Sep 14, 2006 5:29:22 PM cite

As a whole, many people want to soften language by using euphemisms. Using African-American is trying to rid of so called 'bad' language. Maybe language like Black and Negro should be used. So called 'bad' words are only 'bad' in the context it's used. For example, if I was to scream and shake my fists at you saying 'I love you!!!', you would be freaked out by the tone of my voice. It is the context in which words are used that matters. People need to lose their sensitivity! One of my best friends from the past was black. He would come up to me and say "Morning Honky!". I would reply "Morning nigga!" These are just words and we both used them as terms of endearment to each other. So, using the term black or negro or whatever does not bother me to describe a race. I wouldn't care if someone called me a honky, white boy, or anything else like that. We as a people need to lose these 'soft' words and say it like it is.

by gamer2140

Sep 14, 2006 7:40:57 AM cite

It seems that the "African American" phrase is used too much today, and could be taken multiple ways in theory if not practice. Americans seem to think that we can still almost segregate ourselves as long as we use what is supposedly a more polite term. It is very true however that many of the darker-skinned people in our nation really aren't African in any way except their heritage. Maybe we should be concentrating more on the people than the term.

by ojchase

Sep 14, 2006 2:08:54 AM cite

I would suggest that is the case of the American context, the are speaking of historical origin, and in the case of Mr. Troxler, he speaks of place of birth. A semantical difference possibly, but both are valid. I speak form the origin of being a Red Headed [Okay, now more grey] Scottish Bred, Canadian Born White, with full ?First Nations? Status, a benefit of adoption nigh on 40 years ago.

by RedSevenOne

Sep 13, 2006 6:01:12 PM cite

In America, we have strived to remove all racial hurdles so that all races may have equal opportunities. Yet, we still define people by their cultural backgrounds and their race. In your case, you have two conflicting cultural and racial backgrounds that have often been used to define a race of people that have come from Africa. In theory, people living in the United States shouldn't have to be defined by race, but yet they still are. To try and prevent this, Americans have tried to come with a politically correct term that defines a race. However, African-American is not correct either. So in retrospect, I believe we shouldn't have to define people by their race or their cultural background, but that race and cultural background still needs to be preserved. A way to do this is to find another way to preserve their cultural background and race so that problems like this do not arrive.

by Artemis Athena

Sep 13, 2006 6:00:18 PM cite

I agree with what you are saying, but the words "African-American" are deeply ingrained in people's minds to mean "black". Although you may fit the definition of what African-American actually means, African-American no longer means that your are originally from Africa but instead that you are black.

by MyMomSaysI'mKeen

Sep 13, 2006 6:00:15 PM cite

I think that people should be defined or refeered as their race, because its their heritage, it where their ansestors come from, I don't think anyone should be ashamed or degraded by that. It is a classification that those people should be proud of. I think that perhaps since you were raised i n Africa you understand and know the culture better than an African -American.

by baby_j_10

Sep 13, 2006 5:59:03 PM cite

I think that there is simply two ways to interpret the words African American. One is that a person was born in Africa and came to America and the other is that the person was born in the US but has African roots. People just need to realize that the word can and should be looked at in two different ways.

by SMathis

Sep 13, 2006 5:58:46 PM cite

if you are white then you arent considered African American. African American is a term created by blacks so they have something to be called that they all agree on. They prefer to be called African American over Negro and other terms.

by BB_Kyle449

Sep 13, 2006 12:13:16 AM cite

Took me awhile to figure it out, but you know I have been so ingrained with all blacks calling themselves african american I forgot about the white population in Africa. And I get what you're saying...that not ALL blacks and probably most are not actually from Africa, but you are white and you ARE from Africa which does make you more african than most black people! I know many blacks who hate that term, because as they say...they aren't from africa, their parents aren't from africa...etc etc...they were born and raised in america and are just americans. just as I am not spanish american, but american by birth. Just as all white people aren't from Germany all black people aren't from Africa. Excellent point!

by LZB

Sep 12, 2006 8:18:14 PM cite

Heritage is important to most people; cultural rituals, where we come from, our family history. Saying that you are more African than any black person in America may certainly be your personal view, but does open yourself to offending others who may feel very strongly about their African Heritage. Although African Americans are , yes, American, their heritage & culture is different than Polish-Americans or Italian-American or Asian Americans and represents very important family values & traditions that mean a great deal to them. Each family history is sacred and should be honored & learned from by others.

by Deannahawk

Sep 13, 2006 5:53:16 AM cite

well said.

by Deannahawk

Sep 12, 2006 1:18:15 AM cite

I am a pale Australian and while I was in Paris I had friends who were Afro-French and one of them insisted on calling me Anglo-Saxon while the dark skinned English girl was called an Anglo-phone. I tried to insist I was Australasian as my culture is defined by what I have been nurtured. The dark skinned English girl had been brought up on roast beef and a very English way of life. I was confused and still call myself Australasian not Anglosaxon. I do not believe that my way of thinking is right for anyone but myself.

by Kate

Sep 11, 2006 9:50:31 PM cite

People should never defined by their rare nor where they come from. People should be defined by their doings. By they way they think and behave. It's totally wrong to define them by their race or from where they are coming or from their look. Look at the past and see the wars, that have been fought or look at the present. In my opinion most of them were totally wrong. I have meet many people, many diffrent races and what I have learned from them that we are all the same. It is not important from where you come. It is important how you think and what you do.

by bossk

Sep 10, 2006 8:12:25 PM cite

I think African Americans are just Americans, at least in the generatiosn we have now. They know nothing else but what it is to be black in America. They have never been to Africa, are far removed from the rituals and livestyles of their ancestors and are a aprt of what America is. My husband is from Germany. He grew up in Germany, he lived as Germans do. He moved to the U.S. to be with me. He will always be a German in America. And if he gets his citizenship here he may be called German American. If we were to have children (we will not) they would have strong roots in their fathers heritage and would try to pass it down to the next generation and so forth and so on, but they would ultimately be Americans. I remember an icident where a white African had moved to the U.S. There was a scholarship or something that was exclusively for African Americans. He applied and recieved much reidcule. I guess in some cases the color of your skin makes a big difference.

by wyer

Sep 9, 2006 9:20:30 PM cite

I understand what you're saying. I am a African-American living in the south and many of us are very ignorant about our culture. I don't believe you are a racist. I believe that you are speaking the truth of today. Maybe you have a little black in you, you just don't know it yet. To reallly answer you question, even though I wish that people weren't still defined by thier race, the sad truth is that we still are defined in that light.

by Faren

Sep 9, 2006 8:03:16 PM cite

While it becomes important, at least in the U.S., for people to identify themselves in terms of race for programatic reasons, in fact, according to the most recent anthropological studies, we are but one race, apparently emminating from the Horn of Afica. In a one-world culture, which should be our goal, we must break down racial divisions and barriers. We all must learn to exist on this fragile planet together and to live in peace.

by rmfoley

Sep 9, 2006 7:22:52 PM cite

The term African American can be a usefull description when trying to give a quick phisical AND cultural image of a particular person. Perhaps for dating purpuses. It is broadly understood that the person is dark skinned and culturally made in the USA. As people are distributed around the globe and become more complex mixtures of the cultures they live within. It is becoming harder and less acurate to define them with such a broad term as African American. These terms are usually used to communicate a quick conceptual image of a person but require finer and finer subdevisions and clarifications. What if they were raised and lived in multiple countries? and have color mixed parents? It may be time to abandon the definition game altogether.

by hatzvi