People
of Color
Call me racist, but I hate the phrase "people of color". I just do. It's stupid. But I can list a few reasons, too.
Firstly, everyone has a color. White people range from light pinkish to beige to tan. And East Asian people are often as white, as far as skin pigmentation, as white people.
But OK, the term "white person" has been used for a long time and is generally understood. But guess what...scientifically speaking, white is a combination of every color, while black is the absence of color. So, everyone but black people should be known as "people of color" if you want to be more scientific about it.
But there's more. "People of color" refers to all non-whites, who have absolutely nothing in common besides the fact that they're not white. Michio Kaku, Queen Latifah, King Ashoka, and Kim Jong-Un are all people of color. Please tell me the traits they all share, which none of them share with white people. Besides being "people of color", I bet you can't name one.
If there's a designation for every human who isn't white, then there should be a designation for everyone who isn't black, and a designation for anyone who isn't East Asian, and a designation for everyone who isn't a Native American. But there isn't. There are only two categories that count - white and non-white.
What I really hate is when people say "I will tell you, as a person of color..." or "Speaking as a person of color..." You know what? You can't speak for anyone but yourself, so just talk about your experiences. What if a white person said, "Speaking as a person of non-color..." Hmm...speaking for the entire white race? You have that authority? You can do that? But speaking as a person of color is worse. Because you're not even speaking for one race, but for every race, to the exclusion of just one.
Finally, for good measure, I'll bring up one more irritating and ironic point. A few decades ago, "colored person" was the standard phrase for non-white people. Now, it's racist to say "colored people", but if you reverse it and say "people of color", it's the most uplifting thing in the world.
A: "So, what is the opinion of colored people like yourself on this point?"
B: "How dare you call me a colored person! I'm a person of color! OK, now that we've got that straight, I'll tell you what we all think..."
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