Comment by tekla
1 year ago
You have to be racist to assume that a Black person wants to be called "African British" in the UK.
If you called my Black friends "African American" they would be pretty close to punching you in the face.
Why wouldn't it be racist to assume Black people are African.
Why is it so offensive? Why not just let the speaker know they weren't American and move on?
The instant escalation to violence seems like part of the problem generally in today's society, which extends to non racial topics like politics, gender fluidity, etc.
A more appropriate reponse would be something like, "Why do you think I'm American?" A simple question like that would likely be sufficient to get the original speaker to think abkut and reorient their world view, and there was good-faith discussion the entire way.
My Black friend isn't African. That's why. They don't give a shit about being called American, they give a shit about being assumed about being African because they are black.
Hence my point about a calm response opposed to escalation to a honest mistake.
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