First on CNN: Army says word 'Negro' OK to use

[TorchTheWitch]

96. I didn't insist anything - I ASKED why it's now considered a slur

I just don't understand why it IS considered a slur when similar terms for other races aren't. I don't consider the term Caucasian as any kind of a slur... just a term to describe a white person and still used today at least by the police.

What I'm getting at is WHY is the term Negro is considered to be a slur. Was there ever some time that the term was used as a slur? Because I've only seen or heard it used as a correct non-slur term similar to other terms referring to people of a particular race mostly on forms where one identifies their race or used by a current institution like the United Negro College Fund. What happened that made some people decide it was a slur because I've never seen or heard it used as a slur.

I've never actually used the term myself or heard anyone else use it at all just as the term Caucasian isn't normally used as a term to describe the white race. Some races are still normally defined by these similar terms such as Asian, Hispanic, Polynesian, etc. and the terms are used in speech, but when it comes to either black or white people it's the terms "black" and "white" that are used so we almost never hear or see the terms "Negro" or "Caucasian". I'm just not understanding why the term "Caucasian" isn't considered a slur but now the term "Negro" is.

I'm happy to use whatever terms people are comfortable with to describe their race, but I've already had a lot of confusion between the terms "black" and "African American". Some people prefer to be referred to and have other members of their race referred to as "African American" but others don't like that term and prefer that the term "black" is used. Whatever term I use someone doesn't like it. I never even understood the term "African American" because it just doesn't work as a descriptive term of a race... obviously not all black people are Americans. I'm hardly going to refer to a British black person as an "African American," and I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate it either. I finally decided that since most black people don't have a problem with the term "black," and they don't have a problem using the term "white" as a descriptive term for people of my race than that's what I'm using unless a certain person I personally know prefers something else.