Why do the Americans...

[Legendary Apophis]

...call the white people "Caucasians"?

I was reading an article of Time mag about Russia's dealing with terrorism, and I read that the russian authorities grew a xenophobic opinion about Caucasians due to the issues going on there (they precise people from Chechenya, even Georgia etc...). (just so you know where this question came from, what caused myself to ask this all of sudden)

After reading it, that ringed a bell to me and reminded me of another use of "caucasian" word.

Why, do you Americans call white people "Caucasians"?
You do realize it's a group of people living in the chain of mountains called Caucasus in the south of Russia and within Armenia, Azerbaidjan, and Georgia(+Ossetia) right? (by that I mean, it's just one group of ethnies among many others that are qualified as "white")

[ƒëmmë ƒatalë]

its not just Americans who do it LJ, that's what white ppl in Australia are referred to as well.
I'm guessing it originated in England.

[Z E R O]

I always wondered that myself...

[Legendary Apophis]

its not just Americans who do it LJ, that's what white ppl in Australia are referred to as well.
I'm guessing it originated in England.

Ah so it's not just an American thing, in France we call the white people Europeans (the geographical Europe, which contains western Russia and Caucasian countries). At least it's not focused-centered around a particular group of few sub-ethnies while name refers to the whole particular bunch of groups of ethnies. That's also accurate considering the immigrants who went to North & South America, Oceania were coming from Europe as well.

[Kit-Fox]

I imagine its some sort of taxonomical name & thats its increased usage is so that when 'white' people are referred to like that by someone representing the state they cant claim racism, in much the same way taxonomical names are used for others differences to prevent the same thing

[Mister Sandman]

over use of political correctness.

[~Thamuz~]

Look up a german fellow by the name of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach and your find your answer. ~T~

[MEZZANINE]

Always wondered where the word came from, not enough to look it up, but curious when I heard it. Used to here it often in UK police shows, but not anymore, now they call white people IC1, black people IC2, and I think asian people are IC3. No idea what the IC but stands for, no doubt some politically correct phrase.

[Hitchkok]

Ah so it's not just an American thing, in France we call the white people Europeans (the geographical Europe, which contains western Russia and Caucasian countries).

I think you've just answered yourself there, pops.

over use of political correctness.

Well, no.
Actually, calling a white person "Caucasian" is just the same as calling a black person "Negroid" (or an asian "Mongoloid").
Run those two by the next black/asian person you meet, and see how they feel regarding the politically correctness of these terms.
Caucassians, just like the other two, is a remmenent of an out-dated and today unaccepted anthropological theory.

EDIT

Always wondered where the word came from, not enough to look it up, but curious when I heard it. Used to here it often in UK police shows, but not anymore, now they call white people IC1, black people IC2, and I think asian people are IC3. No idea what the IC but stands for, no doubt some politically correct phrase.

Not exactly pollitically correct, more like euphmism.
IC (as said here, at least, stands for Identity code.

[Cole]

Strange they would keep such name to qualify white people, despite the slighty controversial original use of said word. That doesn't seem "politically correct", which is apparently the new religion nowadays.
European in my opinion fits more for reason I mentionned (it includes western Russia, Caucasian nations as well) and all white people living in America north&south, and Oceania came from Europe.

[TimeGap]

Yea... Just call me White and im happy. I dont understand why the "Africans" in South Africa are offended by being called Blacks... They are black afterall, and I am White after all.

Why do we classify people by the colour of their skin in the first place?

Arent we all of the same genetic design on every other field?

Except my lips are normal not swollen and I have a European nose, not a flat one.

[Cole]

People want to distinguish (spell?) the ones they refer to.
For example, a small sized white person isn't really similar to a giant indian or black one.
Just so we have an idea of the person to visualize them. If we say I saw a guy who reminded me of a famous actor, you can think of Jet Li while I would think more along the lines of Woody Allen. So a basic describing is used.

Also, the strong belief among Americans and other nations that there are raceS and not human single race, despite their political correctness regarding racism, probably doesn't help.
Humans are too different to each others (excepted twins etc) to be considered as few races. I mean, within so called races you have multiple ethnies, in which every person is different more or less.
You cannot make raceS out of that.

I think that when countries will stop to think as races maybe a step forward will be done.
The thing that differenciate people is more their culture than their "race". After all, it's easier to interact with a person from same culture regardless of their skin color than with someone from same color of a totally different culture.

[Hitchkok]

Strange they would keep such name to qualify white people, despite the slighty controversial original use of said word. That doesn't seem "politically correct", which is apparently the new religion nowadays.

Yeah, well, it's only politically incorrect if it has something to do with a minority.

[odji nsu]

Yea... Just call me White and im happy. I dont understand why the "Africans" in South Africa are offended by being called Blacks... They are black afterall, and I am White after all.

Why do we classify people by the colour of their skin in the first place?

Arent we all of the same genetic design on every other field?

Except my lips are normal not swollen and I have a European nose, not a flat one.

your not white, lmao, even the palest person i have ever seen( my uncle) still wasnt white, and the blackest person i have ever seen(one of my best friends) isnt black,, funny bull crapt that is, I am peach in color and my darker colored friends are shades of brown, actually every human being on the earth is a shade of brown, WHITE all this white people talk im starting to feel like someone is prejudice I bet ever one that when your busted in the nose its red blood that runs out just like everyone else.

[Cole]

Some people would argue that they have blue blood and not red blood..