Is it common for police to described people as "light-skinned"? These two look white to me.

[snagglepuss]

Anyone know how they arrive at they determine skin color? On the face ot it (no pun intended) it seems they simply don't want to describe them as white.

[uppityperson]

1. Holding my hand against a piece of white paper, I am not white. I am light skinned. My dead mother

was ivory. I think we are getting away from calling people "white" as we are not. I am a shade of yellowish peach, light in color. Too often "white" and "anglo-saxon" have been used inaccurately. Hence, light skinned is more accurate.

[HipChick]

2. It's code..

for when the perp can't be defined as the usual suspect..

[Laelth]

4. +1. Best answer. n/t

-Laelth

[Xipe Totec]

3. Fair-skinned. Clark Gable was considered tall, dark, and handsome

[Zax2me]

5. In the end the 'label' will be Muslim terrorist.

Trumps being white.
Or dark skinned, for that matter.

[kudzu22]

6. I think describing skin color is better than describing race

It's more accurate and takes racial connotation out of it.

[snagglepuss]

8. White isn't a race. People use white to avoid saying Caucasian which is a race.

[kudzu22]

9. White isn't a skin color either unless you're an albino

So, "light-skinned" is an apt description

[snagglepuss]

10. Agreed but I police constantly describe people as white.

[Marrah_G]

12. I'm so pale if it wasn't for my freckles I'd be transparent!!!!!!!!!!!1

sigh....... figuring out a way to get a tan is on my bucket list.

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. For some people, if you're Greek, or Portugese, or Italian south of Rome, you ain't white

So these guys definitely ain't.

That's how it works in some people's heads. I've learned it's better not to try to account for that level of stupid. Racial hairsplitting of this kind is always racial anxiety, which is always racism, pure and simple.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. This situation succintly shows

how utterly asinine previous generations of powers-to-be were when they so inelegantly defined and separated out their citizens, to the point of the ridiculousness of the "1-drop rule" and "paper bag test"... and it keeps coming back to haunt.

I.e., among European ethnic groups, the shade DID matter but between "races", the shade was rendered irrelevent as one was (and still is) referenced as "white" or "non-white".