Black Girl identified only as "Black Girl" in yearbook

[short recoil]

I think it is wrong getting too offended and politically correct about such things.
I can't really care what people call me, i shouldn't imagine most would.

You cannot really call it racism as it in no way puts her down due to her race.
I mean what the hell is it gonna get like? how would you actually be able to describe the differences when tracking a criminal without being racist?
"the subject is a black male.." OMG YOU ARE BEING RACIST!

You do have to think about it like this though, imagine if there was someone who was overweigh in that photo and they put "Fat Boy" because they didn't know his name.
Now i would just find it funny if it was me but some people might find it offensive.
But tbh it's nothing compared to a smack in the mouth.

 

[The Dark Elf]

But she's black. It's like saying "Blonde hair". If wasn't used in a racist context it's not racist.

except being called "the black girl" is well known as a derogatory term. Even if it is accurate (being as she's colored). It's like calling someone with a disability a retard, its accurate but its still an insulting way of saying it.

 

[short recoil]

except being called "the black girl" is well known as a derogatory term. Even if it is accurate (being as she's colored). It's like calling someone with a disability a retard, its accurate but its still an insulting way of saying it.

That's the silly thing though, because black people have been subject to racism in recent history it seems like theres nothing you can call them without being racist, you cannot talk about them cos thats racist.....it's terrible
It is almost like being non racist is racism itself.

To me they are just people, i will describe people by the coulour of their skin, hair and what they are wearing.

 

[Cons Himself]

so how would you refer to someone if you wanted to point out the color of their skin weenie?

PS - ive christened The Dark Elf, Weenie because he is a male ultra feminist, politically correct nutter who goes around trying to impose his morality on everyone else.

Welcome Weenie to the thread everyone: http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/weenie.htm

 

[Feath]

except being called "the black girl" is well known as a derogatory term. Even if it is accurate (being as she's colored). It's like calling someone with a disability a retard, its accurate but its still an insulting way of saying it.

Not really. It depends on the context. If the teachers/students of this school referred to her that way in real life, then it would be insulting.

And it's worth noting that "retard" and "Fat boy" are instults. Being black is not a bad thing, it isn't an insult to call someone black.

Real racism is when someone can't get a job or a hotel room because of the colour of their skin. This is what society needs to address. Racism is not pointing out that someone's skin is black.

 

[The Dark Elf]

That's the silly thing though, because black people have been subject to racism in recent history it seems like theres nothing you can call them without being racist, you cannot talk about them cos thats racist.....it's terrible
It is almost like being non racist is racism itself.

To me they are just people, i will describe people by the coulour of their skin, hair and what they are wearing.

Well to me their no different neither. But the number of people who look at things that way in the world is small. Also, your in the UK too. Something us lot in the UK don't really understand or notice is how behind the US is with the whole black thing still. Having films that involve a black and a white relationship is still pretty iffy even now, while in the UK nobody really would give it a second thought. So while a comment like the black girl would yeah be offending in the UK, in the US it likely has more sinister tones. If a black guy moved onto your street, you'd probably not even notice. Black guy moves into a white neighbourhood in the US, and its a different story.

I'm sure im gonna get a few american's disagreeing with that, so i'll just say its not any particular individuals, just the general feeling towards colored people in the US which is still there, just under the surface. Only gotta see the way actors go on about it to know its like such a big deal for them. I suppose you could compare that to how many british feel about asians but wont admit it in public actually (we're far from perfect too heh)

 

[The Dark Elf]

so how would you refer to someone if you wanted to point out the color of their skin weenie?

PS - ive christened The Dark Elf, Weenie because he is a male ultra feminist, politically correct nutter who goes around trying to impose his morality on everyone else.

Welcome Weenie to the thread everyone: http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/weenie.htm

*claps* keep it up, your just showing your lack of intelligence by jumping in with childish name calling because you've nothing useful to contribute lol. Sad Lad.

 

[OCybrManO]

If I'm ever in a group of people where the most obvious distinction is my skin color... feel free to call me "the white guy" if it helps people understand who you are talking about.

 

[Cons Himself]

who's calling names? its just a perfect representation of your online persona, real or otherwise

anyway back OT, so how would you refer to someone if you had to point out the color of their skin weenie?

 

[Cons Himself]

except being called "the black girl" is well known as a derogatory term. Even if it is accurate (being as she's colored). It's like calling someone with a disability a retard, its accurate but its still an insulting way of saying it.

I didnt know the phrase: 'the black girl' was "well known as a derogatory term" if its used to identify said person. could someone please corroborate this for me?

