Is "half-caste" a racist term?
Discussion
TwigtheWonderkid said:
4 yrs old, which is a lifetime in genetic science.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
But, a quick search on google gives a traditional classification of 5:
1) Mongoloid (Asian and American Indian)
2) Caucasoid (European)
3) Australoid (Australian and oceanic)
4) Negroid (east African black)
5) Capoid (south African black)
That list dates from the late 18th Century. 1) Mongoloid (Asian and American Indian)
2) Caucasoid (European)
3) Australoid (Australian and oceanic)
4) Negroid (east African black)
5) Capoid (south African black)
I don't think it's racist, it's just not as 'politically correct' as saying mixed race, or depending on how people view their heritage, black. My first boyfriend was half black, half white and despite being raised by his white family always saw himself as black.
John Agard sums it up pretty well in his poem Halfe-Caste, before I saw him perform that at poetry live I used to say half cast.
John Agard sums it up pretty well in his poem Halfe-Caste, before I saw him perform that at poetry live I used to say half cast.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Hugo a Gogo said:
I never suggested it was simple, just possible. And the link is 4 yrs old, which is a lifetime in genetic science. Zwolf said:
That list dates from the late 18th Century.
Yes, as I said...traditional classifications.But my main point, it is possible to explore genetics and race and classify by race for benign reasons. Mattnunn seems to think even raising the topic makes you a signed up member of Column 88!
Superficial said:
I don't think it's racist, it's just not as 'politically correct' as saying mixed race, or depending on how people view their heritage, black. My first boyfriend was half black, half white and despite being raised by his white family always saw himself as black.
John Agard sums it up pretty well in his poem Halfe-Caste, before I saw him perform that at poetry live I used to say half cast.
Basically anyone slightly off-white with afro-hair is deemed 'Black', certainly if said person is succesful, it doesn't matter how diluted the genes are. John Agard sums it up pretty well in his poem Halfe-Caste, before I saw him perform that at poetry live I used to say half cast.
I tend to see myself as none of the above, with the exception that I am most definitely not black and would be somewhat annoyed if I was deemed to be put into that 'box'.... as being the only alternative to white. It's a curious thing though, having grown up in this country and having gone through sheer bloody racism hell when I grew up, I find myself (mostly) ambivolent with the whole colour/race/creed/national identity thing.
Shame the labelling boxes don't have an option for 'human being'. It's about the only one I am truly content ticking. All the rest can just sod off.
Shame the labelling boxes don't have an option for 'human being'. It's about the only one I am truly content ticking. All the rest can just sod off.
micky g said:
My dear departed dad used to say, "some day, we'll all be the same race and the sooner the better."
He was a wise man.
I can sometimes be heard saying this very thing.He was a wise man.
One day in the future, the global population will just be one big melting pot and we will all look similar, which frankly, will solve a lot of problems.
NinjaPower said:
micky g said:
My dear departed dad used to say, "some day, we'll all be the same race and the sooner the better."
He was a wise man.
I can sometimes be heard saying this very thing.He was a wise man.
One day in the future, the global population will just be one big melting pot and we will all look similar, which frankly, will solve a lot of problems.
Tiggsy said:
NinjaPower said:
micky g said:
My dear departed dad used to say, "some day, we'll all be the same race and the sooner the better."
He was a wise man.
I can sometimes be heard saying this very thing.He was a wise man.
One day in the future, the global population will just be one big melting pot and we will all look similar, which frankly, will solve a lot of problems.
Ekona said:
I've got a black and white cat I sometimes call Half-Caste for a laugh. I don't think she minds, but then her real name is Geldof so she probably prefers it.
