Is black hole a racially insensitive term?

In summary, a white county commissioner made an analogy between the central collections office and a "black hole" which caused a heated argument between him and a black county commissioner. The controversy eventually ended with the apology of one of the commissioners.
  • #36


The word "black" needs to be purged from the English language.
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
  • #37


If that actually took place it is depressing and ridiculous. This is the reason I normally disregard anything a black person is talking about.



Jordan.
 
  • #38


well, it IS Bush's home state, afterall
 
  • #39


Jordan Joab said:
If that actually took place it is depressing and ridiculous. This is the reason I normally disregard anything a black person is talking about.



Jordan.

Would that include astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson?
 
  • #40


rewebster said:
well, it IS Bush's home state, afterall

Actually, Bush is from New England (I want to say Connecticut), not Texas.
 
  • #41


Those Mars colonization ideas aren't looking too bad right now.
 
  • #42


Jordan Joab said:
This is the reason I normally disregard anything a black person is talking about.

Jordan.

So you are saying that since some black people say stupid things, you ignore all black people.

Since some white people say stupid things, do you ignore all white people, or is this purely race driven? And if it applies to white people as well, may we consider your statement to be reflexive?
 
  • #43


Jordan Joab said:
This is the reason I normally disregard anything a black person is talking about.

Jordan.

Wow. Just... wow.
 
  • #44


Jordan Joab said:
This is the reason I normally disregard anything a black person is talking about.



Jordan.

what?---I didn't quite hear you
 
  • #45


Ivan Seeking said:
So you are saying that since some black people say stupid things, you ignore all black people.

Since some white people say stupid things, do you ignore all white people, or is this purely race driven? And if it applies to white people as well, may we consider your statement to be reflexive?

I ignore the majority of black people, specifically those that consider themselves black first and people second. For example, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Mr. Johnson (BET owner), and any other person that saw themselves as black first, people second. Individuals like Colin Powell, Condolezza Rice, Willie Randolph (barely), Elijah Cummings, etc. that see themselves as people first get my attention. You could say it is race driven. And yes, I am a prejudiced person.

Shameless disclosure: I'm a Latino person of mixed Sephardic Jewish, White, Taino, and black ancestry. My skin color is light brown.



Jordan Joab.
 
  • #46


Jordan Joab said:
I ignore [...] people [...] that consider themselves ["whatever"] first and people second.
It does not matter what your exact situation is. As others said : "wow" :bugeye:

You can not reproach somebody with being stupid, and act yourself in the same stupid manner towards this person as what you reproach him with being stupid in the first place. It is self-contradictory. If you were a computer, your screen would be blue. :devil:
 
  • #47


humanino said:
It does not matter what your exact situation is. As others said : "wow" :bugeye:

You can not reproach somebody with being stupid, and act yourself in the same stupid manner towards this person as what you reproach him with being stupid in the first place. It is self-contradictory. If you were a computer, your screen would be blue. :devil:

I don't follow. I didn't think not paying attention to something that didn't interest you was considered a "stupid manner." I simply said that if I'm presented with two sides of an argument I normally ignored the side presented by the black person since it seems to me the "I'm a victim" agenda is always being played.

In any case, if people want to brand me as racist or prejudiced I have no problem with that.



Jordan.
 
  • #48


Let me take an example. If I made the same decision as you, being racist towards racists, I would do the following :
Jordan Joab said:
I don't follow.
I did not expect you too o:)

See ? :smile: That would be stupid of me.
 
  • #49


humanino said:
Let me take an example. If I made the same decision as you, being racist towards racists, I would do the following :
I did not expect you too o:)

See ? :smile: That would be stupid of me.

Ok, you got me, I'm being stupid. Now what?



Jordan.
 
  • #50


Jordan Joab said:
Ok, you got me, I'm being stupid. Now what?



Jordan.

well, Ghandi may say, adopt a black child
 
  • #51


Jordan Joab said:
Now what?
Well, if you just want to think about it, honestly that would make my day ! :cool:
 
  • #52


humanino said:
Well, if you just want to think about it, honestly that would make my day ! :cool:

I can think about it all you want but that's not going to erase how I was raised nor radically change my belief system. I'll grant you that ignoring someone due to their skin color is idiotic but so far it has worked for me and I don't intend to change that anytime soon.

