I genuinely think you are missing the point. Some people could easily misinterpret any discussion about race to the point where no one can say anything.
As I said before - I simply don't know what term I have a problem with. If I did, I wouldn't use it.
I'm not fishing.
Your point is that all this is very simple and straightforward and everyone should know and understand what is and is not acceptable in modern society. And I don't think it is.
Can you really imagine having a casual conversation including "what's the ethnicity of your ancestors?"
Reading the stuff on this thread has actually made me worried I may say something "racist" and genuinely not realize it.
I like to think I'm reasonably culturally aware, but these days I'm never too sure if any comment I use concerning someone's race will be deemed to be offensive or not.
Sorry. I can't agree with you there at all.
There is still a fair amount of entrenchment in the deep south in the US which is far worse than anything in Britain and as the recent shooting events have shown, racist undertones remain very strong. I live in New York and some of the every day stuff...
It may do in some places, but general racist comments are far more commonplace in the US. You hear things here on the street that would immediately lead to an arrest in the UK.
Some of the stuff New York taxi drivers come out with is genuinely shocking.