And Yes, calling someone a Jew if theyre Jewish, or Black if theyre Black in order to indetify them is analogous to calling a disabled person a retard....


is it just me or is has this guy lost the plot somewhat?

 

[The Dark Elf]

If I'm ever in a group of people where the most obvious distinction is my skin color... feel free to call me "the white guy" if it helps people understand who you are talking about.

I dare you to go upto colored people and refer to them as the black girl/guy, see how far that gets you . Being called the white guy might not bother you, but your ancestory wasn't that of slave labor and being treated as second class citizens, having to fight just to have the same rights. It's pretty different, and being classed as a color instead of their given name, it just smacks of being wrong to me.

-

Cons Himself. When you grow up I'll reply to you, until then get back in your cot and let the bigger boys talk to each other without your constant attention whoring getting in the way.

 

[OCybrManO]

IMO, euphemisms are more insulting than the words they replace. They infer that the person is too sensitive to handle the truth and they must be shielded from the harsh reality like a small child. Euphemisms are just another way of pretending problems don't exist... which doesn't make the real problem go away.

BTW, every race has been enslaved by another race at some point in history. Black people have been slaves, Jews have been slaves, white people have been slaves, hispanic people have been slaves, asians have been slaves, etc. Having been enslaved in the past is not unique to any race. White people were actually enslaved by black people in Africa at one point, IIRC

 

[Cons Himself]

I dare you to go upto colored people and refer to them as the black girl/guy, see how far that gets you . Being called the white guy might not bother you, but your ancestory wasn't that of slave labor and being treated as second class citizens, having to fight just to have the same rights. It's pretty different, and being classed as a color instead of their given name, it just smacks of being wrong to me.

-

Cons Himself. When you grow up I'll reply to you, until then get back in your cot and let the bigger boys talk to each other without your constant attention whoring getting in the way.

Sorry big boy. I didnt realise it was possible to sum up the ancestry of an entire race of people as "2nd class citizens and slave labour". Isnt that a little bit condescending? Dont you think the black race has a bit more history and culture than just that? For the record, and I know this is a lame argument, I have both black and Asian friends.

Let me give you an example of how normal non-hyper-sensitive non-guilt ridden people converse in this day and age.

Me: You see the footy last night
My Black Mate: Yeah
Me: Who was that guy, the black guy on the right for Arsenal?
My Black Mate: Lauren, hes a great player.

or how about this:
Me: Where you going tonight mate?
Asian mate: Some Asian do/function thing man?
Me: Nice.
Asian mate: Yeah its just some cultural event thing at Alexandra Palace. No whiteboys! (irony)
Me: **** you funny man I didnt want to go to your sucky Asian event anyway! (irony)

How do you talk to your Black/Asian mates Dark Elf? Would you not use the word Black person, to a black friend for example?

 

[qckbeam]

I really don't see how this is a big deal. Honestly, it was used by the staff as a placeholder for someone who they had yet to identify. Seeing as she's black, they used the phrase "black girl" to describe her. It's just something that's immediately noticeable to an observer. It's like saying someone has blonde hair, or blue eyes. If you had a white guy in a photo where everyone else was black do you think anyone would have a problem using the phrase "white guy" to identify him? No, because that would be silly, just like this is.

 

[Cons Himself]

The funniest thing is, Dark Elf, supposed defender against racist attitudes in the thread is referring to black people as 'colored' people.

Didnt you know the phrase 'colored' people went out in the eighties along with 'darkies'?

 

[The Dark Elf]

The funniest thing is, Dark Elf, supposed defender against racist attitudes in the thread is referring to black people as 'colored' people.

Didnt you know the phrase 'colored' people went out in the eighties along with 'darkies'?

So reading that post of yours, am I to assume you didn't mean to send this PM a good 20/30 minutes ago?

hey man, i think we should stop having a go at each other - we obviously disagree on a lot of things, and i still think youre wrong, but shall we agree to disagree and leave it at that?

So much for you leaving it at that eh. Guess you just wanted people to think you'd won some imaginary little argument in your mind. Whatever mate lol.

 

[iyfyoufhl]

guys, guys, guys listen to yourself, this "black girl" has a name, and under her photo in the yearbook it should say her name, not "black girl"

it's so simple, i don't know what the f@ck you arrugiing about

 

[Cons Himself]

that's because I saw yet another instance of your inconsistency, and just had to point it out.

and FYI Dark Elf, posting private messages on a public forums is very poor form indeed.

stick to art - at least youre good at it

 

[OCybrManO]

guys, guys, guys listen to yourself, this "black girl" has a name, and under her photo in the yearbook it should say her name, not "black girl"

it's so simple, i don't know what the f@ck you arrugiing about

Yes, everyone understands that. Supposedly, it was a placeholder. Someone said it shouldn't have even been used as a placeholder. If they didn't know her name at the time it's a valid placeholder. That's what I'm saying. I thought we already assumed that, by accident, it didn't get replaced with her real name. Was I mistaken?

