Would AA make you less likely to hire a black lawyer/doctor?

[AtlantaSteve]

I seldom use hyphenated ethnic terms like African-American, Asian-American, etc in verbal conversation.  I just say black, white, Asian, Latino, and so forth.  To me, there's just something weird and artificial about mixing nationality with ethnicity.  This has got to be a holdover from Europe up through the last century, when Europe considered itself the center of the universe... and with all the wars and division, each nation was viewed as practically a separate race. 

Hey guys, "Irish" isn't a race.  Neither is "French", or "Greek", or "Russian"... and neither is "African".  Those are nationalities, or pan-continental national identities.  Blurring the two concepts together is like categorizing an automobile as "half-sedan-and-half-silver".  Black people are indigenous (or just a couple centuries shy of indigenous) in Africa, Australia, South America, and the Carribean.  You can aruge that blacks in some of these regions migrated during in prehistorical times... but if you want to talk anthropologically, EVERYONE is of African descent if you look back far enough!

So in terms of race, a "French-Canadian" is (probably) just a white guy, and an "African-American" is (probably) just a black guy (or perhaps Dave Matthews).  Either way, the nationality description is seperate from their racial description.  Even in terms of nationality, you generally drop the hyphenated qualifier after your family has been settled somewhere for a few generations... unless you feel a sense of bitter isolation from the host nationality and are compelled to help perpetuate that.

[dbgirl]

As a Scottish-Irish-African-American, I take issue with the idea that I'm just gray. That's so boring.
Perhaps taupe is a better description. It sounds more unique.

[AtlantaSteve]

As a Scottish-Irish-African-American, I take issue with the idea that I'm just gray. That's so boring.
Perhaps taupe is a better description. It sounds more unique.

You're joking, but that an interesting tangent.  With all the over-the-top hyphenation of nationality to make ourselves feel more unique, the best we've come up with for a diverse racial background is... "mixed".  That's it?  That's the BEST we can do?  With interracial relationships SLOWLY becoming more accepted, and mixed children more common, it will be interesting to hear how the discussion unfolds as society becomes comfortable enough to have that discussion.

[pikey]

As a Scottish-Irish-African-American, I take issue with the idea that I'm just gray. That's so boring.
Perhaps taupe is a better description. It sounds more unique.

My dad's side of the family is English-American, my maternal grandmother was Scotch-Irish-Canadian-American, and my maternal grandfather is Turkish-American.

So I'm English-Scotch-Irish-Canadian-Turkish-American.  Oh but the Turks aren't too far removed from Mongol heritage.  So I'm English-Scotch-Irish-Canadian-Turkish-Mongolian-American.  Get it right.

I don't like the term African-American because I'm not American.  Howeever, I don't care if other people use it.  I prefer black or even a person of color (i know its horrible in so many ways, but i still kinda like person of color).  Here in Bermuda I've heard the term African-Bermudian being used.  I don't really like it.  It just doesn't flow well.

I'm also at a loss at to how to qualify my heritage.  Bermuda isn't part of the Caribbean though it often gets tied in there (for those who don't know, it's in the middle of the Atlanta about 700 miles East of North Carolina).  I'm more likely to say that I'm West Indian (more general) than Caribbean.  Generally I'd just say Bermudian.

[Guess who's coming to dinner?!?]

I just love googler's blatent racism and his hate of "anti-semitism."

Also,

As a jew, you disgust me and it is jews like you that make us all look bad.

This contains a hilarious, unintentional grammatical error.  It's only hilarious insofar as it's anti-semitic.

I'm not making fun, I just think it's funny how I first (mis)read it.

There is no grammatical error.  I was speaking about myself.  Nice way to make an ass out of yourself bass--why couldn't I have been referring to myself? It makes perfect sense if you take out your prejudice about who can be jewish.

And googler, you are just not worth my time.  I'm sad that you are "one of those jews" but in reality I could care less. I am so acustom to dealing with racism from my own people (jewish people) that it doesn't phase me.  The question "How could you be jewish" still does offend me.  You are an ignorant prick but b/c you're a white male and jewish you'll probably never have any problems.  Good luck in life, but given your social standing you won't need it. I hope some bright ass AFRICAN AMERICAN  tears you a new one at CLS.

