What I do care about is the goody two shoed, bleeding heart, liberals who take it on themselves to “protect” the poor black, red, yellow, etc. people who can’t protect themselves so they have to have a superior, bleeding hearts, white liberal pussy take care of them.

That’s really insulting.

I know the point my friend was making was that “brothers” is not PC, and in his defense, he did NOT say “African-American is the proper way..blah..blah..blah..” And I did not use “brothers” just to spite Political correctness.

I speak with a little more color in my sentences, no big deal, I chose to mention race because that was the situation, but my friend was offended by my use of “brother” and that is the question at hand: Was my use of this word inappropriate? I agree with Dylan and George: it’s all about the context and that is what makes certain words good ones or bad ones.

I used the word “brothers” to describe the black males (not related) who were throwing down some mean BBQ. If we analyze the word brother, one would really have to dig deep to reveal any type of negative association with it. So were you implying that since our skin doesn’t match, I can’t call a black person “brother” but I can refer to another Asian as “brother?” Wouldn’t this rule of yours be considered a derivative of segregation?

Let’s also talk about the picture I choose, from the movie called “The Brothers.” It is a story about four black friends. If you have ever dealt with the entertainment industry, more specifically, major studios, you will know that they are the most uptight, politically correct pandering, non-risk taking, decision makers. This was one of the reasons why we saw the demise of Chappelle’s Show. Well, if these uptight studio execs gave clearance on the title “The Brothers” then that pretty much says it all.

I do not feel I used the word inappropriately. If anything, I find the word to be endearing instead of being racist.

White, Black, Asian, “brother”, whatever. Get your point across and if you’re really not racist you’ll be able to explain yourself without sounding like a retard. We focus too much on being PC. I’m all for efficient communication.

PS – I don’t agree with referring to Obama as white. I get that he’s American and has grown up around a lot of white folk. So have a lot of black or mixed people. Doesn’t mean that they don’t identify with a part of their lineage. I’m a mix of Irish, Scottish, French Canadian and American Indian. I don’t say, oh just call me Irish because I love to drink whiskey and my family comes from Boston. I like that I’ve got many parts that make me who I am. I’m pretty sure most people are the same, regardless of color. I get your point, but what I really think what you should argue for is that we describe each other as “American” instead of identifying with one of the multiple races that make us our particular skin color. (With me it’s pretty pasty white with red spots when I get exposed to sunlight)

but here’s where i disagree with emily. if the way you remembered your experience was that black dudes made killer bbq, there is nothing wrong with you saying it like that. as george carlin said, there are no bad words; there’s bad intentions; there are bad contexts. who is emily — or anyone else, for that matter — to judge whether you used “brother” in the correct context? any normal, well-adjusted person would’ve realized you weren’t being racist.

i’m tired of people being worried about being politically correct. we come in all different colors. if you want to describe someone based on their color, go ahead. if someone asks me where Todd is, and we’re sitting in a room filled with white and asian people and Todd’s the only black person in the room can’t i please say… “Oh, Todd? he’s the black dude over there by the window.” is that disrespectful? was my intention impure? sure, i guess i could say, he’s the dude with the white shirt… or the blue shirt, but then i have to scan for a few seconds everyone else in the room and make sure there’s no one else that fits that description. do i really need to exert that much energy to make sure no one thinks i’m a racist? can’t i have faith in the person i’m talking to that they’ll know i’m trying to do my best to describe someone in as short as time as possible? isn’t it more racist to be THAT conscious of it, that you have to do back flips to avoid sounding racist?

when i call my barber (he’s black; i’m the only white guy i’ve ever seen in my barbershop) to see if he could cut my hair… i tell him, “hey, it’s dylan, i’m the white guy… do you have time to cut my hair today?” i don’t really know if he remembers my name so i just ID myself as the white guy…. because i know he’ll immediately know who he’s talking to. do you think when i walk into the barber shop i’m not always aware that i’m the only white dude that ever gets his hair cut there? i don’t care. white people can’t cut my hair the way i want it. i have kinky hair- much like a lot of black dudes. the guy that cuts my hair cuts kinky hair all day. why wouldn’t i go to him? and why wouldn’t i, if asked about where i get my hair cut, NOT mention that everyone there is black? that’s one of the main things that makes that place what it is….it’s a tight-knit, very spiritual, loud, friendly place, with constant chattering across the shop and people off the street stopping in to say Hi or to shoot the shit or just bust balls er whatever. are you telling me that’s not a cultural thing?

i’m sick of people who say “i don’t see color.” i love that Stephen Colbert has taken away that silly phrase by using it satirically and constantly on his show. if anyone says they don’t see color, they’re liars. there’s nothing wrong with seeing colors. there is, however, something very wrong with being a hateful piece of shit who can’t tolerate people *because* of the color of their skin.

to think white people can undo what our relatives did to black people hundreds of years ago by being a bit more politically correct with their words, is mind-bogglingly silly. you want to help? be honest with yourself.

ps: why does no one ever refer to Barack Obama as white? he’s just as white as he is black. he’s half Kansas-ite; half Kenyan and was born in Hawaii for chrissakes. he was raised by his white mother along with his Indonesian step father (for a time in Jakarta) and his white grandparents (back in Hawaii). how is it that with all of that history, no one ever calls Barack Obama white? why is it even an issue that he’s black? if there’s a great example of racism right now, that’s it right there. He’s a person with parents from different countries. That’s most of America isn’t it? does it really matter that one of his parents come from an African nation? why is it even an issue?

I’m curious, when you asked the black comedians whether the term offended them, how did you contextualize the use of the term? Did you say it was you using it, in reference to people in the food service industry that you don’t know personally?

I’m guessing the reason your friend took offense is because “brother” is a term of kinship/commonality, and seeing as you neither know the people you were referring to nor are black yourself… it’s not exactly given that it would be an appropriate term for you to use, and I’m not surprised he was uncomfortable with it.