Man Fatally Shot on Manhattan Subway in Unprovoked Attack
A gunman shot and killed Daniel Enriquez, 48, on a Q train in Lower Manhattan on Sunday. “It’s horrific, this is a horror movie,” his sister said.
When I was growing up, Persons of Black African Ancestry ("PBAA") were described in common conversation as "colored" or in more formal settings as "Negro." (In non-mixed conversation, both Negroes and "whites" often used the term, "n*gger," a vulgarity that continues, although with less frequency). Later, such people decided that they wanted to be called "Afro-Americans." "Colored" became verboten, and was replaced by "Black."
More recently, the term, "African American" came into the language, but "Black" remained the choice for casual reference.
Even more recently, the expression "People of Color" has been used, and although it can be used for anyone who is not solely European, it usually refers to a PBAA.
I link the attached article that describes a horrific, unprovoked shooting in Manhattan, and the perpetrator is described as a "dark skinned person."
Well...what do you know about that?
The NYT, being the "paper of record," recording "all the news that's fit to print," has long been the go-to source for changes in the language. One can only presume that the Times is telling the reading audience that the alleged perp is a PBAA, but like the archaic word, "colored" it is semantically dubious. A "white" man with a golden tan is a "dark skinned person." An Indian (from India), or a Pakistani, or an Arab, they are all "dark skinned people" when compared to people of German descent. Many Asians are dark skinned compared to Norwegians, eh?
Since we do not yet live in a color-blind society - and the Left will be damned if we ever reach that point - it is significant to NYT readers if the shooter was a Black guy. The NYT realizes this, but does not want to be so vulgar as to actually say that. But we get the point.
Imagine, The National Association of Dark-Skinned Persons...Dark Skinned Persons' Lives Matter.
It just doesn't have the same impact.
BTW, will this be investigated by the United States Department of Justice as a "hate crime"? I rather doubt it.
