"Coloureds"

Lou   Wednesday, September 24, 2003, 13:03 GMT
Why does everyone assume that leaving South Africa is the answer for anyone. It is a great country. What everyone needs to do now, is to get in there, boots and all and make a difference. I just recently heard about some teenagers at a private school whose only goal seems to be to travel in the wide and wonderful world of 'overseas' for a year before beginning university, and then what? Making money, or running to Australia or some other place which looks like home, but isn't? These are very 'priviledged' young people.
But what about my young friend Vuyo, whose Mom sent him over to Philadelphia to study fabric printing? Yes, he had a good time and is now in a position to have his own studio, but he couldn't wait to get home to Soweto, to his family and friends and the vibes. His Mom is a designer, so he is going to create fabrics for her. Traditional African motives are being incorporated into fashion for today, and everybody loves it.
There are so many great things going on, as well as the negative side. It's not all negative, as the press would have us believe.
But each and every person no matter what hue their skin, needs to get in there and do their bit. There's really nowhere else I would like to be, and my friends are people I can relate to and identify with because of what we think, and together, they make up a veritable rainbow of colours.
wassabi   Thursday, September 25, 2003, 03:57 GMT
my plan is to work for msf, and then become a phyciatrist for those anorexic, drug-abusing, depressed, phycotic teens. when i turn into a granny, i plan to read books on those reality topics like those teens gone bad. im so negative.
chantal   Thursday, September 25, 2003, 20:19 GMT
Clark
An American friend of mine told me that in the USA anyone who is not caucasian is condidered "colored". What do you think about this belief ?
Sima   Thursday, September 25, 2003, 20:23 GMT
clark
Do you write "coloured" à l'anglaise ?
Clark   Thursday, September 25, 2003, 22:12 GMT
No, in America, if one says "colored," that is not considered very nice. As for the spelling, "Coloured" is the term/spelling for the group of people in South Africa (or so I gather). If you are a Coloured person in America, you are probably a person who has come from South Africa, but will be considered black. If you are a colored person in America, this just means that you are black and the person saying this i snot politically correct (or is very old).
Clark   Thursday, September 25, 2003, 22:31 GMT
I meant, "is not..."
wassabi   Friday, September 26, 2003, 03:03 GMT
why is it bad to be called "colOred"?
Clark   Friday, September 26, 2003, 04:46 GMT
Because the politically correct term in America is "African-American."
Eastie   Friday, September 26, 2003, 06:23 GMT
In the US, a "person of color" can be black, latino, asian, or anybody else who's not white. It's supposed to be a politically correct term, wheras calling someone "colored" is not. I don't know who decides what's pc and what's not, but it seems nonsensical to me.
Lou   Friday, September 26, 2003, 13:02 GMT
Clark, you may be interested in something I found on:
http://kush.co.za/Archive/Editorial/ColouredGirl.asp
It's called ' Interview With A Coloured Girl - Interview with myself.
wassabi   Sunday, September 28, 2003, 05:07 GMT
ooooooooh scary...people are coloured!
Clark   Sunday, September 28, 2003, 06:33 GMT
Lou, I read that article. Very interesting. I have read elsewhere that the Coloureds are not liked by the blacks (because they are not "black" enough) and they are looked down upon by the whites because they are not white (but they are seen by the whites as only one step away from being white).

Lou, praat jy Afrikaans?
ThaiBoxer   Sunday, September 28, 2003, 09:41 GMT
As a colored guy, I would like to say white as well as black is one step away from being colored.

Is alien's race white, or black, or colored? If they were indeed exist I firmly believe they're colored, at least gray.
Lou   Monday, September 29, 2003, 10:08 GMT
Found some interesting info. Bushmen prefer to be called Bushmen, because San was a derogatory name used by the Khoi-Khoi. Unfortunately, there are not many Bushmen left. We could learn a whole lot from them about being in harmony with Nature! Personally, I respect every person, no matter what nationality, origin or looks. By this I mean not only skin hue but also height, weight etc. Everyone has a right to happiness and a right to be respected and accepted. You know the old rule, 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you' - that's my plan for living.

And yes, Clark, I do speak Afrikaans. I use it mostly with the children I know who have a rather unusual way of life, i.e. they come from homes where there is unemployment, drunkenness and fighting, and the living circumstances are appalling (for me, anyway). It is amazing how these children find strategies to get through life. One would like to support them all, but you end up doing what you can, even if it isn't very much, but the main thing is to give love.
Do you speak Afrikaans, and if so, where did you learn it? I thought you came from the USA.
Just a short reaction...   Monday, September 29, 2003, 12:18 GMT
...to a previous claim: Black people do blush or sunbathe as well as white people do.
As for the colour names, they are definetely nonsensical, though really usefull in everyday life. What if you call a guy with a strong melanin rate "black" and a guy with a low melanin rate "white"? This is just about using a convenient term in conversation.
Is it really needed to hesitate on the word to use when you want to refer to the skin colour of a Black dude of yours?
Is the age of racism really past if an ill-at-ease silence punctuate each reference to a colour?