"AF AM" - is this racist, warranted or just lazy?

[Taverner]

Today for the first time I heard what I understand now to be a contraction of "African American" to simply Afam (or AF AM). It sounds too much like FM to me, and this is the first I ever heard of this term.

Not sure if its racist, but it sure screams laziness!

[Sheets of Easter]

1. Depends on the context, but it sounds lazy to me.

[Taverner]

2. I'm supposed to meet a rep from another company today

When the sales guy was describing him, he said "Tall guy - AF AM - in his 30's"

[Sheets of Easter]

3. Sounds like he's trying to create some newfangled business newspeak word.

Yep. Definitely laziness.

[Xithras]

4. Not new. It's another of those "texting" terms that's migrating into common use.

Like "LOL". African American is excessively long to type in while texting, and most young people today text. Most long words gets contracted, and African American just got shortened to AFAM. There's nothing racist about it.

[MsKandice01]

5. I do not like the term Af Am...

Or African-American, for that matter. Just call me Black. Quick and easy.

[kay1864]

6. Can I just call you Hot instead?

:loveya:

[MsKandice01]

9. Well, of course!!

Who would possibly object to that? :)

Thanks. You're too sweet. :)

[Shell Beau]

10. I can see what you mean. People don't call me

Irish-American, etc. Most of us all are mutts anyway.

[Chan790]

12. I always find the distinction interesting...

I grew up in Hartford, CT, a city with a huge West Indian community. (37% of the city accounting for 90%+ of the black community) The local term is "black"...they don't like being called "African-American" because they identify with a heritage rooted in the islands, one which is distinct from that of peoples tracing ancestry or lineage back to Africa.

When I say they don't like the term "African-American" I mean I've seen fistfights and melees erupt over it. When we moved into the city when I was 12, I was pulled aside by a Trinidadian neighbor after making that mistake one day and told that he knew I wasn't meaning to be offensive but that some in the community considered the term "African-American" to be a slur.

[MsKandice01]

13. I had friends who were Puerto Rican and Panamanian

And they would get very upset when they were referred to as African-American but they were fine with being called Black (because they looked just like any other Black person). Besides, what about White people from South Africa? You could argue that they're African-American too.

[Blue_Tires]

7. we have a local festival here called "Afr' Am Fest"

i never had a problem with it personally

http://www.afram-fest.info/

[Shell Beau]

8. I thought this was about radio AM-FM.

:crazy:

[NatBurner]

11. just lazy

it rated a 0 on my offense-o-meter

[YellowRubberDuckie]

14. I said African American in conversation one day...

And my friend Elvira told me she wasn't from Africa. Black is fine. :shrug:
Duckie