Inform me, pls

[highlyeccentric]

Americans and persons better informed than I:

What is the "war on drugs", exactly?
Why am I seeing the occasional reference to the "war on drugs" in RaceFail posts, usually with the implication that said "war on drugs" is a specific and negative policy against the black community? Is there a particular race angle to its application, or is it something which negatively impacts low socio-economic groups, including a high percentage of the black community?

~

Next:

Is 'people of colour' really the PC term?
Is it PC anywhere outside of the States? Because it sounds racist to me, and my gut says it wouldn't go down well in Australia if you reffered to anyone as a person of colour.
Who IS considered a 'person of colour' in the States? Is an Italian-American considered a 'person of colour'? An immigrant from the Middle East? The Hispanic community?

Comments

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the links, I'll follow them from home this weekend :)

Oh, I'm glad someone else finds the term 'people of colour' uncomfortable. The term 'white' makes me screamingly uncomfortable, too - I guess I actually paid attention in history class, every time I hear 'white' I hear 'white Australia policy', government-endorsed discrimination, jingoism, cultural conservatism, and a whole bunch of things which can generally be summed up as DO NOT WANT. And I *am* technically (and literally, being as pale as a very pale thing) white, which is supposed to mean this sort of thing doesn't bother me.

[ahsavka.livejournal.com]

I think I'm less conscious of "white", but I understand what you mean, when I think about it I don't like it much either.

The problem is that it's so loaded, but we need a word to be descriptive. She was tall, with blue eyes and brown hair and white(can we use pink? We're pink.) skin. You don't know a body's history.

(I'm actually sorry to linkdump on you like that -- but I have to go to bed!)

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Caucasian is what gets used in police descriptions, now that I recall. Tall, brown eyes, of Caucasian appearance, of middle eastern appearance, etc.