BlueDreams
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Registered: 08/21/06
Posts: 79
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| | 08/24/06 at 11:41 PM | Reply with quote | #1 |
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I've been lurking the main site (and now this one) for a while now and have not posted until now for one specific reason. I don't like the term mulatto. I never have. I think its weird on the tongue and somewhat archaic, meant for a different time. I've never liked it and am though I've slowly grown a little more comfortable with hearing/reading it, I still wouldn't identify as mulatto/a. I know, for sure, that I'm certainly not the only one who feels this way and it occured to me that this could be something that deters a strong sense of community with us. Because though I do not prefer the term, the experiences are still often the same and what not. But if the people cannot agree on the term used to designate us, then what? Thoughts, anyone With luv, BD
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Machito
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Registered: 08/23/06
Posts: 189
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| | 08/25/06 at 09:48 AM | Reply with quote | #2 |
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why are you not comfortable with the word mulatto ? . do you know the meaning of the word ?
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BlueDreams
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Registered: 08/21/06
Posts: 79
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| | 08/25/06 at 10:27 AM | Reply with quote | #3 |
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It's nothing serious, I just don't like the sound to it. I also don't like the sound of causcasian or african-american etc. I know the common definition and I know the divide in what people think the word is derived from. There are people far more passionate about their dislike of the word than I do, which furthers my point. How do we have this black-white mixed comraderie when people don't agree on the term used? With luv, BD
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Ajax
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Registered: 08/25/06
Posts: 2,136
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| | 08/25/06 at 11:16 AM | Reply with quote | #4 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by BlueDreams It's nothing serious, I just don't like the sound to it. I also don't like the sound of causcasian or african-american etc. I know the common definition and I know the divide in what people think the word is derived from. There are people far more passionate about their dislike of the word than I do, which furthers my point. How do we have this black-white mixed comraderie when people don't agree on the term used? With luv, BD I was never to thrilled for the term "African-American" you can just call me colored
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Machito
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Registered: 08/23/06
Posts: 189
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| | 08/25/06 at 12:21 PM | Reply with quote | #5 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by AjaxQuote: Originally Posted by BlueDreams It's nothing serious, I just don't like the sound to it. I also don't like the sound of causcasian or african-american etc. I know the common definition and I know the divide in what people think the word is derived from. There are people far more passionate about their dislike of the word than I do, which furthers my point. How do we have this black-white mixed comraderie when people don't agree on the term used? With luv, BD I was never to thrilled for the term "African-American" you can just call me colored no you don't want to be called colored.. look up color, colored in the dictionary ..it's to appear not existing.
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Ajax
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| | 08/25/06 at 04:31 PM | Reply with quote | #6 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by MachitoQuote: Originally Posted by AjaxQuote: Originally Posted by BlueDreams It's nothing serious, I just don't like the sound to it. I also don't like the sound of causcasian or african-american etc. I know the common definition and I know the divide in what people think the word is derived from. There are people far more passionate about their dislike of the word than I do, which furthers my point. How do we have this black-white mixed comraderie when people don't agree on the term used? With luv, BD I was never to thrilled for the term "African-American" you can just call me colored no you don't want to be called colored.. look up color, colored in the dictionary ..it's to appear not existing. The dictionary is wrong  , who writes those things anyway
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I'm Native American and I'm PROUD
I'm Chinese and I'm PROUD
I'm German/French and I'm PROUD
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Machito
Dilettante
Registered: 08/23/06
Posts: 189
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| | 08/25/06 at 05:20 PM | Reply with quote | #7 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by AjaxQuote: Originally Posted by MachitoQuote: Originally Posted by AjaxQuote: Originally Posted by BlueDreams It's nothing serious, I just don't like the sound to it. I also don't like the sound of causcasian or african-american etc. I know the common definition and I know the divide in what people think the word is derived from. There are people far more passionate about their dislike of the word than I do, which furthers my point. How do we have this black-white mixed comraderie when people don't agree on the term used? With luv, BD I was never to thrilled for the term "African-American" you can just call me colored no you don't want to be called colored.. look up color, colored in the dictionary ..it's to appear not existing. The dictionary is wrong , who writes those things anyway no websters version. look it up in a old random house or oxford .