My mate (who's Asian before anyone takes offence) has a dog called Birmingham, so called becuase its almost completely black and brown but with a small patch of white. Another member of the mixed-race clan. There are quite a few mixed PHers I see! The term half-caste is, by definition, racist, but it had obviously become accepted without anyone understanding the real meaning behind it. Me included I might add. I just saw it as a fairly dated term and hadn't heard its use until seeing this thread. In South America we use terms to describe skin colour which are only meant to be endearing (Mulatinho/Mulatinha, Moreno/Morena, Pretinho/Pretinha, Negão/Neguinho) but on translation always sound a bit sketchy in English 
I think there was an incident with a few footballers over words like this in the Premiership where it all got out of hand and things were lost in translation with one of them being South American.
I don't consider myself black, or white, or Asian or South American, I am all things. They seem to have a gigantic problem accepting people of mixed-race as being just that in the U.S due to their ridiculously outdated "one drop rule" nonsense and their general mystifying hang-ups on race full-stop. Hence they refer to Barak Obama as the first "black" President not the first mixed-race President of the United States, which is what he is. Never European-Americans, but everyone else must be identified by where their ancestors "came" from. The only time I get a little annoyed (pointlessly I might add, unless it's someone who knows me) is when I'm labeled as any one race, which I am not. English/Chinese/Brazilian/Jamaican thanks very much. A person of European and Asian blood is a Eurasian, which is nice, easy, identifies their mix and makes perfect sense. Things seem to get a bit dicey when other races are thrown into the mix however. I might have to coin "LatAfrEurAsian" even if it is a pain in the backside to remember.
I understand all cultures I am part of in depth, and do so with virtually all nationalities of the world through constant travel and being able to speak a number of languages which certainly helps break down a lot of barriers. Never been a fan of nodding and talking VERY LOUDLY AND VERY SLOWLY to another grown man to get the most basic of point across, so I've always taken time to learn the languages of the places I frequent the most. I found it strange when people couldn't tell a Korean/Chinese/Philippine/Japanese/Thai/Malay/Indonesia apart because it's as clear as day to me. It's the same with regional accents at home in the UK, I hear and understand clearly without thinking twice, but someone not exposed to the many variants up and down the country will sit there, nodding but not understanding a word. Lots of friends from South East Asia have studied in the UK and to this day have no idea what on earth anyone was saying while they were studying for years up North I can usually tell which nation someone is from within a few of their spoken words of English so it's completely down to exposure and if your exposure is limited, then all you know is what you've seen and/or heard which is usually grossly distorted for shock/entertainment value when the media work their charmless talents. Not been around any Brazilian families for example? Sorry to break it to you but not everyone plays football and knows how to samba (ok, everyone plays football and knows how to samba, terrible example). Not everyone in China does Kungfu, not every black American is an aspiring rapper, not every Brit is uptight and has a stiff upper lip, you get the drift.
If you had an Indian friend once in school 20 years ago but you don't really know the differences between the various surrounding countries, then yes, many people from Indian/Pakistani/Sri Lankan/Bangladeshi might seem very similar and hard to tell apart. It doesn't make you racist for not knowing and you shouldn't feel awkward for not being able to correctly identify someone each time. Most people at some point will be mistaken for something they are not/not entirely, it's really not a big deal until you start flapping around trying to be PC. If you say "that black guy" and he corrects you and tells you what he identifies himself as, it's not the end of the world.
You can usually tell who has seen the world and taken in different cultures through postings on PH. Some posters give themselves away with subtle references and worldly wisdom, some are clearly yet to get out and see the world we live in. It all makes for an interesting and entertaining mix, usually..
Waffle over. To summarise, just chill the f
k out. There are 6 billion+ of us roaming around the planet so you are bound to get someone's heritage wrong as often as you get it right. Now I'm not sure about the other mixed PHers, but all this talk reminds me of the headache that is the World Cup. Much like Mr David.. WC at home with family members who suddenly get VERY English or VERY Brasilian for a few weeks reminds me of this scene.
