2BAD4U

I said that if person of color meant "not caucasian," then it was impossible by definition (for a person of Caucasian heritage to become a person of color,) given that one cannot change their heritage. I actually thought this was a pleasingly simple conclusion, given that definition. But I was told that "dropping simplistic assertions into a nuanced subject isn't a great first impression." (Aside from the transition discussion, I find that defining a 'person of color' as 'someone who is not caucasian' to be not very informative. Knowing that someone is caucasian tells me very little about them, as does knowing they are not.)

I've yet to find a satisfying definition for a 'person of color.' Its meaning may be clear in some contexts, but I don't think general conversations and open social commentaries are among those settings. The meanings I hear most commonly- 1) people without the physical characteristics which first appeared in western Europe, and 2) people who do (or would) experience racism under western white supremacy. (perhaps equivalent to #1) I realize critiquing these at this point risks a straw-man argument, but it seems both allow someone to very easily transition, with sufficient body modification, into being 'of color.' (The earlier response, regarding Caucasian lineage, led to an unpleasingly simple conclusion.) It is hard to define the concepts we use to understand reality. Searching for and discovering their illogical implications is important if we wish to understand the errors in our perspective. If my looking for inconsistencies and contradictions is a "gotcha" move, it is only because we need to be gotten. Generalization and ambiguity are not without value, but in such an important subject I think clarity and precision should be required.

It seems like French/ Southern are cultural distinctions, whereas Caucasian/ non-Caucasian Heritage distinguishes ancestral lineage, and Person of Color/ Not Color is, at least to many people, an issue of skin color.

You got me. So let's try this again, this time with more nuance- what is a person of color?

Exactly. A person of color is... A person of Caucasian heritage can't become a non-Caucasian person, by definition. You cannot change your heritage.

What is a person of color?