Let me give you some unnecessary background info. I was raised in a upper-middle class Dominican family that did not encourage learning our African ancestry (just like Dominican culture in general). Matter of fact, one of my aunts is undeniably of sub-Saharan African descent. Matter of fact, Dominican culture ignores most of it African heritage. So, to me ignoring a black person is not a big deal.



Jordan.
 
  • #53


Jordan Joab said:
I can think about it all you want but that's not going to erase how I was raised nor radically change my belief system. I'll grant you that ignoring someone due to their skin color is idiotic but so far it has worked for me and I don't intend to change that anytime soon.

Let me give you some unnecessary background info. I was raised in a upper-middle class Dominican family that did not encourage learning our African ancestry (just like Dominican culture in general). Matter of fact, one of my aunts is undeniably of sub-Saharan African descent. Matter of fact, Dominican culture ignores most of it African heritage. So, to me ignoring a black person is not a big deal.



Jordan.

I'm curious what you mean by "ignore." Do you mean race doesn't matter to you when you meet someone, i.e., you ignore race and just judge the person on the content of their character? Or do you mean you ignore a person altogether, because of that person's race?
 
  • #54


lisab said:
I'm curious what you mean by "ignore." Do you mean race doesn't matter to you when you meet someone, i.e., you ignore race and just judge the person on the content of their character? Or do you mean you ignore a person altogether, because of that person's race?

Bingo.

If a person approaches me and the first thing out of their mouth is "I am black/white/yellow" I will treat that person how I think "black/yellow/white" should be treated. If someone approaches me and they are not self-conscious about their skin color I will treat them like normal people.

I am prejudiced against black people. I am not prejudiced against people. I see Elijah Cummings as a man whose arguments should be respected. I see Al Sharpton as a black person I should ignore.



Jordan.
 
  • #55


Jordan Joab said:
I am prejudiced against black people.
Maybe it would already help if you said
Jordan Joab said:
I am prejudiced against people calling themselves black.
To which I should say I rather agree. We had a woman candidate for president last time in France. She kept saying "I am a free woman" to which I could not help but think "she is the one being sexist". I can't really keep my nerve in front of people calling themselves woman. True. But sure enough, I still like being around ("normal") people of female sex.
 
  • #56


Jordan Joab said:
I can think about it all you want but that's not going to erase how I was raised nor radically change my belief system. I'll grant you that ignoring someone due to their skin color is idiotic but so far it has worked for me and I don't intend to change that anytime soon.

You are acting like a child.
You don't yell out everything that comes in your mind :smile:
I also discriminate a lot and once made a mistake of yelling that out:
"I hate all humanities/arts people".
It's natural to discriminate but you cannot optimize your life if you let it get in your ways ... What if you get a black boss who can pay you far more than any other person.

I must say that your words might be offensive to many people.
 
  • #57


You have to understand the Dominican Republic. I understand what Jordan is saying. Learn about where he's from and the hispanic/black culture there.

I'm not saying that I condone racism of any kind, I spent two years here fighting daily to get racist threads stopped. But we also need to know something about the world. Do you know that the Dominican Republic and Haiti are the same island culturally split in two?

You have to understand before you can hope to change.
 
  • #58


This world is going mad.

What's next? Anything color black or uses that term is racist now or what?
 
  • #59


BryanP said:
This world is going mad.

What's next? Anything color black or uses that term is racist now or what?

Some people can't let go.
 
  • #60
Like this person...


Atlanta Stripped of 'Men at Work' Signs After Complaints of Bias

Political correctness rules the road in Atlanta — which is replacing all its "Men at Work" signs with gender-neutral ones after a women's magazine editor complained of bias.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,379842,00.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #61


rootX said:
You are acting like a child.
You don't yell out everything that comes in your mind :smile:
I also discriminate a lot and once made a mistake of yelling that out:
"I hate all humanities/arts people".
It's natural to discriminate but you cannot optimize your life if you let it get in your ways ... What if you get a black boss who can pay you far more than any other person.