 

[Cons Himself]

no you are correct cybrman

dark elf is disagreeing with the fact that they used the placeholder black girl in the first place. he thinks its racist. he also referred to black people as colored people further up in the thread. 10 points for your team if you can spot the irony there...

 

[gh0st]

Maybe her name is Black Girl? There was a girl named Lemonjello, and her brothers name was Orangello. Lemon Jello and Orange Jello, respectively.

But anyway... its hard to call high school kids racist. I call my black friends ****** all the time, and they call me sperm stain or something like that. Do i hate black people? No. Do my friends hate me? Yes. It seems like some people in this thread lack the ability to see through the lines and apply some context to the situation. Its just an inside joke or whatever that went public, an error from the editors. Trust me, they happen all the time in high school journalism/yearbook.

dark elf is disagreeing with the fact that they used the placeholder black girl in the first place. he thinks its racist. he also referred to black people as colored people further up in the thread. 10 points for your team if you can spot the irony there...

Learn to read.

 

[Foxtrot]

So reading that post of yours, am I to assume you didn't mean to send this PM a good 20/30 minutes ago?



So much for you leaving it at that eh. Guess you just wanted people to think you'd won some imaginary little argument in your mind. Whatever mate lol.

Colored is far more insulting than black is.

 

[dart321]

I just noticed something. Anyone see the irony in the thread title? Anyone?

Black girl referred to only as "Black Girl" in yearbook.

You referred to her as only "Black Girl" too! Racist!

 

[Cons Himself]

guess i can read just fine - yeah looks like it.

all quotes copyright the dark elf etc...

what a dumb thing to say. you don't just put "black girl" as a placeholder. Its like putting "jew" or "******" or "gayboy" ffs.

no its not the same as ****** or gayboy. it is the same as jew. you are referring to someone by their race or religion, in order to identify them since you dont know their name - most of the people on here seem to think this is fine.

except being called "the black girl" is well known as a derogatory term. Even if it is accurate (being as she's colored). It's like calling someone with a disability a retard, its accurate but its still an insulting way of saying it.

i didnt know referring to someone by their skin color because you dont know their name is a well known derogatory term. referring to a black person as colored however is derogatory.

I dare you to go upto colored people and refer to them as the black girl/guy, see how far that gets you . Being called the white guy might not bother you, but your ancestory wasn't that of slave labor and being treated as second class citizens

first of all, stop calling black people colored people. arent we colored too - our color is pink. secondly dont condense the entire ancestry of a race of people down to being 'slaves and 2nd class citizens'. its derogatory and condescending.

 

[Laivasse]

guys, guys, guys listen to yourself, this "black girl" has a name, and under her photo in the yearbook it should say her name, not "black girl"

it's so simple, i don't know what the f@ck you arrugiing about

Having something other than her name beneath her pic is an error that should not have happened. The question is whether having "black girl" beneath her pic indicates that there was racism behind the error or not.

If they're being sincere about this 'placeholder' business, I see nothing wrong with this at all. The easiest way of identifying a black girl in a group of white people is to point her out as "the black girl". You might think it insulting that the most distinctive think about her, to whoever was compiling the year book, was her colour, but the most distinctive thing about a lone black person in a large group of white people - is the fact that they're a lone black person in a large group of white people. In that case, "the black girl" is the easiest way of referring to her. The fact that it ended up in the final book shows incompetence, but nothing else. Similarly, the easiest way of referring to a lone white person in a group of black people is as "the white guy".

There MAY have been sinister intent in leaving it in, designed to alienate her because she's black, but without anything pointing to it other than the fact that "they're Texan"...it's a little unjustified. I'm saying this as not the biggest fan of Americans, myself :E :thumbs:


I agree with Cons Himself, when you were talking about chatting to black or asian friends. You should be able to refer to people's race with ease. Racism is supposedly ignorance, but equality is ignorance too. Treating a black person differently because they've had social hardship will not bring about equality, it just highlights the fact that you're both of different race, and one race should be treated in a different way. People need to be ignorant of any need to behave differently, and just treat people as people. CLICHE-RAMA!!

