It's Offensive Cause I'm Overly-Sensitive

"That mess is offensive cuz I'm overly sensitive."

This phrase is one of me and my sister's favorite. She's getting her Ph.D in the field of Sociology (with a focus on racial stratification), and I am her willing research partner, student, and back-up.

However, one of the side effects to being so thirsty for knowledge is ultra-sensitivity as a result of what you've learned. When you know a lot about a subject, especially a subject that you have to deal with constantly, you find a lot of things that tick you off daily. That's how my sister and I are about race issues.

So here are a couple of things that piss me off, that I'm sure don't bother other folks at all. I just have to get them off of my chest.

1.) The phrase, "people of color." People of color is basically a catch-all term to refer to anybody who is not white. Do ya'll see the issue here? No? Let me break it down for you. Why, oh, why, do white people get their own category, and the rest of us get lumped in to a catch-all group? The majority of the world are "people of color." That's right. Most folks in this world ain't white, and yet all of us non-whites get lumped into one term because we weren't blessed with a lack of melanin.

When you say "person of color" you could mean anybody! I ain't no "person of color!" I'm black! She's Mexican! He's Japanese! They're Indian! And you know what? The same goes for the term "minorities." Like I said, non-white folks are not the minority on this planet anyway, and I don't appreciate being lumped in with everybody and they mama! Hell, child molestors are minorities! Murderers are minorities! I'm African-American! Like Destiny's Child said, "Say my name!"

Now, I do admit that it is hard to find a term to talk about non-whites. (And it is very telling that we so often need a term to refer to all people who are not white. As if our existence depends on being their opposite. In addition, we have the bad habit of referring to whites as if they're a homogeneous group. They are not any more homogeneous than we are.) For example, what if I'm trying to talk about how people in America who are not white feel are affected by something. I'd have to start naming a whole lot of ethnicities to contain them all. So of course, it's easier to say, "minorities" or "people of color." But I still don't like it because I'm proud of my unique and individual culture and want it to be recognized.

2.) The term "tolerance." I don't know about you, but I "tolerate" folks I don't like in order to not be arrested for violent overtures against them. I respect and accept folks I do like. I had it out with some silly campus official over using Ebonics and messed up slang in campus newsletters, and at the bottom of her e-mails her signature read, "Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue; it makes it a requirement for survival - Rene Dubos" Well, Ms. Dubos coulda kept that craziness. Don't tolerate me. I didn't do nothing to you. You need to respect me because I'm a human being, just like you!

3.) That "I'm colorblind," foolishness. Like I've said many times before, colorblindess is a clinical disorder, not a virtue. Analyze this here: when you erase colors, what do you see? White. So are you telling me that you have to fade me into white in order to respect me? No thank you! Respect this beautiful blackness right here! God didn't make it to be ignored or erased or assmiliated into another color.

4.) Calling enslaved people, "slaves." (Now this is where I really get uber-sensitive.) In my opinion, the term "slave" is a definitive one. When you call a person a "slave" you are using that term to completely define who they are. They are not people. They are not men. They are not women. They are not children. They are not families. They are slaves. When you say, "Master So-And-So has 50 slaves," you don't know the sex, age, race, or relations of those people to other people. They are just slaves. That's why I prefer for people to say "enslaved people," when talking about people who have been, or are, enslaved. These people are people, they were just enslaved people.

5.) All this "diversity" talk. I cannot tell you how many times, in the course of my college education, that I have heard the word "diversity." I've heard about how we need to have it, appreciate it, promote it, protect it, etc, etc, etc. They talk about diversity as if it is the holy grail. But folks, what does diversity actually mean? The dictionary defines diversity as "the fact or quality of being diverse; different." So, all diversity is, is the presence of difference. It's not the appreciation of it. It's not the respect of it. It's not the desire for it. It's just it. A room is diverse if there are two black folks, twenty white folks (which is often the case), a gay, and a Mexican. That's diversity folks. Now, the twenty white folks could be getting ready to lynch the blacks, the gay, and the Mexican. But that's still diversity. It ain't about "diversity." It's about respect!

6.) Being referred to as "articulate" because I'm black. Again, at my wonderfully "diverse" and "tolerant" universities, the black kids are often praised for being "articulate" when we speak in class or make presentations. Nobody else is. My sister gave a presentation about Ethiopian Jews in Israel and five white faculty members walked up to her afterwards and told her how "articulate" she was. She's a Ph.D candidate at the University of Massachussetts-Amherst for God's sake! What? Did you think she wouldn't be able to speak the King's English? You thought she was gonna run up in there sounding like Keylolo? (If you don't know who Keylolo is, you ain't been watching enough Martin!)

7.) "Flesh-colored" items. Stockings, bandanges, makeup, take your pick. Stop saying something is flesh-colored like everybody flesh is the same color. Same goes with "neutral," or "natural." What, because I've got a melanin overload, my skin color ain't natural?

8.) Assuming that all people who are not white know all of the members of their race and how all of these people feel. It might sound ridiculous, but how many of my non-white readers have been asked, "How do black people feel about this," or "How do you think the gay community will react?" What? I don't know how Man-man and Tone from 35th and 103rd (respectively) are gonna feel about John Stroger's son running for office! I was watching "Will & Grace" once and someone asked Grace, who's Jewish, if she knew some other Jewish person. She said, mysteriously, "Oh yes, I met him at The Meeting." Like all of us just get together, make joint decisions on everything, and then authorize people to make statements. If you don't know how black people feel about something, I probably don't know either. Ask me how I feel or what I've observed in the black community.
9
.) The notion of "reverse discrimination." The very fact that people refer to discrimination as "reverse" when it concerns a white person being discriminated against is very telling. Why is it reverse? Reverse of what? Reverse means the opposite of the way something usually flows. (Many times its the opposite of the way we are comfortable with something flowing.) So are we saying that regular discrimination is the discrimination shown against blacks? When white people are discriminated against, its discrimination. There ain't nothing "reverse" about it because discrimination is not reserved for one set of people.

10.) When folks refer to something as "African." Africa, and pay close attention Resident (not President) Bush, is not a country. It is a continent. Do we refer to things and people as European? "Awww, foie gras.....very European." That stuff is French! And we say that. Folks, the continent of Africa is big enough to hold the land occupied by China, India, Argentina, New Zealand, all of Europe, and the continental United States with room to spare! Yet, I never cease to hear people refer to things as "African," as if Africa is a small town in West Virginia!

"Oh, this is an African proverb."

"Did you enjoy that African dish?"

"They're African."

"In Africa they eat Bobotie."

"They don't have the internet in places like Africa." (Yes, I actually had a professor say this in class. My Nigerian friend choked on her water.)

What the hell?!? Africa has 40 countries, more than 800 languages, and God knows how many tribal groups. And they're all different. A member of the Shona tribe is not the same as a member of the Luo tribe. So specify. Get it together! But hey, who really cares? They're all just "people of color" anyway, right?

Now, of course, I admit that I am being overly sensitive. You can't really expect people to dissect their language everyday. Most of us have been taught to say certain things, do certain things, feel a certain way. We seldom question those things. However, if we are serious about trying to end all inequalities and injustices, we need to be picky and overly sensitive. We need to think about what we say, why we say it, and how we say it. We need to know the origins and beliefs behind these words. (i.e. "picnic." I don't know if the rumor is true, but I sure will be calling get-togethers "cookouts" from now on.) All I'm saying is, take a look at your behavior and language. Analyze it. You might just find something offensive.