Do you think it's possible to categorize without judging?
BTW, I'm glad you're up late too
I don't think you can categorize without judging, because I think judgement takes place while categorizing.
Sofia and Sweetcomplication, thanks for clearing that up for me. I was bewildered. I've never said anything to anyone on a political thread.
Sofia, Yes, I guess it can be a luxury to live in a small town at a time like that. In addition to my next door neighbors, many, many cabdrivers in NYC are from the Middle East. During that awful time--and to this day--many of them put American flags in their cabs. I sensed their fear and discomfort. I was sympathetic, and a bit fearful, too. No, I didn't expect the driver to blow up the cab with me in it. I think fear was in the air, released by the poisonous fumes from ground zero.
Violet, I think that you can try to be nonjudgmental in categorizing people. But I think that categorizing people--making sweeping generalities--is a difficult business that can lead to some false notions and unfortunate conclusions. That said, I do think that there are regional and national tendencies. Americans tend to be individualistic. But there are millions of Americans who prefer to conform. People are simply too idiosyncratic and genetically different to be categorized. I've got a nerve, haven't I? I said I was a bigot earlier in this thread.
Is it ok for me to visualize black people as having dark skin?
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You would be wrong. I've known several black women, who have lighter skin than I do.
Roberta-- You are obviously not a bigot. People who hold themselves to a high code of personal behavior, as you do, are harder on themselves than they should be.
So STOP THAT! :wink:
I have not mentioned Roberta in relation to politics. Scratch that for a bone of contention.
sweetcomplication - You see it as a shot - I see it as a simple comment.
Edgar, Scratched--as far as I'm concerned. A simple misunderstanding.
I do hope that we won't have a repetition of the hysteria which killed the other thread.
what do you think words like "black" & "muslim" are? why do you think "black" people are called "black"? certainly not because they're light skinned...
in the world that some of you are stampeding towards, people won't be able to acknowledge differences based on culture, race, religion, skin color, etc...
in your zeal to stamp out prejudice and bigotry, you'll be killing something essential to being human
let's be more specific about what it is we want to cure, and let's be more specific with our language
"categorizing" is no sin, and yes, one can "categorize" without making value judgements
No repetition for me, set. As of this moment I am on hiatus from the political threads.
Mapleleaf wrote:Reading......
Yes, me, too .... A really engrossing thread.
so...
I'm imagining a world where we won't have the language to describe reality anymore. We'll all just be "people" or "human" and we'll only be allowed to talk about people as individuals (and probably only the ones we know personally).
Words like "black", "caucasian", "asian", and "american" will disappear. All boundaries will be breached. We'll all be gray. Lovely.
While we're at it, let's erase words like "human", "animal", and "plant"... after all, we're all living things. Oops... did I say "things"? Now I'm being unfair to non-entities.
Just for the record, I don't know a single black person who gives a damn whether he's referred to as "african-american" or "black" - they'd all draw the line at "negro" or "colored", though. I trust no one has confusion or resentment about making that small concession to "pc" (or common courtesy relative to naturally changing public attitudes, depending on how you look at it). If so, I don't personally think any length discussion is gonna clear up that particular misunderstanding.
I am not PC at all, and it bugs me how the PC faction wants to change our language to supposedly appease others. That said, without a certain amount of common courtesy to one another, we would be constantly at each other's throats. You do not, IMO, have to be PC to be polite. Hyper-changing the language may be silly, but respecting others is not.
common courtesy and respect for others are good standards
PC is becoming just another weapon people use to slander their "opponents"
perhaps removing the "P" from "PC" is a step in the right direction
I'd prefer PC anyday, to bigotry ...
Living in a racist country - I can certainly identify with some of the things which are being said in this very interesting discussion !
