“BIPOC” and 4 Other Words and Phrases That I Find to Be Exhausting

Not that anyone asked, but I figured I’d share a few phrases and words that I’ve been hearing a lot of in the past few years that are starting to bother me. These aren’t words that I feel are necessarily offensive, I just find them to be annoying. So let’s dive into those:

“BIPOC”- Did you notice that at some point in the past few years, “BIPOC” (an acronym meaning “Black, Indigenous and People of Color”) became a thing? I’m not sure if I missed a meeting, I don’t know if there was a vote, and I’m not clear if Al Sharpton approved of this.

One of my issues is that “BIPOC” is far too general of a term, just look at the words: “Black, Indigenous and People of Color”.

First word: “Black”, a term encompassing many different people of the African Diaspora… I’ll allow it.

Second word: “Indigenous”, a term used to refer to people Indigenous to the Americas. However, even “Indigenous” can be a loaded term. Which Indigenous people are we talking about? American Indians/Native Americans? Aboriginal Australians? There are even groups of people in Africa, Asia and Europe who could be considered indigenous.

Third group: “People of Color”, or POC, which is really another way of saying “everybody who isn’t white”… Way too broad, almost feels a…