I must say that your words might be offensive to many people.

You are misunderstanding. I have nothing against skin color. I simply discriminate against people that self-consciously describe themselves as member of "X race" as if they were different from you.

The second you hear someone saying that they are offended by the words "black hole" you can figure out how their world is structured and how they interact with others. This self-identity of "black" tells me that they consider themselves different from the rest of us Humans and I consider them inferior to Humans.

People that identify themselves as black, white, yellow, etc. are inferior to me. Call me racist all you want.



Jordan.
 
  • #62


Evo said:
You have to understand the Dominican Republic. I understand what Jordan is saying. Learn about where he's from and the hispanic/black culture there.

I'm not saying that I condone racism of any kind, I spent two years here fighting daily to get racist threads stopped. But we also need to know something about the world. Do you know that the Dominican Republic and Haiti are the same island culturally split in two?

You have to understand before you can hope to change.

Wow, someone that knows! If people in the U.S. are shocked when they hear Don Imus say something "racist" on radio I wonder what they would do if they lived 1yr in the Dom. Rep. where racism is culturally and socially "accepted."

I grew up in an environment where I was strictly forbidden to go out with any girl with a dark skin color. That's pure garbage right there.



Jordan.
 
  • #63


Jordan Joab said:
The second you hear someone saying that they are offended by the words "black hole" you can figure out how their world is structured and how they interact with others.
Independently of the fact that I have no idea on your background, that was indeed my first thought when I saw this discussion.

I have been aware of Haiti and Dominican Republic from my childhood. A close friend of my family has devoted his life to helping them. He raises founds locally in France. Strange christian guilt, but he his a great man.

Long deep stories
 
  • #64


Jordan Joab said:
You are misunderstanding. I have nothing against skin color. I simply discriminate against people that self-consciously describe themselves as member of "X race" as if they were different from you.

The second you hear someone saying that they are offended by the words "black hole" you can figure out how their world is structured and how they interact with others. This self-identity of "black" tells me that they consider themselves different from the rest of us Humans and I consider them inferior to Humans.

People that identify themselves as black, white, yellow, etc. are inferior to me. Call me racist all you want.



Jordan.

Yep, I agree with you :). I was posting it when you posted that previous one so I didn't see that.

I am also a racists but it sucks because misunderstandings and rumors grow faster than anything else (I blame this to people whom I hate). So, I always think thrice before I say anything before those people.
 
  • #65


George bush and Humanino hates black people.


kanye-west-400a071107.jpg
 
  • #66


rootX said:
Yep, I agree with you :). I was posting it when you posted that previous one so I didn't see that.

I am also a racists but it sucks because misunderstandings and rumors grow faster than anything else (I blame this to people whom I hate). So, I always think thrice before I say anything before those people.

Now hold on buddy, you still need to be careful. Being racist is not something anyone should be proud of since you are still dealing with people. However, I don't hold my thoughts in front of people that know me like a co-worker of mine who claims everything bad that happens to him is because he is "black."

Man, that gets old quick.



Jordan.
 
  • #67


How can the term "black hole" ever be considered racist?

Doesn't everyone have one?
 
  • #68


Jordan Joab said:
Now hold on buddy, you still need to be careful. Being racist is not something anyone should be proud of since you are still dealing with people.

oops, I wasn't precise in my language. I wonder if I ever will be so I quit!
I was referring to those artsies for people whom I hate.
 
  • #69


He should have referred to it as an "African-American hole".
 
  • #70


Borek said:
That's in a way close to the story I heard about a politician visiting sewage treatment facility. Person showing the facility told the politician that they are able to get pH of the leaving water down to 7. "Why don't you get it down to zero?" was the answer.

It is also not far from the Aliso Viejo case, where city came close to banning styrofoam cups because dihydrogen monoxide was used in their production.

Stupidity and lack of knowledge are eternal. Racial connotations are new.

Is the term "black body radiation" racist as well?

That reminds me of the petition to end women's suffrage:
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Similar threads

Back
Top