elderolddog Wrote:
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> JoJu and his ilk were total believers in
> America the White hot tub. They pretended to
> believe that brown people (I'm not allowed to
> capitalize 'brown')
1. America the White hot tub. Clever, EOD, but terribly sad. (And similar in Canada although perhaps not as prominent depending where, and who, you are?).
2. > I'm not allowed to capitalize 'brown'
Also sad, Dog. And you made me look it up.
So, AP says no capitalization.
A random 'net search result states:
"Brown" has been used as a term in popular culture for some South Asian Americans, Middle Eastern Americans and Latino Americans either as a pejorative term or sometimes for self-identification, as with brown identity."
The Appalachian (2020):
https://theappalachianonline.com/editors-note-capitalizing-the-b-in-brown/"In 2020, AP Stylebook recognized the capital B in Black when referring to race, ethnicity or culture; it continues instructing writers not to use the term “Brown” when referring to race, ethnicity or culture.
"Differently than AP, The Appalachian recognizes Brown as referring to race, ethnicity and culture."
"For some people, Brown does a better job of addressing the multiplicities of their identities. Additionally, many people who identify with dual-or more-heritage also identify with the term Brown. To avoid suppressing the identities of those who identify with or as Brown through our choice of adjectives, The Appalachian recognizes Brown as an identity and will capitalize Brown in reference to race, ethnicity or culture in articles moving forward."
"However, The Appalachian will continue not capitalizing the w in white. AP Stylebook posted another blog post July 20 explaining that “capitalizing the term white, as is done by white supremacists, risks subtly conveying legitimacy to such beliefs,” and The Appalachian agrees. Furthermore, white is much less precise, compared with terms like Brown or Black, when referring to ethnic or cultural identities, and around the world there is far less consensus on who the term includes (or excludes)."
The above paragraph (among others) contains a fact I did not know: that the term 'white' is capitalized by white supremacists. Yow - I've been capitalizing it because that's how I've seen it done and because I thought we were doing so for all racial/ethnic terms now. The Atlantic (excerpt below) has chosen to capitalize 'white'.
The Atlantic (2020):
"According to the diversity committee of USA Today, which decided last week to capitalize the B-word, the change reflected “understanding and respect.”
"The style guide of the American Psychological Association declares, as it has for a generation: “Racial and ethnic groups are designated by proper nouns and are capitalized. Therefore, use ‘Black’ and ‘White’ instead of ‘black’ and ‘white.’”
I realize there are details and history and preferences involved in the choices on terminology and capitalization. You have to pay attention in order to keep up, as with so much in life these days.
I will try to do what the accepted norms become. At this point, I (perhaps in my ignorance) don't necessarily agree with the AP and Appalachian reasoning that capitalizing 'White' "risks subtly conveying legitimacy to such beliefs" (white supremacy). Maybe so for a publication (?) but not for an individual unless they literally do mean for it to designate their supremacist views.
The Appalachian continues:
"Omissions and lack of inclusion can render people invisible.
Capitalizing the B in Brown more accurately represents the world The Appalachian is situated in, and seeks to avoid rendering invisible the identities of people who identify as Brown."
The Atlantic includes the following that the Seattle Times stated:
"Black (adj.): Belonging to people who are part of the African diaspora. Capitalize Black because it is a reflection of shared cultures and experiences (foods, languages, music, religious traditions, etc.) …
"white (adj.): Belonging to people with light-colored skin, especially those of European descent. Unlike Black, it is lowercase, as its use is a physical description of people whose backgrounds may spring from many different cultures."
The Atlantic:
What about Visconti’s [the chairman of the nonprofit DiversityInc] argument that white people don’t think of themselves as white people? If he were right—and he isn’t—we could still ask: Should it be that way? It’s true that white people have the luxury of not thinking of themselves as white when they’re in all-white settings; the less that’s the norm, the less they can think of race as something that only other people have—the way talk of “ethnic” food suggests that ethnicity is a property only “ethnics” have.
Atlantic: "Without the theory and practice of racism, there are neither blacks nor whites."
I was taught as a child that referring to skin colour was racist in itself. Now that the issues are more prominent I do think of it more, mostly so as not to give unintended offence by being clueless. I didn't used to identify, or think of, myself by my skin colour. Now I do, as the article says. The phrase "...the luxury of not thinking of themselves as white" got to me. Yes, it's a luxury indeed. Never been an issue. Especially here in B.C. where, as I've noted recently in another thread, only 1.2% of people are Black. The most prominent issues and discussions about racism here centre on the Indigenous Peoples who reside in Canada (for far longer than Whites have done). To my most profound sorrow it is present also within medical and policing settings, where you would think, and hope, that people would be safe and well cared for.
I found the article in The Atlantic to be interesting, informative, thought-provoking and uncomfortable. As a kid I had the general impression that at some point in life, as an adult, I would know "the way it is" about how things go. Only come to find out, everything keeps changing. It's a challenge. Interesting though.
Thanks EOD, for making me think. And educating me. An ever-ongoing project.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2023 03:49PM by Nightingale.