This is why I was asking how far back through etymology do we have to go. I do not give a fuck what the origin of the word “America” was. The continent is called North America in English, which we are speaking. It is the same way I would call my ancestry German rather than Deutsch, because we are not speaking German. The people who were here before the Europeans are native to this land (even though technically they are not native either, since we all came from Africa if you go back far enough, which again, how far back do we need to go?). Hence, Native Americans. They were called “Indians” for a long time out of ignorance and then willful ignorance, but how do we distinguish Indians from India and Indians from America? Hence, American Indians.
The term “Indian” is wrong. Just because Christopher Columbus was stupid and thought he was in India does not make this continent India. I’m also not saying Native American or American Indians are the sole correct terms, but it’s better than a literally wrong one that has a lot of bad history behind it. A black guy who doesn’t mind when his white friends call him “nigga” does not mean that he speaks for all black people. Same thing with “Indian” to describe someone who is indigenous to this land (a land that is decidedly not India). I don’t care if someone wants to be known as Native American, or American Indian, or Indian, or Cherokee, or Navajo, or Sioux, or anything else. But I’m not going to call any person commonly understood to be indigenous to the Americas any but the first two without asking them. Some assume their tribe, the other is both factually wrong and used pejoratively for hundreds of years.
I do not give a fuck what the origin of the word “America” was.
And that’s why your position is wrong. I’m not kidding, you need to care about these things. It’s the part of this argument that seems to elude you.
It sounds like you don’t even disagree that you should just ask people what they prefer, so maybe tone down the “let me tell you the only terms you’re allowed to use for a people I don’t belong to.” It’s not for us to say.
Explain to me the relevance that an English word came from an Italian man, then. The continent is called North America. That’s what it is called in the language we are conversing in. The word’s origin means nothing. What word should we use instead?
This is why I was asking how far back through etymology do we have to go. I do not give a fuck what the origin of the word “America” was. The continent is called North America in English, which we are speaking. It is the same way I would call my ancestry German rather than Deutsch, because we are not speaking German. The people who were here before the Europeans are native to this land (even though technically they are not native either, since we all came from Africa if you go back far enough, which again, how far back do we need to go?). Hence, Native Americans. They were called “Indians” for a long time out of ignorance and then willful ignorance, but how do we distinguish Indians from India and Indians from America? Hence, American Indians.
The term “Indian” is wrong. Just because Christopher Columbus was stupid and thought he was in India does not make this continent India. I’m also not saying Native American or American Indians are the sole correct terms, but it’s better than a literally wrong one that has a lot of bad history behind it. A black guy who doesn’t mind when his white friends call him “nigga” does not mean that he speaks for all black people. Same thing with “Indian” to describe someone who is indigenous to this land (a land that is decidedly not India). I don’t care if someone wants to be known as Native American, or American Indian, or Indian, or Cherokee, or Navajo, or Sioux, or anything else. But I’m not going to call any person commonly understood to be indigenous to the Americas any but the first two without asking them. Some assume their tribe, the other is both factually wrong and used pejoratively for hundreds of years.
And that’s why your position is wrong. I’m not kidding, you need to care about these things. It’s the part of this argument that seems to elude you.
It sounds like you don’t even disagree that you should just ask people what they prefer, so maybe tone down the “let me tell you the only terms you’re allowed to use for a people I don’t belong to.” It’s not for us to say.
Explain to me the relevance that an English word came from an Italian man, then. The continent is called North America. That’s what it is called in the language we are conversing in. The word’s origin means nothing. What word should we use instead?