people of color & Chicano

[Baker, John]

        I first encountered "people of color" at Harvard Law School, c. 1982
or 1983, where it was espoused by leaders of what we would now call the PC
movement.  (This was also when and where I first encountered the term
"politically correct," at which point the term had a somewhat different
meaning:  "It's politically correct to follow the usage of the managing
editor.")  The rationale was that a general term was needed to refer to
non-WASPs;  "minority" and "nonwhite" have the wrong connotations and are
factually incorrect.  "People of color" has an awkward construction, but it
achieved both its emotional purpose and its logical function.  In contrast,
"colored people" refers specifically to African-Americans (as in "National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People") and is no longer
considered appropriate.

        In apparent contrast to Indigo's views, I notice that members of
some groups (African-Americans and gays in particular) often find it
offensive to discuss the name of their group.  I suppose it is the
objectification that is offensive, the implicit message that "I am not
thinking of you as Ellen, but just as one more gay/lesbian/homosexual."
While I sympathize with that view in most contexts, it makes things more
difficult for those of us who are eager not to offend in ordinary discourse.
I hope that Indigo will indeed explain why "Hispanic" is offensive, a fact
of which I was unaware.  If the concern is that "Hispanic" inappropriately
refers back to a country with which there is little connection, wouldn't the
same objection apply to "Latino"?

John Baker


> -----Original Message-----
>
> If anybody wants to know why "Hispanic" is offensive I'll be glad to
> explain that too, but I've rambled enough for today!
>
> Indigo "I live in a bubble & I like it" Som :)