I don't take your criticism lightly or take offense, I respect and welcome it. I understand what happened to the Africans brought to America. It's a stain on the essence of our heritage that we can never erase. That was something that happened to those people that we can never live down no matter how hard we try. Racism is a part of who we are, and it will be apart of who we are for years to come, but my point has nothing to do with any of this. My question is, why do we call black Americans African Americans. We are all Africans if we trace our heritage back far enough. Why do we distinguish between whites and blacks? We are labeling people based on skin pigment Africans. Why don't we call Mexican Americans, Spanish Americans? Or White Americans Euro-Americans? I think it's silly.

@paul1967 Exactly, then I'm a Germanic/Irish/Scandanavian/Iberian/ and a little bit of 4 more AMERICAN.

@paul1967 Racism is Taught..get it Taught..from parent to child..your feel good chant of "We're American" is a lie..To veil your attempt to deny African Americans Any vestige of a personal history is to deny that We Whites destroyed any other contection to their past., and to deflect or soften how we Enslaved another human race for greed. That,sir, is bigotry.
In fact people of Spanish decent do self identify as,i.e, Mexican American or Spanish American.

@Charlene That's not at all what I'm trying to do Charlene. I could be wrong since I'm often wrong, but I want to point to what you're saying and call it White guilt. I truly hope this doesn't make you hate me because I value you a lot. I just think you're wrong here and I hope you will take a minute and think about this, and if I'm wrong I'll listen and change my views and anyone else reading this if I'm wrong, chime in. I don't mind being corrected.

You said, "We Whites destroyed any other connection to their past." I did nothing of the sort nor did you. Yes, white people did these terrible things, but black people did this too. White slave traders came to Africa on boats and traded goods with black tribes for captured blacks, and this practice still exists today, but instead of servants, they're used in sex trafficking. I'm in no way justifying what white slave owners did to the Africans brought over to America. It's unforgivable and evil beyond measure, but keep the blame where it belongs, and that's with the people who did the crimes. Since the problem is racism lets deal with that problem, and we can still acknowledge the atrocities this country was party to. The fact that I'm a white American doesn't in any way mean I'm guilty for the slave trade and I don't owe for that crime. I give my respect to all people because I value them as people.

@paul1967 Because descendants of slaves could not point to which country they were from; all they had was the continent of Africa thus African American became something they used in order to feel some ancestral ties. Or pride. Or culture. Or whatever they wished while also being American.

I don't get why this is so hard to understand. People that cannot trace their ancestry further back than who owned their grandparents were searching for that something that the most of the rest of us have by default: we know where we came from.

With the advent of DNA, and so many black people from island nations, the term is being used less than it used to be but is someone identifies as African American, I don't have an issue with it.

I personally use the word black as a descriptor because I live in an area with a large island population and yeah they do not want to be known as African since they're not but again it is not my place as a white person to judge how a person of color self identifies.

@paul1967 White America, whether or we were born after or your immigrant grand parents arrived after the Civil War, are part and parcel to blame for that despicable act and All subsequent acts of Racism.To claim as you self righteously do, that You or family, had nothing to with it is to deny that Racism. We Whites supported it through a sense of entitlement that contiues to This day.It is pernicious and now blatantly obvious to anyone that is cognizant of it. Which you've, obviously, chosen to ignore within your self.You expose it by your responces.

@Charlene I want this to be a useful dialogue between us, and I hope you will allow me to question your position. I hope that you won't interpret my comments as an attack on you.

I am a racist, you are a racist, Dr. Martin Luether King was a racist, Obama is a racist, but the difference between us and the KKK or Donald Trump is that we are aware of the harm this causes and we strive to overcome this negative attribute.

I am not responsible for the acts of my ancestors. I am accountable for my behavior today and my past. I don't have an issue with you identifying as a female, and it's easy for me to accept that you are in fact a female because I questioned it at one time and I listened and learned. I don't have a problem acknowledging label people place on themselves, and I will gladly adopt that label when I refer to them. I will also feel free to ask questions when I have them because that is who I am and that is how I learn. I've never been a yes man. I don't accept things just because I hear people talk about it with authority.

If you can point to how I'm responsible for the acts of my ancestors, I will listen and learn

Thank you

As we should.

