[Locke]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

I'm a middle-aged white guy, so treat my opinion on this with the appropriate degree of authority it deserves (none), but I use "black", "African American", "Person/People of Colour", etc. in ways that humanize the people I'm talking about. Basically, I think it's acceptable to say black if you use it as an adjective but not a noun. For example, saying, "Barack Obama was the first black president" is fine, as is "Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was filmed murdering George Floyd, a 46 year-old black man." Conversely, using black as a noun is dehumanizing and makes you sound like Lucille Bluth. If you blame a societal ill on "the blacks" or describe a person as "a black", you're probably a racist.

Incidentally, it's the same with the word "female". It's completely normal to use it as an adjective, like describing Kim Campbell as "Canada's first female prime minister". On the other hand, people who use it as a noun and refer to women as "females" come off like creepy misogynistic incels...or Ferengi.

Oh come on! Dont drag the Ferengi into this! They had nothing to do with this!