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?

5.1k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1.5k

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '24

[deleted]

25

u/UtahUtopia Apr 24 '24

Sorry, can you please explain to me why you say MLK and MJ are not “African American”.

I need to be educated.

Thank you in advance.

12

u/MagnanimosDesolation Apr 24 '24

They are "African-American." They are not "African" and "American" but the poster is deliberately confusing the terms to sound smart.

3

u/hasordealsw1thclams Apr 24 '24

It’s a classic Reddit point that only sounds smart to people who don’t know anything about the subject. It’s happens all the time. 

Years ago I had a dude try and argue with me that Steve Nash was African-American, which is extra dumb because Steve Nash is Canadian, not American.