I think you're 100% spot on and I hope people don't think I'm trying to be disrespectful. It's a question and I asked in hopes that this community could answer it. I feel like everyone has great points and so far I've found value in everyone's response.

Very well worded and you make a valid point.

Thank you. This really helps and it's an amazing video

this is brilliant. he put my reasoning into poetry. i think i'm black from the core ?

What label does he prefer?

@Carin
Jamal.

JK. He usually says he's black. We're computer programmers and huge geeks. You wanna piss him off. One word. Midichlorians.

@beerkrump What does that even mean?

@beerkrump Really.

My response to that is, "Come for the fight sequences, not the writing."

Easy for a white person to say--we don't have much at stake here. The average person does not think like that & those are the people that African Americans & others have to deal with in the real world. Of course you are right, but scientific facts don't get much respect these days, do they? It's a sad time.

@Carin The overwhelming majority of people are not racist. Don't believe it? Make a racist comment and watch how fast you get your ass reamed. Racists make up a very small portion of the population, and are a dying breed. The news, however, would have you believing otherwise. But the news hasn't been about reporting factual, relevant stories since, well, since .... forever.

@Piratefish I agree with your assessment of the media but in the last couple of years I have discovered that there are MORE racists than I previously had been aware of.

In liberal and'or atheist forums, there are fewer racists but out there in the world, they are alive and well

@Lucy_Fehr I still believe they are a small minority. When one stops and looks around, most people are decent human beings. I think we pay far too much attention to the racists and other assorted fringe assholes than we should. We're always going to have ignorant people among us, but why give them the spotlight so much?

@Piratefish It is definitely not that small. The election of trump brought them out of the closet.

@Sticks48 The media love to blow things out of all proportion. True racists are less than 1 out of 100. Probably much less, depending on where you're at in the country. And most of them are over 60. A dying breed.

But, yeah, let's continue to give them all of our attention. It's so healthy that way.

@Piratefish Perhaps location is a factor; I live in a very red county in Florida. Like fucking redneck central here.
I can't tell you how many people say racist shit to me assuming that I am one of them. Being in retail makes me a somewhat captive audience but still I am amazed at how little effort they make to keep their voice down or hide it.

A couple of weeks ago a Jamaican employee was asked if she had her papers but the girl standing nearby from United Kingdom wasn't

People bitch about spanish speakers several times a day and are convinced that the reason we don't carry their favorite foods from 1912 is because we have to make room for mexican and island food

A few days ago a customer was talking about a high school program her son is graduating from that only takes 100 students per year she leaned in to tell me that they don't have black kids there.

The above examples are just from the last couple of weeks said only to me- multiply that by 150 employees. They ARE emboldened.

I have a very young part time assistant that is a light skinned latina and she pretends she doesn't know spanish to avoid being hassled. She is also a lesbian which she does not hide but feels like she has to pass as white to avoid catching shit?

As an aside; that exclusive school I mentioned sent my grandson an invitation to tour tthe school with an eye to admission. He is mixed but is very dark and identifies as black

@PalacinkyPDX You have to admit it is ridiculous

No, I absolutely do not. I think it's of great value. The question I posed was done as respectfully as I could, and I don't think there's any harm in asking questions. I think the damage comes from not asking out of anxiety, doubt, or fear. I learned a lot about how people view this topic. @ghettophilosopher shared two great videos, and if you haven't watched the MLK video, I can tell you that speech is one I have never heard and it moved me to my core. GP also gave an articulate description of how people value their heritage, and he addressed how labels evolve. I learned about the enormous impact of labels and why dehumanizing language leads to "condoning, sanctioning, and encouraging racial-, ethnic-, and gender-based violence." (see: Donald Trump) It was an impactful lesson, and I don't think I thanked him, but I will now. Thank you ghettophilosopher for that information it was incredible and moving. @Keith_J showed me a video, "A Black America by Smokey Robinson" where Mr. Robinson used poetry about being united and allowing yourself the freedom to recognize that you are an American and the pride to be an American doesn't make you blind to the inequality that exists. He spoke about how all humans originated from Africa and that we are all shades of the same color. The sooner we all understand that the quicker racism will be a thing of the past. The lessons didn't end there everyone gave me something to think about most notably @DonCoryon @Lucy_Fehr @PalacinkyPDX @genessa @Fernapple @walklightly @Tompain1, and you had a lot to say that I found useful. I appreciate everyone who took the time out of their day and gave me an opportunity to look at what they had to say. Thank you all for what you offered me.