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barac1998
Registered: 08/23/06
Posts: 30
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| | 08/25/06 at 09:17 PM | Reply with quote | #8 |
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Does everyone have to agree with the term for it to be acceptable? If you choose to not use the term, is everyone else defining themselves in correctly? Just a thought. |
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| | 08/27/06 at 12:00 PM | Reply with quote | #9 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by BlueDreamsI've been lurking the main site (and now this one) for a while now and have not posted until now for one specific reason. I don't like the term mulatto. I never have. I think its weird on the tongue and somewhat archaic, meant for a different time. I've never liked it and am though I've slowly grown a little more comfortable with hearing/reading it, I still wouldn't identify as mulatto/a. I know, for sure, that I'm certainly not the only one who feels this way and it occured to me that this could be something that deters a strong sense of community with us. Because though I do not prefer the term, the experiences are still often the same and what not. But if the people cannot agree on the term used to designate us, then what? Thoughts, anyone With luv, BD
I like Mulatto personally. I like the sound of it; probably because I generally like the sound (melody) to the Latin based languages or "romance languages."
Do not get offended when I say this, because I do not mean it to be offense, but rather just food for thought, because it's something I heard and learned, and something I attempt to grow better as my life advances in time, that is that, one of the best things a person can develope in life and through education, is clear and ordered thought.
I bring this up because I believe it pertinent (sp?) to the discussion or understanding of the word Mulatto.
One of the greatest misuses of the dictionary by people, is that they look to it to be a definitive source or exposition on the nature of a thing, place, person, or idea. This is actually out of the scope of the dictionary's purpose. The dictionary functions as a compendium source to explain the common usage of a word in a given language. As such the word "bad" would perhaps have more definitions in the year 2006 than it would have in the year 1902 in the American English language.
For clear and ordered thought we would also have to ask ourselves what is the intrinsic nature to any given word if indeed it has one? Take the word "pray," it's common usage was much different in Shakespear time than in our own. In Shakespear time people would speak to one another when asking or begging by saying, "I pray thee." Today it's most common usage does not refer to an appeal but to the metaphysical functions of communication with God.
It would seem by the history of words in languages, what ever their intrinsic nature it is not in the essence of some thing, place, person, or idea.
Take the word "Protestant." At root the word means "protestor" (in reference to protestor of the Catholic Church). It was orginially a deragatory term Catholics used for those adherents of the Reformation. Today it is used with pride and few have any idea as to what it's orginal use was for or meant. Same thing with the words "Roman Catholic." It was Protestants started refering to Catholics as Roman Catholics, it was meant as a deragatory reference to Catholics in Western Europe remaining faithful to the Bishop of Rome (the Pope). Actually it is only Latin Catholics of the city of Rome who are "Roman Catholics" proper. The proper term for most Western Catholics who are under the Latin laturgical tradition is Latin Catholic not "Roman Catholic." However today "Roman Catholic" is used with pride by Latin Catholics, most of whom have no idea of how the term "Roman Catholic" came along and that it was deragatory or even that the proper term is Latin Catholic.
How did tribes and peoples of West African ancestry begin being called "Black"? What about the tribes, kingdoms, and peoples of Western Europe with the reference term "White"? In the U.S. Black peoples moved from utilization of the word Negro to the word Colored to the word Black to now in the late 80's and early 90's developing the term "African-American." What color or specific peoples does "Africa" refer to? In fact how did that Eastern continent become to hold the name "Africa"? How did the "Americas" gain their continental name?
Mulatto is a word. It can mean whatever we decide and imagine it to mean. It can mean mixed-race peoples of Black and White ancestry or it can mean the waxing of the moon if we so choose it to mean.
A word can mean anything. However a tree is a tree no matter what word given it. Both have different intrinsic natures.
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AriD85
Registered: 08/27/06
Posts: 1
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| | 08/27/06 at 12:23 PM | Reply with quote | #10 |
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Okay even if Mulatto did come from Muwallad people here can not honestly think that southern slave masters of 18th and 19th century had such extensive knowledge of Arabic to the point that they would have been able to derive mulatto from muwallad.
But they could probably speak Spanish so they could conduct business with the Spanish slave traders.
And these slave masters used the word Mulatto knowing that is Spanish for mule to put biracial people down. The same way they used nigger to put Africans down.
The claim is addressed by the Royal Academy of Spain: "The term MULATO is documented in our diachronic data bank in 1549, whereas MULADÍ (From Mullawadí) does not appear until the half of the XVIII century , according to Corominas (in our data bank CORDE there are no examples until 1902). |
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| | 08/27/06 at 01:35 PM | Reply with quote | #11 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by AriD85
Okay even if Mulatto did come from Muwallad people here can not honestly think that southern slave masters of 18th and 19th century had such extensive knowledge of Arabic to the point that they would have been able to derive mulatto from muwallad.
But they could probably speak Spanish so they could conduct business with the Spanish slave traders.
And these slave masters used the word Mulatto knowing that is Spanish for mule to put biracial people down. The same way they used nigger to put Africans down.