I think there was an incident with a few footballers over words like this in the Premiership where it all got out of hand and things were lost in translation with one of them being South American.I don't consider myself black, or white, or Asian or South American, I am all things. They seem to have a gigantic problem accepting people of mixed-race as being just that in the U.S due to their ridiculously outdated "one drop rule" nonsense and their general mystifying hang-ups on race full-stop. Hence they refer to Barak Obama as the first "black" President not the first mixed-race President of the United States, which is what he is. Never European-Americans, but everyone else must be identified by where their ancestors "came" from. The only time I get a little annoyed (pointlessly I might add, unless it's someone who knows me) is when I'm labeled as any one race, which I am not. English/Chinese/Brazilian/Jamaican thanks very much. A person of European and Asian blood is a Eurasian, which is nice, easy, identifies their mix and makes perfect sense. Things seem to get a bit dicey when other races are thrown into the mix however. I might have to coin "LatAfrEurAsian" even if it is a pain in the backside to remember.
I understand all cultures I am part of in depth, and do so with virtually all nationalities of the world through constant travel and being able to speak a number of languages which certainly helps break down a lot of barriers. Never been a fan of nodding and talking VERY LOUDLY AND VERY SLOWLY to another grown man to get the most basic of point across, so I've always taken time to learn the languages of the places I frequent the most. I found it strange when people couldn't tell a Korean/Chinese/Philippine/Japanese/Thai/Malay/Indonesia apart because it's as clear as day to me. It's the same with regional accents at home in the UK, I hear and understand clearly without thinking twice, but someone not exposed to the many variants up and down the country will sit there, nodding but not understanding a word. Lots of friends from South East Asia have studied in the UK and to this day have no idea what on earth anyone was saying while they were studying for years up North
I can usually tell which nation someone is from within a few of their spoken words of English so it's completely down to exposure and if your exposure is limited, then all you know is what you've seen and/or heard which is usually grossly distorted for shock/entertainment value when the media work their charmless talents. Not been around any Brazilian families for example? Sorry to break it to you but not everyone plays football and knows how to samba (ok, everyone plays football and knows how to samba, terrible example). Not everyone in China does Kungfu, not every black American is an aspiring rapper, not every Brit is uptight and has a stiff upper lip, you get the drift. If you had an Indian friend once in school 20 years ago but you don't really know the differences between the various surrounding countries, then yes, many people from Indian/Pakistani/Sri Lankan/Bangladeshi might seem very similar and hard to tell apart. It doesn't make you racist for not knowing and you shouldn't feel awkward for not being able to correctly identify someone each time. Most people at some point will be mistaken for something they are not/not entirely, it's really not a big deal until you start flapping around trying to be PC. If you say "that black guy" and he corrects you and tells you what he identifies himself as, it's not the end of the world.
You can usually tell who has seen the world and taken in different cultures through postings on PH. Some posters give themselves away with subtle references and worldly wisdom, some are clearly yet to get out and see the world we live in. It all makes for an interesting and entertaining mix, usually..
Waffle over. To summarise, just chill the f
k out. There are 6 billion+ of us roaming around the planet so you are bound to get someone's heritage wrong as often as you get it right. Now I'm not sure about the other mixed PHers, but all this talk reminds me of the headache that is the World Cup. Much like Mr David.. WC at home with family members who suddenly get VERY English or VERY Brasilian for a few weeks reminds me of this scene.TwigtheWonderkid said:
If I was half English half Brasilian, I know which country I'd support in the world cup. Unfortunately, in the absence of any Brasilian liniage, I'm stuck with our hopeless bunch of talentless losers!
There's something very different in the approach of each group of supporters. In Blighty, we get hyped up during the build-up, live for the inevitable roller-coaster ride that is every major tournament, hope to god that we at least get hold of and eliminate the Argies, French or Germans and secretly know it's going to end in tears with a combination of dodgy decision/s and/or penalties. In Brasil it's very simple. Any result other than bringing the cup home (preferably destroying Argentina en-route) is considered an abject failure. The end. Players do not return to Brasil until the nation has calmed down.
I wore one of my England shirts with my name "Brasilianised" on the back in Sao Paulo in 2004. Never have I seen so many confused faces in my life. Not long after I was laughed out of my friend's bar after this effort..
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff