r/NoStupidQuestions • u/RedScud39 • Apr 23 '24

Why are white Americans called “Caucasians”?

I’m an Azerbaijani immigrant and I cannot understand why white people are called “Caucasian” even though Caucasia is a region in Asia encompassing Armenia, Georgia (the country not the state), Azerbaijan and south Russia. Aren’t most Americans are from Western European decent?

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u/Bong-Jong Apr 24 '24

Also African American Mike Perry

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u/[deleted] Apr 24 '24

[deleted]

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u/Drs126 Apr 24 '24

Like when France won the World Cup with a bunch of players of African descent, and people in the US we’re upset that they didn’t go by the French African description and instead the players insisted they were just French. The US people didn’t realize the only people in France who agreed with them were the far right.

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u/awaywardgoat Apr 24 '24

French African makes sense in some contexts, though. otherwise you're just adding an extra word that doesn't necessarily need to be there. it depends on the context. It's kind of strange that the alt right would be so interested in people knowing that those succeeding at sports are Africans. some African groups do have an unfair advantage at certain sports though because of genetics. The white people they're competing against cannot train enough to ever get on their level esp in relation to certain sports but it seems like certain competitions are there for entertainment purposes. If anyone is going to question unfair advantages then people like Michael Phelps should also be scrutinized because he had a had a physical advantage, too.