This just in:

We're not allowed to call Americans Americans. You're all United States of Americans.

He can use 'African' in reference to what continent he originated from. Maybe not as an indicator of race, but that''s besides the point.

So what if he was shit-stirring? He has every right to make that lawsuit.

 

This is nitpicking, but according to the article he didn't actually say he was a "white african-american". He said he was a "white, african, american", which I believe is the same as saying that he's a 'american, african, white' person. Yes, it's a picky argument that boils down to a "-" vs a "," and what those mean to the meaning of the sentence, but it sure seems to make a huge difference here.

I'd agree that he was probably saying things the way he did in order to get a rise out of people, but considering that it's a university class it's not surprising. People say stupid things all the time to get discussions going so that they either look cool (to themselves at least) or get out of the class work progressing any farther. If you don't believe this, take a philosophy class and then try to figure out why after 1.5 hours of class time you only have about 3 lines of actual notes to read.  

From the article, it looks like we aren't getting the entire story necessarily here though. If you go by what's said in it, it seems that he didn't really say or do anything accept refer to himself as a 'white, african, american'. And for that he's been harrased with flyers, had his car vandalized, and has been suspended only for nothing more than a factually accurate remark. It's not right for people to turn around and vandalize his vehicle, and while I support freedom of speech, there's a difference between expressing and opinion and outright harrassement. Similarly, for the university to suspend him for that statement is going overboard if it was limited to just that single statement. Now had he said something like 'slavery was a great thing and we should bring it back', or something directly insulting then it would be different, but he didn't so far as it seems.

One thing that really gets to me is that there is always this talk of not wanting to discriminate, and not wanting to offend, and yet for this person to simply say something that sounds like it might claim that he is part of a different group of people is now offensive. How is this helping to break down barriers between groups of people and have everyone treated as equals?

 

I know white African Americans, I've had classes with them South Africans. If you grew up there, you are African American.

 

Oh wow, what a way to troll.  

 

Man's actually from africa. He's more "African" than anyone born in America. Saying that "African" means "Black skin" is like saying "American" means "White Skin." It's not only incorrect, but racist as well.

 

^This. Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

Skin tone alone shouldn't be an indicatior of someone's ethnic make up but it is to many people. I'm white,black and native american so that makes me a walking Heniz 57 and damn proud of it.  

 

Also I dunno if anyone has mentioned this case but I met two albino "black" kids in my classes at Pitt. Looked like white guys with African American features and hair.

Are they not "African American" anymore, according to this school?

 

ETHNICITY is not RACE.

He took his ethnicity (an American who came from Africa) and tried to replace his race with it. (caucasian).

No matter where him and his family have lived, his genetics of his lineage from pre-expansion Europe is that of a person originating from Europe, Eastern Asia or the Middle east. His Lineage did not originate from Africa so he is not that race that happens to be called (poorly) African American.

He is purposefully trying to be obtuse to gain an advantage or try to make a lawsuit.

Right now, these generic, poorly named terms are the best we have for generally labeling Genetic heritage which Society still feels the need to document and 'protect the rights of'.

It isn't racist... it is Anthropology. Tens of thousands of humans breeding in isolated geographic locations created very distinct races of Humans which as the world becomes more mobile are slowly being merged away. But living in Africa for a generation doesn't change your DNA to make your Ancestors from there.

 

Wait, but what if in the future some black dude is born like on Mars, what then?

 

You can't say the word "black", racist honkie.

 

[Edit: I was originally going to use this spot to ask someone to further explain his/her feelings on people of mixed heritages, but decided that I don't really care what the answer is.]

I understand the need to ensure that people of all ethnicities and ancestries are treated fairly in society and appreciate the unique obstacles that each have had to overcome in the unending and unwavering pursuit of the "more perfect union". However, I believe that any and every attempt to pigeonhole individuals into neat and tidy little groups is destined for failure and, at the very least, makes those who attempt to do so, look incredibly foolish.

The student is an idiot for raising a disturbance by making a mockery of others' ancestries and struggles and the school and student body are damn fools for letting him succeed.

"A plague on both your houses."

 

Oh yeah, but you let me slide on "dude". Way to be a sexist, friggin' breeder.

 

I didn't see where he said that his race, rather than his ethnicity, was African-American. It says he just used the phrase African-American when describing himself.

And anyways, African-American isn't a race either--it's an identification of origin and current location. I mean, it's there in the name. Two different continents, neither of which are the exclusive homes of any race. Now, a black person--archaically referred to as belonging to the negroid race--might be an African-American, an African, an American, or something else entirely. But none of those cases would have any bearing on his or her race.

Hell, the very idea of human race is incredibly controversial, even among the people whose job it is to define and study it.

This dude was born in Africa, apparently as an African citizen. That makes him African. He moved to American and seems to have become a citizen here. That makes him officially American. After that, it's just kinda word math. I'd be with you if he went around arguing that he was black, but...he didn't.

Also, didn't we all come from Africa originally?

 

How is he being obtuse to try to make a lawsuit? He was suspended and kids tormented him over such a little technicality.

 

i just saw im a human mutt... or abomination to the universe.

 

No he didn't according to the article. He said 'white, African, American'. not 'white african-american'. The prior is not a contradiction, while the later is, which is not what he said.

He said that he is caucasian, and an african, and an american. He did not say that he is a caucasian black person

 

It would be more like saying european means white which would be accurate like 90+ percent of the time lol

 

Kids? Since when did Children go to Dental College?

Currently, the United states uses the term "African American" to describe any and all people whose anthropological ancestry derives from Africa, regardless of nationality or ethnicity.

People disagreed with how he was using the term as he was trying to use it to describe his Nationality and Ethnicity, which is wrong.

The term is 'misleading' and 'race' is a pretty old concept we still have to protect people who are singled out. If we still use the term "Caucasian", the most accurate term that wouldn't cause any confusion with ethnicity or Nationality classifications would probably be some derivative of the word "negro" which would probably be really offensive to a lot of people.

So we use a sanitised, misdescriptive term "African American". So he can never be a WHITE AFRICAN AMERICAN. (RACE + RACE) He can be a Caucasian person who is an American from Africa (RACE + Nationality + Ethnicity) or he could be Mixed Race.

It is not that confusing.

 

Except for the fact that he *IS* a white, African, American. Just because we use a completely improper term doesn't mean he should be harrassed for it. And where does it say he was using what he said to describe his ethnicity specifically? If all he said was that he was a white, African, American, that means he has white skin, was born in Africa but lives and is a citizen of the United States. Which is 100% true. In a description of himself, he actually is a White, African, American.

Calling that black guy born in Brooklyn an African American is not an accurate description of someone with dark skin born in America, but because it's the "least offensive" that's what gets used. Being African isn't any more of an ethnicity then being American because black people aren't the only ones who come from Africa.

If he was born in France and called himself a White, French, American, it wouldn't have been any kind of issue. But because we use a term incorrectly, he gets harrassed for accurately describing himself.