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Debate Info

13
12
Hell yeah! Wait..., what? No!
Debate Score:25
Arguments:19
Total Votes:28
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 Hell yeah! (11)
 
 Wait..., what? No! (8)

Debate Creator

joecavalry(40163) pic



If a white South African emigrates to the US, is he an African American

Maybe he's a South African American, especially if he ends up living in the south.  But what if he's from some other African country?  I mean, does a person have to be black in order to be considered African American?  Michael Jackson wasn't black.  He was an African American but he was white, so....

Hell yeah!

Side Score: 13
VS.

Wait..., what? No!

Side Score: 12
2 points

He's actually more African American than blacks who are born here.

explaination:

In order to technically be African American, you have to be born in Africa and then become an American citizen. Any black who is born here but has African relatives is American with African decent. Not African American.

So i just call them black. Well... also because i don't know if they're african, jamaican, cuban, or w/e. and black is just one syllable. the term black to describe a black person just works perfectly in every way.

Side: Hell Yeah!

Somebody may suggest that we do away with labels all together, but look at the fun we're having ;)

Side: Hell Yeah!
1 point

I consider an African American to be someone in America that is of recent African descent. This means that a person immigrated to America after being a citizen of any African nation. A black person who has been living in America for quite some time, however, is not African American anymore, just black. I don't consider myself German American or European American because my ancestors have all been in the states since the early 1900's/late 1800's. Therefore, I am only American with German descent.

There's no sense in calling someone African American if he or she has no significant ties with Africa, especially if he or she is only called African American based on skin color.

Side: Hell Yeah!
1 point

Yes- he immigrated from Africa. My babysitter when I was younger was French-American, and preferred to be referred to as such, though racially (social construct, I know) she was black. one should be classified by most recent descent IF that's what they prefer. it would be easier to not have to fight over race, though, and make more meaningful distinctions- perhaps ethnically? I suppose then you would have lots of small ethnic groups in areas with indigenous population in a relatively intact state; Western Europe an America would probably bleed together into a sort of Euro-merican ethnicity, with sub-groups within,

Side: Hell Yeah!

Yes, that sounds all well and good except that the Europeans that came here were trying to get away from the Europeans over there. ;)

Side: Hell Yeah!
1 point

This is a none arguement. Whomever put this up needs to fill theri time with more important things. Semantics.

Side: Hell Yeah!

I think you mean, "This is not a debate." Responses, like this one and yours, are arguments. The topic is the debate. ;)

Side: Hell Yeah!
1 point

@joecavalry.

Nit-picking once again. Whatever the correct "word" is, my logic remains infallible.

Side: Hell yeah!
2 points

Technically, he would be a European-African-American ;)

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Side: Wait..., What? No!

"an American of African and especially of black African descent"

According to Webster's Dictionary, the person has to be black in order to qualify for that label. I believe that it is mostly because blacks are the indigenous peoples to Africa. The whites that are there where not actually from there, most immigrated from a European country.

Side: Wait..., What? No!
wulfdot(2) Disputed
2 points

Yes, I agree with your statement but it doesn't fall into the original precedence of the question. This question is use to trick the mind because if a person was born in Africa, regardless of colour, they're considered African born.

The original question was not only asking for a direct definition but also rather he would be considered African-American. You have to take nationalities into account here. His nationality is African, so emigrating to the United States would make him African American.

But as I said this is a trick question where there are two possible answers. I'm voting "Hell yeah!" because my current thought path leads me to nationality, but I can understand yours too.

Side: Hell Yeah!
brycer2012(1002) Disputed
1 point

If that's the case, then why are people born in America still considered "African American"? Wouldn't they just be "American".

Side: Wait..., What? No!

The correct term for a white South African human is an 'Afrikaner'. They are mostly of Dutch descent, thus I would see no reason not to refer to them as 'Dutch American'.

Side: Wait..., What? No!

How about Afrikaner American? That sounds kinda cool. ;)

Side: Wait..., What? No!
1 point

No, as if the man is white then he isn't black.

Sorry to be so blunt =P

Side: Wait..., What? No!