"Brown People"

Text-only Version: Click HERE to see this thread with all of the graphics, features, and links.



Dr Will Hatch
When did did this phrase start being used to refer to Latinos, Indians, Arabs, etc? It sounds very dumb and makes the impression that these people don't have wildly different histories and cultures. I can't remember it ever being used informally by people until just recently, like in the early or mid 2000s.

Tzeentch
When calling them ******* went out of style.

Time Immemorial
Originally posted by Tzeentch
When calling them ******* went out of style.

laughing laughing laughing laughing

Bardock42
Originally posted by Dr Will Hatch
When did did this phrase start being used to refer to Latinos, Indians, Arabs, etc? It sounds very dumb and makes the impression that these people don't have wildly different histories and cultures. I can't remember it ever being used informally by people until just recently, like in the early or mid 2000s.

You are completely right that it is a racist term, that disregards the culture and history of the groups within it. I also think there's some truth to what Tzeentch said, albeit in a crass way, that explains somewhat why it seems to be a more recent phenomenon, in that only more recently Latino and Semitic people have entered the understanding of the American public as "the others", when before it more often were Black people in the US (and some other groups)

Stealth Moose
People actually use this term?

Omega Vision
Yes.

Brown people is more inclusive than exclusive, and often times the only groups that aren't covered under "brown people" are people of obvious Northern or Eastern European or East Asian heritage. Black people are generally but not always included under "brown people."

The rap group Das Racist made their vague "brown people" status one of their gimmicks, with rap lyric from Himanshu Suri stating "I don't know what these two are, but I'm Punjabi."

Nephthys
"Brown people" tends to be more accurate than 'Black people." I don't believe I've met someone I would say was closer to black than brown in skin color.

But for some reason it sounds pretty goofy though.

jinXed by JaNx
Originally posted by Dr Will Hatch
When did did this phrase start being used to refer to Latinos, Indians, Arabs, etc? It sounds very dumb and makes the impression that these people don't have wildly different histories and cultures. I can't remember it ever being used informally by people until just recently, like in the early or mid 2000s.

I'm curious...,have you ever referred to someone as being, white? Just because I don't care enough about you to ask what country your great ancestors hailed from doesn't mean that i'm a racist *******. Describing the color of someones skin should usually be interpreted as just that, a desription

Wonder Man
Sounds like something similar to the way Indians were refered to.

Mindship
quote:

Dr Will Hatch wrote on Jan 26th, 2013 09:47 PM:
HI, I saw in the "How powerful would this person be?" thread that you said you write sci-fi stories.

Is there any place I can read them?

...and...

quote:

Dr Will Hatch wrote on Jan 27th, 2013 11:24 AM:
Hey, if I read fanfiction, how bad could your stuff be? wink

I'm always looking for new authors to get into, send the link man. I'll tell you what I think after I'm done.

Dr. Will Hatch, remember these PMs you sent me? You never did what you said you would, even after I sent you a second PM asking what you thought. Even if you hated the story, the proper thing was to follow up on your word.

For shame, sir. For shame.

Dr Will Hatch
Oh crap. I'm a jerkass, Mindship. And a lazy one, which is even worse. sad

Lek Kuen
Originally posted by Nephthys
"Brown people" tends to be more accurate than 'Black people." I don't believe I've met someone I would say was closer to black than brown in skin color.

But for some reason it sounds pretty goofy though.
I don't know, some of us black folk are pretty dark

NemeBro
Yeah, I make Wesley Snipes look like Powder.

Nephthys
Well yeah, I said tends to.

jaden101
http://youtu.be/GeZ3nCXyb_Q

I blame George Carlin.

Stealth Moose
I think the problem with blanket terms is that they tend to lead to generalisations. Therefore, I recommend that we just skip them and develop an ethnicity bar code system.

jinXed by JaNx
Originally posted by Stealth Moose
I think the problem with blanket terms is that they tend to lead to generalisations. Therefore, I recommend that we just skip them and develop an ethnicity bar code system.

