This was one of those occasions. With the deliberate exception of the last one, these are all terms which we can appropriate to describe ourselves and be happy to be described AS, so long as they're appropriate. What distinguishes those who do, however, is the associations attached to the idea of ethnicity, and to all the synonyms and euphemisms coined to bury the unpleasant assumptions of our ancestors. The hundreds of people now flocking to join the campaign, and the growing support in legal and governmental circles have only happened because we've rewritten the definition of a word. There is no praise to be be earned from having a good brain and failing to use it.
Words can be chains or they can be the means of asserting individualism and pride.
It depends on who takes the initiative, and what you make them mean. A word that fails to descibe something meaningful soon falls out of use. Language is a living thing, and words either survive by acquiring new uses, or they're replaced. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this site other than for personal use or research is strictly forbidden without the express permission of the copyright owners.