You do know that it's just Spanish for black right ?
No where else in the world do people want to be referenced by the color of their skin, most just want to be people. We are all people aren't we ?
Perhaps you'd rather be a victim, oh woe and all that ?
Black, Negro, Niger, all just variations of the same word. Does words really hurt you that much ? You seem to make a big deal out of it so I thought I would ask.
I haven't read your book because of the title, it turned me off completely. Why growing up black ? Why not growing up, is it that different ?
I grew up to but I would never think to title a book " Growing up red in a white mans world""
Think about this please give me an answer, I really want to know....
Sometimes people don't have a choice about the boundaries set upon them by factors outside of their own control, like the color of their skin.
@majes, In the universe and the larger scheme of things, I think it is silly and absurd to have a discussion about this topic of emotion-laden words and labels. However let me clarify some things for you.
Thanks for the etymology lesson on the N-word. It is rather naive of you to assume that I am unaware of the word’s origin. Anyone who has spent seventy-two years with a word, would have to be stupid not to know the origin of the word. I am not stupid. By the way, just because a word exists in some form in another language doesn’t make it any less negative or emotion-laden in English, my native language.
About your dislike of my book, its title and subtitle, I can only remind you of an old adage to “never judge a book by its cover.” It sounds like you haven’t had enough life-experience to appreciate my book anyway, so please don’t bother, it won’t make sense to you, it is meant for adults.
The tone of your comment seemed to be baiting or daring me into some kind of debate. I am not here to engage in some kind of tit-for-tat debate on race, racism, Black versus White issues. I am not interested in wasting your time or mine discussing the relevance of society’s labels, designed to divide us, categorize us, or evoke negative emotions. My only intention is to share my life experiences with people who can relate to them and gain some value from the sharing of them.
In my opinion the value in the sharing of our human experiences is that we get to see the commonality of our spirits and our ancestry. It seems that you may have to grow into that life-perspective.
In any case, thanks for your comment and bless your heart.