Quote:
Originally Posted by StrykerSteve
I recognize this wasn't malicious, but it's one of my biggest pet peeves to identify someone by skin colour.
Story would be just as effective had you said "It wasn't until I started playing forward that a young #12 in Calgary caught my attention and changed my allegiances forever."
I'm probably being anal, but it just irks me whenever someone does it. Happens all the time too, which makes it more annoying.
"I went to the mall last night and saw a black kid stealing a candy bar".
What does his skin colour have to do with this story, why include that particular detail?! Unless you're providing a cop with a description, it's irrelevant. Even worse, you wouldn't have described him as a white kid if that were the case. But because he's not white, it's worth including. Just irks me, man.
I'll shut up now.
/vent  |
I don't think it's a big deal when using it describe someone. In your example, you're right it adds nothing to the story really. In his situation it does. Remove black from the sentence and he could be talking about any young kid. There was only one young black kid on the team, so it's just a way to describe who you're talking about.
If someone was to refer to a young Steve Nash as a young white kid when describing him, it wouldn't be racist, it's just an easy way to indicate someone who's in the minority compared to their peers.
I'm not black so maybe someone who is can correct me, but i really think that's oversensitive. You could describe someone as "the guy in the red shirt" or "the black guy", if he's the only one in the group. Is that racist? Its a description of how they look. It's not being used in a derogatory context. I see no problem.
ANYways....