That might be helpful but I think developing a thicker skin would be a better start

Dr Will Hatch
Originally posted by jinXed by JaNx
I'm curious...,have you ever referred to someone as being, white? Just because I don't care enough about you to ask what country your great ancestors hailed from doesn't mean that i'm a racist *******. Describing the color of someones skin should usually be interpreted as just that, a desription

Yeah, you can refer to a white guy as a white guy if you have no frame of reference, but there's more to it than that. An Irish dude and a Greek dude come from vastly different backgrounds, and overall look very different. Likewise, an Arab dude looks very different from and comes from a vastly different culture than a Mexican guy. But both are referred to as "brown people". It's annoying is all.

NemeBro
I can't tell Mexicans apart from Puerto Ricans.

Mindship
Originally posted by Dr Will Hatch
Oh crap. I'm a jerkass, Mindship. And a lazy one, which is even worse. sad It surprised me, more than anything. Eh, fuhgeddaboudit.

Lord Lucien
Personally I get quite offended when someone says "brown people". The term is presuming they're even people.

NemeBro
No one gives a shit what my family history is when they call me white.

jinXed by JaNx
Originally posted by Dr Will Hatch
Yeah, you can refer to a white guy as a white guy if you have no frame of reference, but there's more to it than that. An Irish dude and a Greek dude come from vastly different backgrounds, and overall look very different. Likewise, an Arab dude looks very different from and comes from a vastly different culture than a Mexican guy. But both are referred to as "brown people". It's annoying is all.

I think you just answered you're own question, mang. laughing out loud I get what you're saying though...,there is a BIG difference between an "middle eastern person" and someone from Mexico or, Spain. Not acknowledging that could be viewed as, "racist", but sometimes, maybe it's just lazy or naivety.

Stoic
Originally posted by jinXed by JaNx
I'm curious...,have you ever referred to someone as being, white? Just because I don't care enough about you to ask what country your great ancestors hailed from doesn't mean that i'm a racist *******. Describing the color of someones skin should usually be interpreted as just that, a desription


I agree.

Tzeentch
Originally posted by NemeBro
No one gives a shit what my family history is when they call me white. Yeah but you're white. You're entitled to a whole bunch of things and you don't ever have any problems ever because you're white, so you can't complain about anything.

NemeBro
But I'm also gay, so it all balances out.

Tzeentch
You're gay in the way that's wrong.

Lesbians = Hot.

Gay dudes = Ewww butsecs and sexually transmitted diseases.

Stealth Moose
So if he got a sex change, it'd be okay right?

Tzeentch
Only if he kept the penis.

Badabing
Originally posted by NemeBro
But I'm also gay, so it all balances out. Stop it. I saw a post last week, when I was deleting all the porn spam from the SW forums, where you said you were watching lesbian porn.

Robtard
Lesbians are gay too

Tzeentch
Originally posted by Badabing
Stop it. I saw a post last week, when I was deleting all the porn spam from the SW forums, where you said you were watching lesbian porn. He's bi.

Nemebro is a weak man who can't commit to one side.

NemeBro
Originally posted by Tzeentch
He's bi.

Nemebro is a weak man who can't commit to one side. thumb up

I don't really like to use the words "bi" or "bisexual" in casual conversation because I'm something of a ****face and a sociopath who finds the words phonetically unappealing. Gay has a more clear, crisp sound which I prefer.

jinXed by JaNx
Originally posted by Tzeentch
Yeah but you're white. You're entitled to a whole bunch of things and you don't ever have any problems ever because you're white, so you can't complain about anything.


I don't often feed into stupidity when i'm eating a serious lunch. However...,i'm white, what is it that you believe that I am entitled to that a non "white" person is?

Tzeentch
"Everything!"

jinXed by JaNx
Originally posted by Tzeentch
"Everything!"

Well, I don' have everything. Who and what do I sue for my restitution?

Stealth Moose
Albinos, the real whities.

Robtard
Originally posted by jinXed by JaNx
I don't often feed into stupidity when i'm eating a serious lunch. However...,i'm white, what is it that you believe that I am entitled to that a non "white" person is?

You get to eat serious lunches, not white people get flippant lunches. Duh!

jinXed by JaNx
Originally posted by Robtard
You get to eat serious lunches, not white people get flippant lunches. Duh!

Just as I mentioned before, I usually don't indulge in those lunches unless i'm around the most ridiculous of company wink

This is an important issue to me, which is why i'm careful not to invest my energy on a discussion with a person that already has their mind made up about me just because i'm "entitled" to everything.

