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Daniel my 11 year old son was telling me about one of his mates,i aksed him if he was half caste like him(my kids are half indian) he piped up and said 'Dad,you dont say half caste,you must say mixed race' then my six year old Max,he got his oar in and said 'yeah dad,didnt you know that'.....no i didnt,when did this happen!! im like 35years old...ive allways said half caste??
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I think it happened years ago. My son has several mixed race mates (cafe au lait as I used to call it) they are all about 15/16 years old and refer to themselves as mixed race.
I remember being in hospital with my first baby 17 years ago and I was next to a white mother. The midwife commented that her baby was ''very tanned and might have jaundice''. The mother replied that her newborn daughter was mixed race.
I remember being in hospital with my first baby 17 years ago and I was next to a white mother. The midwife commented that her baby was ''very tanned and might have jaundice''. The mother replied that her newborn daughter was mixed race.
I guess i am wondering whether his friend being of mixed race was important to the conversation. Whilst I am absolutely sure that this is not done with any kind of racist sentiments, did it matter what race he was?
I think that it shows that the world moves on, and it is often difficult to know what to say without causing offence. My son for instance is puzzled why people are described as black when they are really brown or why he is called white when he is actually "sort of pinky" in his own words.
I think that we can go to far in being PC sometimes, because I suppose technically most of us will be some kind of mixed race wont we? Being Scottish, I think that I am probably partly celtic/anglo saxon/norman/roman with a bit of viking thrown in for good measure.
I think that it shows that the world moves on, and it is often difficult to know what to say without causing offence. My son for instance is puzzled why people are described as black when they are really brown or why he is called white when he is actually "sort of pinky" in his own words.
I think that we can go to far in being PC sometimes, because I suppose technically most of us will be some kind of mixed race wont we? Being Scottish, I think that I am probably partly celtic/anglo saxon/norman/roman with a bit of viking thrown in for good measure.
The only reason I had a conversation about race with my sons friends was because earlier in the day someone had shouted at them and called them ''Black ********'.
However this does remind me of the time when my sister was little (about 24 years ago). She invited a friend round for tea, and when my mum picked them up from school she saw that my sisters friend was afro-caribbean. When they got hom and the freind was in the loo my mum asked my sister why she hadn't mentioned that her friend was brown.
My sister replied that she didn't think it mattered. My mum felt horrible.
However this does remind me of the time when my sister was little (about 24 years ago). She invited a friend round for tea, and when my mum picked them up from school she saw that my sisters friend was afro-caribbean. When they got hom and the freind was in the loo my mum asked my sister why she hadn't mentioned that her friend was brown.
My sister replied that she didn't think it mattered. My mum felt horrible.
Who has the right to tell anyone what they can and cannot say. If 'half caste' is the term you want to use then use it.
This is all a load of crap. Apparently nowadays people aren't blind, they are visually impaired. No one is disabled, they are physically challenged. Even the Spastics Society changed its name so as not to 'offend'.
Before long, someone will decide that 'mixed race' is no longer suitable and come up with equally euphemistic nonsense.
Don't let the thought Nazis get to you.
This is all a load of crap. Apparently nowadays people aren't blind, they are visually impaired. No one is disabled, they are physically challenged. Even the Spastics Society changed its name so as not to 'offend'.
Before long, someone will decide that 'mixed race' is no longer suitable and come up with equally euphemistic nonsense.
Don't let the thought Nazis get to you.
It's a question of whether or not people are likely to be offended.
I's sure even the emminently sensible Lucy wouldn't call someone a n1gger or a w0g and expect them not to be offended.
The point is sometimes traditional terms are used in a manner that become abusive or have negative connotations so they get dropped.
Spastic is a really good example.
I don't think I'd be too pleased if someone referred to my nephew as a spastic (and I don't think I'm a Nazi).
Not sure about half-caste, I'd tend to avoid it, it just feels old-fashioned and with associations (probably wrongly ) of the Indian caste system.
I mean I'm English and my wife is Irish but I don't think many people would think of my children as half-caste, do you?
I's sure even the emminently sensible Lucy wouldn't call someone a n1gger or a w0g and expect them not to be offended.
The point is sometimes traditional terms are used in a manner that become abusive or have negative connotations so they get dropped.
Spastic is a really good example.
I don't think I'd be too pleased if someone referred to my nephew as a spastic (and I don't think I'm a Nazi).
Not sure about half-caste, I'd tend to avoid it, it just feels old-fashioned and with associations (probably wrongly ) of the Indian caste system.
I mean I'm English and my wife is Irish but I don't think many people would think of my children as half-caste, do you?
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You ask 'when did this happen?'. If you're 35, I'm surprised that you've even heard the phrase 'half caste', other than in old movies. Back in the 1970s, when I was teaching, it was a disciplinary offence (possibly leading to sacking) for any teacher employed by Sheffield LEA to refer to a child as 'half caste'. 'Mixed race' was the only acceptable term even then.
In the 1980s I attended a course, organised by Sheffield LEA, on racial awareness. I asked the two gentlemen running the course (who were both of Afro-Caribbean descent) to provide me with a politically correct word which could be used to refer generically to all 'non-white' children. I was told, quite emphatically, that the only acceptable word was 'black'. I asked whether this included children from, say, Chinese families and was firmly told that I should only refer to them as 'black'. (I later reported this to one of my pupils, whose family ran the local Chinese takeaway. Her response was less than polite!).
So your children are definitely 'of mixed race' and, quite possibly 'black'!
Chris
In the 1980s I attended a course, organised by Sheffield LEA, on racial awareness. I asked the two gentlemen running the course (who were both of Afro-Caribbean descent) to provide me with a politically correct word which could be used to refer generically to all 'non-white' children. I was told, quite emphatically, that the only acceptable word was 'black'. I asked whether this included children from, say, Chinese families and was firmly told that I should only refer to them as 'black'. (I later reported this to one of my pupils, whose family ran the local Chinese takeaway. Her response was less than polite!).
So your children are definitely 'of mixed race' and, quite possibly 'black'!
Chris
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