The claim is addressed by the Royal Academy of Spain: "The term MULATO is documented in our diachronic data bank in 1549, whereas MULADÍ (From Mullawadí) does not appear until the half of the XVIII century , according to Corominas (in our data bank CORDE there are no examples until 1902).
Mulatto I do not believe comparable to the usage of the word "nigger." From my knowldge it is not used in similar negative conotation in Spanish language literature - at least not in Latin America. Furthermore in Portugese speaking Brazil the terms Mulatto and Mulatta carry negative conotation but nothing at all to do with "mule."
 However reading on the non-debate board the French term "les nubians," which I take to translate as "the nubians" or "the blacks," I would be very inclined to adopt the descriptive term "Less Nubians" over Mulatto. "Less Nubians" would just sound so bad ass!
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BlueDreams
Dilettante
Registered: 08/21/06
Posts: 79
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| | 08/27/06 at 04:26 PM | Reply with quote | #12 |
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Alright, let me try again. The main point, isn't my dislike/discomfort with the term mulatto. I'll be honest that I don't know why I dislike it. My mother likes it, and finds it appropriate...I don't simple as that (strangely, I do like quadroon, octoroon, etc.I think they sound cute). That's not the big deal. I think the biggest problem is that people, far more passionate than I am about their dislike of the word aren't exactly a minority (excusin' the pun). They're is a good number who don't, and thus comes the trouble. That shrinks the number of a community into a division of what, exactly the community is. And though, the issues that face us black/white mixies are unique to western society many other of black/somethingelse mixies also have the same issues. Unless the term mulatto can be extended to anyone of black mix (as you state, words can be fairly flexable in their use over the generations) they're automatically excluded. Frankly I think the term is simply too rigid and thus cracking our community voice. With luv, BD
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| | 08/31/06 at 11:32 AM | Reply with quote | #13 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by extrahourQuote: Originally Posted by AriD85
Okay even if Mulatto did come from Muwallad people here can not honestly think that southern slave masters of 18th and 19th century had such extensive knowledge of Arabic to the point that they would have been able to derive mulatto from muwallad.
But they could probably speak Spanish so they could conduct business with the Spanish slave traders.
And these slave masters used the word Mulatto knowing that is Spanish for mule to put biracial people down. The same way they used nigger to put Africans down.
The claim is addressed by the Royal Academy of Spain: "The term MULATO is documented in our diachronic data bank in 1549, whereas MULADÍ (From Mullawadí) does not appear until the half of the XVIII century , according to Corominas (in our data bank CORDE there are no examples until 1902). Mulatto I do not believe comparable to the usage of the word "nigger." From my knowldge it is not used in similar negative conotation in Spanish language literature - at least not in Latin America. Furthermore in Portugese speaking Brazil the terms Mulatto and Mulatta carry negative conotation but nothing at all to do with "mule." However reading on the non-debate board the French term " les nubians," which I take to translate as "the nubians" or "the blacks," I would be very inclined to adopt the descriptive term " Less Nubians" over Mulatto. "Les s Nubians" would just sound so bad ass!
Les in french means THE .........The Nubians...........
LESS nubians in french wouldnt make sense really.....
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WhiskyB
Registered: 09/10/06
Posts: 22
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| | 09/11/06 at 12:05 AM | Reply with quote | #14 |
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I personally like "Half-Breed" myself. Its universal, simple to spell for those with a complication in that arena, self-explanatory, all with a high degree of impact in that it disarms the listener from any sort of insult (intentional or unintentional). More importantly it displays a sense confidence in my acceptance of what I am, and what I am not. Mulatto is great though! Its got a bit more class. Of course you could always go with "mut, zebra, checker-board, freak, oreo, day-walker, pseudo-nigger, "etc. I mean there are several other options if Mulatto rubs you the wrong way. W
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Ajax
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Registered: 08/25/06
Posts: 2,136
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| | 09/11/06 at 02:04 PM | Reply with quote | #15 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by WhiskyB I personally like "Half-Breed" myself. Its universal, simple to spell for those with a complication in that arena, self-explanatory, all with a high degree of impact in that it disarms the listener from any sort of insult (intentional or unintentional). More importantly it displays a sense confidence in my acceptance of what I am, and what I am not. Mulatto is great though! Its got a bit more class. Of course you could always go with "mut, zebra, checker-board, freak, oreo, day-walker, pseudo-nigger, "etc. I mean there are several other options if Mulatto rubs you the wrong way. W Yeah but what do you need to be breeded with
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I'm Black and I'm PROUD
I'm Native American and I'm PROUD
I'm Chinese and I'm PROUD
I'm German/French and I'm PROUD
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