Tzeentch
Nope, you're a white male and therefore the world is handed to you on a platter. Only Brown people and women can ever have bad circumstances. If you're a white guy and you're not a billionaire with no problems, it's because you just didn't try hard enough. thumb up

Robtard
Originally posted by Tzeentch
Nope, you're a white male and therefore the world is handed to you on a platter. Only Brown people and women can ever have bad circumstances. If you're a white guy and you're not a billionaire with no problems, it's because you just didn't try hard enough. thumb up

If you're born not having superior white skin, it's no one's fault except your own. /fact

Omega Vision
It ain't easy bein white

It ain't easy bein brown

Pressure to be bright

I got children all over town!

Robtard
President Barrack Obama quote?

Omega Vision
Arrested Development, but pretty close.

Robtard
That was actually my 4th guess.

Wonder Man
We were all made in His image and through His son all things were made.
I think it is an imperative that we let prejudice end with our generation.

Dr. Matthew
Probably because of the color of their skin.

red g jacks
Originally posted by Tzeentch
Yeah but you're white. You're entitled to a whole bunch of things and you don't ever have any problems ever because you're white, so you can't complain about anything. no complaints here. i love having white privilege. next best thing to being wealthy.

riv6672
The quote in the OP seems like flawed thinking, really.
And that comes from a brown person.
I do miss Arrested Development, though!

socool8520
Originally posted by jinXed by JaNx
I'm curious...,have you ever referred to someone as being, white? Just because I don't care enough about you to ask what country your great ancestors hailed from doesn't mean that i'm a racist *******. Describing the color of someones skin should usually be interpreted as just that, a desription

I agree. A simple observation is not racist imo. I'm of Mexican/Puerto Rican descent, and if somebody did not know my name, I would not be offended in the slightest if someone called me a brown person. In a room full of white people, it might be the defining charateristic that singles me out. lol.

Fallschirmjäger
Originally posted by jinXed by JaNx
I think developing a thicker skin would be a better start

BINGO!

socool8520
^ Agreed

Fallschirmjäger
With regards to the term "Brown People", I think a lot of it also has to do with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Also, in person as well as some comments on Youtube (but not all) I've heard some liberal anti-war people use the term, as well as sometimes using it to describe the anti-illegal immigrant feeling here in the U.S. as they call it "the war on brown people."

I'm not sure if the liberal\anti-war crowd realize it, but for all of
their anti-racist claims, using the the term itself is somewhat counter-productive.

And as was said earlier by "socool8520", "a simple observation is not racism". Of course, by the time it gets back to the ACLU it will be.

socool8520
Originally posted by NemeBro
I can't tell Mexicans apart from Puerto Ricans. \

It really isn't discernible for the most part. Which is why I don't get offended if someone mistakes me for Cuban or Brazilian or whatever. It's not a big deal

Fallschirmjäger
A bit off topic, but one of the funniest "foot in mouth" moments I think I ever experienced with a race-based rabble rouser was a few years back:

Some women came up to me as I was talking with some people. They assumed that I was a supporter for the War On Terror and one of them began with this remark:

Her: "Sir, do you like war? Sounds like you do."

Me: "No, but at least Bin Laden won't be a problem anymore".

Her: "So I guess you approve of a government that likes killing people who are brown? That seems to be America's main target these days." She pointed out about illegals and Middle Easterners.

So after trying to defend my words several times, and being cut off and talked over, she finally says this:

"Hate brown people all you want, they have more opportunities in society today, especially since Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity lowered the test scores for the mostly dumb ones that can't pass a White test..."

At that point, her friends all turned and stared at her, and as I and the people I was speaking with began to smirk, she realized her mistake.

Blushed to the max, she says "OMG" and she rushes away with her friends in tow, leaving all of us laughing at her like hell. Priceless..

riv6672
I'd LOL but that was over my head. Someone needs to dumb that down for me. The more Ebonics the better...wink

Fallschirmjäger
Originally posted by riv6672
I'd LOL but that was over my head. Someone needs to dumb that down for me. The more Ebonics the better...wink

Haha. It was so funny to watch her put her foot in her mouth though..

riv6672
It usually is! thumb up

Text-only Version: Click HERE to see this thread with all of the graphics, features, and links.