@OwlInASack Why do I need to confront myself?
You are assuming things you do not have any way of knowing.

Further, I detest labels. If someone wants to label themselves as anything, fine, have at it. I am not required to accept the labels anyone might try to put on me, and I certainly don't have to accept the labels anyone else wants to put on themselves or others.

My point was that I think calling people African-Americans, Polish-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Italian-Americans, etc, is what is dumb.
Just Americans would suffice.

In addition, I don't give a flying rat's ass about culture, heritage, or any of that stuff. It doesn't matter to me. I think they are just more mechanisms that divide people. Just like religion. I do not respect any religion, just like I don't respect culture or heritage. I tolerate them because that is required by law.

Don't assume I haven't given any of this serious thought. You would be very wrong. I hold the positions I do because I HAVE thought about all of it. Long and hard.

@OwlInASack You are free to make your assumptions. Your last paragraph sums up your feelings pretty well. Enjoy your day.

Maybe you wouldn't think the term was dumb if you did know who came up with it & why--without any information I don't understand how you can judge if it's dumb or not. I am informed & would still not consider it my place to decide if what they want to be called is dumb or not.

@Carin Whatthefuckever! Honestly, I do not care. I'm not going to be all politically correct over anything for anyone. I explained why I think it's dumb. It's not racist. It's just as stupid to say Italian-Americans, or European-Americans. It's just another distinction meant to divide us all. It has nothing to do with race. If you don't like how I feel about it, or anything else, I do not give a flying rat's ass.

@OwlInASack And how I may, or may not, feel about anything matters to you because... ?

@KKGator, i am so with you on the bullshittery of ethnic or hereditary labels! the powerful global elite sure knows how to divide & conquer. why play into their hands? i love or loathe a person by their very individual heart & mind, not by their generic "origin".

@walklightly Thank you!!!! Others have worked entirely too hard to miss the point, but you clearly get it. I'm not surprised either. You have always demonstrated your ability to grasp exactly what I mean. Again, thank you.

@KKGator, oh i'm getting all ? mushy now, thank you so much!

@walklightly, @KKGator l had to block that asshat Owlin. I agree with you. He is a pompous dick. I think that is 81 for me. I may hit the century mark by the new year.

You nailed my larger point because dividing people is precisely what it does, and I'm not saying get rid of all labels because doing that makes it difficult to communicate with one another.

@paul1967, we need descriptions for persons & things, but these don't have to be weighed on a judgmental scale. the fact that snow is white & nights are more black than anything else doesn't mean that one or the other is better.

when i lived in a share apartment in hamburg in the 70s there was a young man from eritrea, & he was indeed quite black. he used to refer to himself as nigger, & i thought that was a brilliant way of diffusing the entire issue.

@walklightly I overhear it all the time, on playgrounds and subways, one can hear and see people greeting others as nigger (or niggah), not in hostility, but in friendship. It has become a word that is tolerable when used by the black community and repudiated in white society. I resist using it because I view it as a social contract. I say resist not because I find it difficult but because I will use it when it's being used appropriately to discuss the subject.

@OwlInASack, genetically we are all mongrels - as i stated before.

@OwlInASack, & an at best euphemistic term such as "african american" makes all the injustice, inequality & hatred go away how?

@OwlInASack, re distraction please read the op.

I think you make a valid point, people get to choose the labels they put on themselves, and it's appropriate to respect that, and I do and I always will. I wonder why African when that description isn't accurate for all black skinned people. I don't understand why that label.

Whites called them Orientals & many of them didn't like it so they picked a name they thought was better.
& you know the reasons whites had for singling them out were often not very nice.

@Carin People are Asian. Objects are Oriental. So only ignorant fools called them Orientals. And let's be accurate: SOME white people referred to them in such terms. Many whites are neither racist nor prejudice.

@Piratefish I do agree. But the ignorant fools murdered some of them.

I agree.

@creative51 recently Bacari Sellers and other black academicians and pundits have taken to using that word in referring to themselves. It may have a limited scope. So I will take back my comment and say it is anecdotal and not necessarily in common usage.

@t1nick, @creative51 This is why I love this community.