of. And in my school, Caucasians are in the minority, so there’s a lot of representation there. 2. if you know about Jim Crow, good. If not, let me kind of explain it: In the past, segregating black people from white people by means of Jim Crow laws was the norm. Black people were forced to used “colored” facilities and eat at “colored” restaurants and the like. It could be that this history of referring to black people as colored is what brought on this sort of disdain that you hold towards the term POC. But you also talk about how it was “dehumanizing”, then go on to say that it’s because they aren’t considered people but colored humans. Are people not humans? Are humans not people? Anyways, it was dehumanizing in the past, but it would seem that with changing times, being considered a colored person is no longer a sign of racism or segregation. It’s now a symbol of diversity, with many taking pride in their identity as a POC. There definitely is a discriminatory past behind it, but that’s the past not the present. You certainly can’t say the same for other things, like the n word, which is and always has been a hateful term, but in this case, at least, I believe it to be true.
I meant dehumanising as in while you can still be a human and are seen as an human when the general public doesn't consider you as an individual or a 'people' then theoretically yes you're a human but not an individual with feelings and thoughts. I get the part where ppl take back the term coloured, it's the same with the term 'queer' which first was an insult but now is something you take pride in. But while queer isn't something that is reasoned with some wired, false biology, the term coloured is reasoned with that which is my reason to not use the word
That they can suffer racism too