 

[Cons Himself]

finally, some people who agree with me

i was beginning to think that the dark elf may have been right or something

only j/kin

n1 Laivasse

 

[Foxtrot]

finally, some people who agree with me

i was beginning to think that the dark elf may have been right or something

only j/kin

n1 Laivasse

He just doesn't know what it is like over here.

 

[TheSomeone]

Dark elf has some very good points in my opinion. Probably the most mature.

And why would you put a place holder anyways? Can't you leave it blank so it's apparent there needs to be something there?

And colored is probably the least offensive term ever.

 

[MjM]

Black girl sounds so bad, and then they forgot to even follow up and find out her name. Seriously sad imo.

 

[qckbeam]

Dark elf has some very good points in my opinion. Probably the most mature.

And why would you put a place holder anyways? Can't you leave it blank so it's apparent there needs to be something there?

And colored is probably the least offensive term ever.

It's easier to miss a blank spot than the phrase "Black girl" when you're going over everything and proof-reading your work. I worked on my own High-School year book about three years ago, and trust me, when you have someone that you can’t identify in a picture, you want something that smacks you in the face and says “You don’t have their name yet, get it” while you’re reading. Anything works better than a blank space. But even with something that’s very obviously a placeholder, mistakes are made. We’re talking about one picture out of hundreds or more in a book being composed by high-school students; stupid things will happen.

 

[Cons Himself]

And colored is probably the least offensive term ever.

Does anyone else find this retarded?

 

[Foxtrot]

Dark elf has some very good points in my opinion. Probably the most mature.

And why would you put a place holder anyways? Can't you leave it blank so it's apparent there needs to be something there?

And colored is probably the least offensive term ever.

I am guessing you do not live in the US.

 

[Cons Himself]

no, even in the UK, the term colored is still considered offensive, he's just ignorant.

 

[Edcrab]

If you knew someone's name and referred to them as "the black girl" at all times, that would be offensive and racist.

If you're stupid enough to use a controversial identifier as a placeholder (when you should know the names of everyone involved in the first place), then that's not racism or a sinister plot to cause offence, it's just incompetency.

So it's offensive, yes, but not in the sense that many are citing- it's because they didn't take the time out to find her actual name (or even know it to begin with) or have the decency to preview the yearbooks before releasing them.

They apologised, after all. At least she was actually black- it's not like someone imposed "dyke" or "slut" under her name, as the oh-so-clever "production team" at my school attempted to do (that's what happens if you try and make it a community project and give student's an element of power).

 

[The Mullinator]

Really stupid mistakes in yearbooks are not uncommon. In my highschool yearbook somebody put a message under his picture in Korean that said something along the lines of "All white people must die". No one caught on until after they were all printed.

 

[CptStern]

hehe I can see how this could be an honest mistake ...but intentional or not, it will upset a lot of people. As a web designer I'll often name files quirky names ..like this illustration of an older woman on the phone ...the file is named "whitey" cuz of her white hair ..but I can see how that can be misinterpreted

 

[the_lone_wolf]

she was the only black person in the year and they couldn't identify her???

breed them smart down south don't you? that explains "dubya":upstare:

edit:: shouldn't there be a new thread entitled...

"black girl identified as "black girl" in thread title"

get over your :rolling: political correctness :thumbs:

 

[Razor]

That's not the point; if it WAS a placeholder then that's still a stupid one to use, and a stupid oversight to let it be printed if it was unintentional (which I presume it was).

How else would you describe the girl? Well...she has black skin, so perhaps call her black girl?

I don't see any harm in doing that if it was just ment as a placeholder and i don't think it was in poor taste, how else would they call her "the girl with long, dark hair that is 5 people from the right on the third row"? That is just being too politically correct.

 

[No Limit]

......



People are doing what they can to fix the situation. The response seemed quite appropriate to me condsidering how much it will probably cost to replace all those pages.

Oh please, read my post on #10. I clearly wasn't serious; I live in New Mexico and have many good friends in Texas (I'm even considering moving there).

I would also be able to brush this off as a mistake but come on, the only black girl in the school just so happens to not be identified while every single other person is? I am not saying the entire district is responsible for this, probably not even the school; but the fact there doesn't seem to be any investigation in to how this happened is sickening.

 

[jondy]

except being called "the black girl" is well known as a derogatory term. Even if it is accurate (being as she's colored). It's like calling someone with a disability a retard, its accurate but its still an insulting way of saying it.

Without appropriate context, it's very difficult to say whether the placeholder name was racist or not. 'Black Girl' on it's own isn't racist, it's a description. Without knowing more it's hard to make a call either way.

EDIT: shit, this thread's moving quickly