Screw You!

Message on the KTCO answering machine.  Girl: “Hi, I just wanted to let you guys know that using the word “Mulatto” is actually very offensive.  That’s similar to using the “N” word.  So the correct term for a person who is bi-racial is, bi-racial.  So please do not use the word “Mulatto” thank you.

Oh, I love these types of situations.  They just beg for a good ‘ol rant!  Where do I start? 

Mulatto is quite a descriptive word and has been used by many different cultures.  It is defined by Merriam-Webster as:

1 : the first-generation offspring of a black person and a white person
2 : a person of mixed white and black ancestry

The description of mulatto can go a lot further.  Pick your country and there is probably a description of how that origin uses the word.  It’s used in Brazil, Latin America, Caribbean, Canada, Africa, and more.  For many countries it’s not seen as offensive in any respect.  It is simply a word to describe one’s ancestry.  Not the good ‘ol USA!  Our culture thrives on finding something to complain about.  Someway to feel like we’re doing something important I guess.  I don’t know what drives people like this woman to call us (I’d bet she’s never called us before) and complain about a word she obviously doesn’t know the true meaning of.  Now THAT would be a worthwhile study.

Mulatto was once used as a Census category but was taken off the Census after 1930.  Mulattoes inherited slave status if their mothers were slaves. As for free mulattoes, in Spanish and French-influenced areas of the South prior to the Civil War (particularly New Orleans), a number of mulattoes were free and slave-owning.  Now if this woman knew half of what she was talking about she might think it’s racial because it dates back terms for slaves but she would be incorrect because as you just read….some mulattoes owned slaves.  The reality is that it was simply a term to decipher your ancestry…nothing more.

Although it is commonly used to describe individuals of mixed European and African descent, it originally referred to anyone with mixed ethnicities; in fact, in the United States, "mulatto" was also used as a term for those of mixed white and Native American ancestry.  Today the term “mulatto” “may be considered offensive by SOME in the United States” (Wikipedia).

So here we are with a pretty clear definition of where the term came from and also it’s uses in history.  Nowhere could I find a story that told what happened over time that put this word on the “racial” map. 

So now it’s my turn missy.  Shut up!!  Either you’re a crusader out to defend all bi-racial citizens of the Northland or you’re some idiot with mixed acenstry.  I don’t care what you have running through your blood.  We ALL have blood from all over the world flowing through us.  If the term was used to describe mixed white and Native American ancestry then that would make me a mulatto.  Well I don’t find it offensive at all and I’ll use it as I see fit.  Now what do you have to say?  I have no problem if you call up and say, “Hi, I heard you guys mention the word, “mulatto” and I wanted to tell you that some (key word here) people find it offensive.  Do some research and decide for yourself if it’s degrating or not.”  You don’t have to be THAT nice but still….you had no tact and no facts to back it up.  You generalized by saying, “….is very offensive.”  To who?  You?  Great, then tell us that.  Tell us that you yourself are offended and would appreciate us not using the word.  It doesn’t mean we won’t but it at the very least describes your intent.  Then you go on to say that it’s the same as using the “N” word?  No…..not even close.  They’re not spelled the same, their definition isn’t the same, and they don’t even have the same historical relevance.

1. From one mulatto to the next, screw you!