[quote=Allan from Fallbrook]Afx: While we’re at it, what’s up with “African American”? I know the whole PC crowd is behind this, but even my black friends refer to themselves as black and openly deride the African American moniker. I think the only people using it are Politically Correct, scared white folks.
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Hah who knows.. I’ve used both ‘black’ and ‘African American’ in this thread.. both sub-consciously, and I don’t know why I typed one or the other in each case.

I think this also illustrates how both the offended and the offenders need to put some effort into clearing the confusion up. The problem is that even blacks/African Americans haven’t quite decided which they’d prefer to be called. There is not some all-powerful black/African American pope to be consulted as to which is the proper one to use. WWJJD – What Would Jesse Jackson Do?

I also wonder about white vs Caucasian. I’ve always referred to myself as white, but my Mexican wife and her family always calls me Caucasian. It always sounds weird to me, but neither one offends, and I don’t know which one is ‘correct.’ For me, anyway, it doesn’t matter. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.