Also I HATE the term "black"  although I
 am guilty of using it from time to time.   First of all most "black" people are not "black" they are brown.  Second I prefer to be called African-American because of the way people of say "black"  or the worst "blacks"  It is used as a put down a lot (IMHO) "Blacks need to stop complaining about slavery"  do you not  see a difference in "African-Americans need to stop complaining about slavery"  To me it just sounds better.  Also Googler who the hell are you not to refer to somebody as they wish to be referred to?  You just sound like an all around a-hole. 

[John Galt]

Affirmative Action would not make me less likely to hire a black doctor or lawyer. First, I wouldn't be sure that my attorney benefitted from Affirmative Action. It would be ignorant on my part to assume that just because such a program exists, then my potential attorney benefitted from such a program. Second, just because one benefitted from a program that helped them become admitted to a school does not mean that they are any less qualified in the professional position that they attain than those who did not benefit. I suppose class rank, prior work experience in the field, record of success, professional reputation, etc would become my primary criteria of choosing an attorney. Would you be less likely to hire a white woman knowing that white women are the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action? Or would you be less likely to hire a white male knowing that they are the primary beneficiaries of legacies? I'm not sure in the grand scheme of things, affirmative action or legacies has much predictive power on professional competence.

[Miss P]

As a jew, you disgust me and it is jews like you that make us all look bad.

This contains a hilarious, unintentional grammatical error.  It's only hilarious insofar as it's anti-semitic.

I'm not making fun, I just think it's funny how I first (mis)read it.

There is no grammatical error.  I was speaking about myself.  Nice way to make an ass out of yourself bass--why couldn't I have been referring to myself? It makes perfect sense if you take out your prejudice about who can be jewish.

I hate to say it, Guess Who, but it is, technically, a grammatical error.  It's called a "misplaced modifier."  Basically, the phrase "as a jew" attaches itself to the first noun it finds, in this case, "you."  Bass was not being racist.  He was being, er, punctilious.  The sentence would have been more appropriately cast, "As a jew, I am disgusted..." or, "You disgust me, as a jew..."  Still, I don't think your intented meaning was murky at all, and I am surprised that others misread your post, especially given the reading comprehension acrobatics one needs to make sense of some of the the (grammatically and stylistically) bizarre posts on this board.

[yoyos]

[[/quote]

I'll refer to someone however the hell I'd like. 
[/quote]


Just curious. is "n-word" your preferred term for blacks or "African-Americans?

[John Galt]

Actually, Googler, your position is quite different from Donnie's.

Your position is such that if your wanted to call African-Americans "niggers", that that would be your prerogative, and that there would be nothing wrong with it.

That is quite different.

Your argument is actually quite hard to tell apart from that of a racist, which is why you may be eliciting responses of the kind that Donnie's don't.

It would still be my right to use racial slurs.  It wouldn't be moral, but people aren't under any obligation to refer to people as they want to be referred.

then when someone calls you a racist, don't argue with them. They have no obligation to refer to you as you want to be referred.

[Guess who's coming to dinner?!?]

Actually, Googler, your position is quite different from Donnie's.

Your position is such that if your wanted to call African-Americans "niggers", that that would be your prerogative, and that there would be nothing wrong with it.

That is quite different.

Your argument is actually quite hard to tell apart from that of a racist, which is why you may be eliciting responses of the kind that Donnie's don't.

It would still be my right to use racial slurs.  It wouldn't be moral, but people aren't under any obligation to refer to people as they want to be referred.

You are so stupid it is amazing googler pink person.  Jews face "Problems" but not the type that African Americans face and I believe I am the most qualified person to issue that opinion since I am both.  You on the other hand, have no basis for most of your ideas. 

And as you see above, since you think "black" makes the most sense you should start refering to white people as pink, since most of you have a pinkish tint to your skin.

Also, I would be curious to see what would happen if the partner you work under after you graduate is African-American and told you that s/he prefers to be refered to as such.  Would you still "refuse"  to use the more respectful term? 

As for the "as a jew" thing--it is not the point that there is a small grammatical error (which I still don't see but won't dispute it is there) it is more the point that the error has nothing to do with anything and pointing it out was just a way to poke fun even tho bass claims not to be doing that.  Sorry bass, offense was taken but I won't hold it against you.