Definition found on Wikipedia:
"Negro is a term referring to people of Black African ancestry. Prior to the shift in the lexicon of American and worldwide classification of race and ethnicity in the late 1960s, the appellation was accepted as a normal neutral formal term both by those of Black African descent as well as non-African blacks. Now it is often considered an ethnic slur[1][2][3] although the term is considered archaic and is not common as a racist slur. The term is still used in some contexts for historical reasons such as in the name of the United Negro College Fund[4][5]. "Negro" means "black" in Spanish, Portuguese, and ancient Italian[6] - all of which derive from the Latin niger (i.e. "black")."
I think mm is correct, snood. In fact, I learned something by looking up the word, it literally means "black" in other languages, and right now, the term, "black," appears to be the politically correct term. As a person growing up in the 40s through the 60's, it seemed like the preferred terms for various races of peoples kept changing, for whatever reasons I do not fully understand, but I think one of the reasons is the fact that some people had to find reasons to be offended, and the terms was one that they kept finding.
I will be very honest with you, I never grew up around black people, my parents never taught prejudice, but in college I had occasion to meet some black folks, and later in the military, alot more. I found out what anyone would find out, black people are as different from each other and from everybody else as white people are from each other and everybody else, and some had good character, others not as good, just like everybody else. Some were pleasant and highly dependable, others not. In fact, to this day, I will tell people the best drill sargeant, easily, was a black man, he was the best at his craft, and the worst I had was also a black man, with a close second by some white guys. I also found out, not to generalize, but in general, black guys from northern big cities more often had chips on their shoulder, while rural guys, usually from the south, were great guys. Of course there are always many exceptions to stereotypes, such as not all New Yorkers are snobs, and not all okies are hicks.
If you have a chip on your shoulder, about race, I can't help you, snood. In regard to Obama, I do not think anyone should have voted for Obama, or against Obama, due to race. In regard to the Magic Negro business, I think it is pretty stupid, and very unwise to use that kind of parody, I would not personally do it because I see the pitfalls of doing it and we don't need to stir the pot. But to take offence at it, I would advise people to ignore it, it is more a case of people pointing out the folly of electing a president based solely upon race. Some of the people entertaining that might be racial, but far from all. The term, "negro," did not always denote a racist connotation, nor does it need to now. In fact, the term, "colored," is another term we are not supposed to use, but we still have the NAACP, so I think alot of these terms' meanings are in the head of the person hearing them, which are often different from the meanings in the heads of those that use them. So as mm points out, if you are looking for insults, you will find them. I cannot count the number of insults I have incurred here, alot because of the name I chose, "okie." My advice would be, I am proud of being from Oklahoma, and whatever race we are, we can all be proud of it, depending upon what kind of person we are, not because of the color of our skin.
My opinion, snood, you are a nice guy, and I have defended you at times, but I also detect at least a small chip on your shoulder. I have not lived your life, perhaps you have reasons, but just get over it if you can.
(and please watch the stalking references, the Deutch are abooot...)
