‘Positive’ Discrimination: Race, Language and Labels
‘… “Reverse discrimination”, which translates to “Keep those Negroes running – but in their same old place”.’
– Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnics). POC and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour). Catch-all, pre-packaged tags ready to slap on those boxes we call ‘people’, when we feel so inclined. Establishment guarantee included, free of charge. My gripe with race terminology has long been one of passive resistance yet complicit subscription. This is my guilty confession; more so, this is a personal attempt to unravel the netting of politically correct and functionally useless labels which colour (pun intended) our ever-growing vocabulary of racial identification.
A few mandatory disclaimers before I let loose. Conversations...