warren d

Seeing as my posts kept getting deleted in the stupid immigration thread I'll write it here instead.
"Coloured" isn't a derogatory term (at least not in the UK) but the term is outdated and so vague that it really tells us very little about the person being described apart from them being non white. Why be so vague? It's like pussy footing around.
"Coloured" as many of you know can mean different things to different people. To some people it means black or half-caste and too others it may just mean half-caste. If you are describing somebody then give us more of a clue than "coloured". It is not offensive to describe somebody as black or as half-caste if that's what they are so why be scared to say it?

JLFS

The jury is still out on the word half caste, see the link below

http://www.intermix.org.uk/features/FEA_22_half.asp

rugbymatt

There is no way I would EVER use the words Half-caste but I freely use the word coloured.

Look you can Google all ya want but it comes down to one thing and one thing alone, how your "non white" friends act when you use words.
I have dozens of "N-W" friends, it comes from living most of your life overseas and having been born overseas. I have quite a few Asian mates and if I EVER called them "Paki" or anything like that it would destroy our friendship, no more, no less. I have used the word coloured with my non white mates and not once, never have they said to me that they are uncomfortable with the term and I can honestly say that at least one of them, a well known former rugby player and now bodybuilder would have said something without a shadow of a doubt!

HBG

I have black and Asian people in my family, and all of them object to being called coloured. If race is mentioned in the conversation, which is extremely rarely, they refer to themselves as Asian; Indian or Pakistani; or black.

Despite Obama, racism isn’t dead, and never will be. Nor will the fights when Rangers play Celtic, or West Ham play Millwall, and I’ve been to many of those.

There was an experiment once where schoolchildren were segregated by the colour of their eyes alone. It proved the obvious, if pushed, people prefer to be among their own.

If the biggest selling book of all times is to be believed, it was always thus.

Lionda

Is this political correctness Oh, how I hate all this - no-one knows what to say anymore. Personally I don't care what anyone calls me, pink, white, blondie, whatever. There are more important things to worry about.

jackytoo

Unlike all of you I don't have any black or Asian friends but I do know that calling anyone "coloured" will get an unwanted response from these races. I also know that using this word would never get you a job in the public sector in the UK.

jdr

I used to be white, then I moved to Spain, I am coloured now.

Lionda

genegenie

What about slapper

jjh

This makes me so cross. My grandmother was half Indian (not from the Americas) and my mother was extremely dark skinned, with dark brown eyes and black hair. I am fair skinned, but tan easily without burning, and I have green eyes.

The gene pops up now and again in the family but if anyone EVER called any of us coloured (sorry Warren and RM) , I would punch their lights out. We know our heritage and would prefer to be called, if anything at all because we are all so different, mixed race. You wouldn´t look at me and be able to tell that there was anything else in my blood other than pure Anglo Saxon.

You should all remember that the Uk was populated by so many races, including the so called Negros, because of the slave trade. Not many of us can say we are truly ´white´, whatever white means. You only have to watch ´Who do you think you are?, or similar programmes.´to know this. So, before you all get on your high horses, why don´t you look into your past?

Rant over.

JLFS

In my case, I did not realise that I was being called a derogatory name. (Dago)
My parents went one night a week to learn English.

I went to school 5 days a week, so I thought all children were called Dago

because, "5 day go to school." I thought it was another word for "pupil"

I must admit I was only called this a couple of times, by my best friends father.
But I dont hold it against him

snikpoh

What the h**l does it matter what colour people are? Why do they have to be labelled as paki, or black or whatever?

Why can't people see beyond colour and refer to them in different ways. For example, "the man over there in the red jumper" not "the chinki over there".

Or am I being too simplistic?

rugbymatt

I agree... but what if two blokes are stood over "there" in red jumpers (or uniforms say)..... how would YOU highlight the difference?

JLFS

I think you are being far too simplistic.

Referring to people by the colour of thier jumper is not the way to go. That is like seeing 2 dogs, a Doberman and a Poodle and saying the one with the black collar has just peed against the wheel of my car.

Every species, animal, insect, and object in the world has a name, and that is how they are described, a Zebra is a zebra, it is not a black and white horse.
There is no crime in calling a person what they are, the problem lies in the way it is said, and the terms used.
It is fine to say Chinese, but not chinki. It is quite simple really, we do not have to dumb down and refer to people by the clothes they are wearing.

Fortaleza

My mate's father was always known as 'Darky' Hughes. He was quite a (locally) well known boxer and they even put that on his posters. His son ie my mate also picked up that nickname. When we were around 10 he asked us to drop it, which we did.

As for coloured, as a generic term I don't see the fuss. Of course, individual races will be peed off wanting to distinguish etc. I get called a Christian but as a Catholic I want to make the distinction. Yet calling me Christian is not incorrect. I get called British, but point out that I am Welsh. Pedantic but at the end of the day they are one and the same. Better than being called English!

English, Scots Irish, Norwegian, German, Greek, Spanish, Rumanian, Portuguese - we are all called 'white'. Yet I doubt that an Scot would like being told he is the same as English, neither would an Englishman like being told he is the same as a Rumanian. Yet as a generic term, white is acceptable even though we all want to make distinctions. Coloured works the same way. I am quite fed up of walking over eggshells for coloured or black or whatever people. The more we whitees fumble and stumble over it all, are we not still singling them out for special or different treatment - somthing which believers in true equality strive to avoid????