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Benedict Cumberpatch and the 'c' word.


beefface

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I

I said this in the other thread:

 

I'm not a colour - I'm a person. I am not defined by my skin tone, hair colour, eye colour etc. I'm just 'me' and that is all I ever will be.

 

Eff colour etc! We are who we are.

 

You might not think you are defined by how you look but ithe way each of us looks is important when a description is needed. Being described as 'an elderly woman' in my case wouldn't help anyone trying to identify me. However being described as 'an older white woman of average height, with glasses and white hair' could pick me out.

 

Benedict Cumberbatch went over the top with his apology, his intention was not to be offensive as most sensible folk would realise.

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OMG! I am so confused now. I honestly thought 'coloured' was a perfectly acceptable word to describe a black person??? :confused:

I hope I've never unknowingly ever offended anyone by using this term. I feel bad now :(

 

Don't feel bad dude. It wasn't done out of malice and you are willing to be educated, that's all that matters :nod:

 

---------- Post added 29-01-2015 at 13:32 ----------

 

If someone is brown, would they object to being called black?

 

Who decides which term is acceptable/offensive at any given time?

 

The individual and the collective

 

---------- Post added 29-01-2015 at 13:36 ----------

 

I just use the white brown black yellow colour scheme. I dont go in for all these name changes due to some wallflowers sensitivities

 

Working class, council estate born and bred?

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Apparently it is De rigueur to say "people of colour" but a serious faux pas to say "coloured" (go figure).

 

 

A big part of the problem lies in the difference between the history of Britain and the US. Bear in mind that in the states, segregation is still within living memory for some. The word "coloured" was regularly used in segregated areas (signs saying "no coloured" and whatnot) so it carries those connotations in the US that it doesn't really have over here.

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A big part of the problem lies in the difference between the history of Britain and the US. Bear in mind that in the states, segregation is still within living memory for some. The word "coloured" was regularly used in segregated areas (signs saying "no coloured" and whatnot) so it carries those connotations in the US that it doesn't really have over here.

 

Mmm! Look up 'N.A.A.C.P', the oldest and largest civil rights organisation in the U.S.A!

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