There are times when I'm fully understanding of utilizing adjectives to describe a person. If a crime is witnessed, the police will want a full description of the person, so mentioning the person's gender, ethnicity, etc. is necessary information. When setting a person up on a date, it's rather important to give as vivid a picture as is possible, so again, mentioning the person's ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, employment, education, etc. are all meaningful to the discussion.
This isn't always the case, however. Just the other day, a person received a get-well card in the mail from a woman whom attends the same church as this individual. After reading the card and note inside the card, this person said, "She's a very sweet black woman."
I hear this kind of talk more regularly than I'd like.
"He's a really funny gay guy."
"She's a very funny Arab woman."
"He's a short little person."
What need is there for the adjectives in these scenarios? Excluding the last example, which illustrates redundancy, the others make it sound as though the source of the quote feels the individual of whom they speak is an exception rather than the common.
"She's a very sweet black woman" makes it sound as though this is something new, different, that black women tend to not be very sweet. I'm sure that's not what this person was trying to construe, but I can't help but shake my head at such rhetoric.
This very individual is Caucasian. I can bet with every fiber of my being that when describing a fellow Caucasian, he/she wouldn't say something along the lines of, "He's a very sweet white man."
There's really no need for such adjectives in these before-mentioned scenarios. Why can't someone just be sweet? A sweet person? Why can't someone be referred to as an intelligent individual? If someone were to ask me if I thought Halle Berry or Denzel Washington were attractive, I'd simply respond with, "Yes, she is gorgeous" or "Yes, he's an attractive guy and no, I'm not gay." There's really no need for me to include their ethnicity in my response. There are many more attractive men and women of a darker skin tone than I (then again, that's not really saying a whole lot. Isn't that right, Casper?).
This isn't always the case, however. Just the other day, a person received a get-well card in the mail from a woman whom attends the same church as this individual. After reading the card and note inside the card, this person said, "She's a very sweet black woman."
I hear this kind of talk more regularly than I'd like.
"He's a really funny gay guy."
"She's a very funny Arab woman."
"He's a short little person."
What need is there for the adjectives in these scenarios? Excluding the last example, which illustrates redundancy, the others make it sound as though the source of the quote feels the individual of whom they speak is an exception rather than the common.
"She's a very sweet black woman" makes it sound as though this is something new, different, that black women tend to not be very sweet. I'm sure that's not what this person was trying to construe, but I can't help but shake my head at such rhetoric.
This very individual is Caucasian. I can bet with every fiber of my being that when describing a fellow Caucasian, he/she wouldn't say something along the lines of, "He's a very sweet white man."
There's really no need for such adjectives in these before-mentioned scenarios. Why can't someone just be sweet? A sweet person? Why can't someone be referred to as an intelligent individual? If someone were to ask me if I thought Halle Berry or Denzel Washington were attractive, I'd simply respond with, "Yes, she is gorgeous" or "Yes, he's an attractive guy and no, I'm not gay." There's really no need for me to include their ethnicity in my response. There are many more attractive men and women of a darker skin tone than I (then again, that's not really saying a whole lot. Isn't that right, Casper?).
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