So, there are multiple elements to this resolution/topic.
Note: P.O.C. really is PoC since the 'o' is for 'of'.
- Is the abbreviated term PoC a Class?
- If it is a class, is it socially constructed?
- If it is socially constructed and is a class, is it a reference?
- Does 'class of people' instead of 'class of person' apply to PoC?
As Con, I would like to agree with and concede that if PoC is a class, it is socially constructed.
PoC stands for... ?
What POC Stands for in Professional Settings
If you come across the abbreviation POC at work or in your studies, the
context can help you find the correct meaning.
Plan of Correction
Point of Contact
Point of Connection
Proof of Concept
Paid On Call
Proof of Coverage
Pain on Contact
Point of Care or Plan of Care
Post-Operative Care
Purchase Order Confirmation
Professional Officer Course
Point of Contact
Point of Capture
Proof of Correction
Paid Outside of Closing
Port of Call
Particulate Organic Cotton
Portable Object Compiler
None of these would apply except 'person of colour/color'.
Let's see if elsewhere we can get it saying 'people' instead.
Well it would seem one supports Pro:
However, perhaps Merriam-Webster made a sever error here, let's see an example of where PoC is used from the same link:
Being a POC in Vermont has been lonely for me and the other Vermonters of color I've met. We've lived most our lives as the only ones; the only POC in our classes, the only POC in our extracurricular activities, the only POC (excluding family members) in our neighborhoods.
… many of our artists are POCs that felt excluded from Vancouver's electronic music scene, so we carved our own space.
… donate proceeds to the many POC doing revolutionary work at various levels of the industry.
The face that Nancy Lee Says PoCs is proof that it actually means person of colour, not people. RJ Joseph made the grammatical error. Capitalising the O is also an error since it's simply an 'of'.
So, I argue that even if it is a class (yet to be explored) it is a class of person, not people. That said, let's prove that it's not a class.
==
What are classes of people?
Absolutely everywhere I search on the Internet, it's made clear that not only is class primarily based on those in similar income brackets and social circles but that it in fact is even less physical and tangible than we could imagine, it's also about how people act and feel inside. In other words, a poor white person is far closer to a poor black person in class than a middle-class or wealthy black person. Similarly, a person who is caucasian in the same neighborhood as another is closer to their class than a person of the very same ethnicity, not just race, that is in another neighborhood if we presume both to have lived in their respective separate neighborhoods for a long time.
A theory of classism
In a 2012 paper in Psychological Review, Kraus, Piff, University of California, Berkeley, psychology professor Dacher Keltner, PhD, and colleagues posit that social class — which they define as "a social context that individuals inhabit in enduring and pervasive ways over time" — is a fundamental lens through which we see ourselves and others. Because lower ranking people have fewer resources and opportunities than those of relatively high rank, they tend to believe that external, uncontrollable social forces and others' power have correspondingly greater influence over their lives. Success for them, therefore, depends on how well they can "read," rely on and help out others, the psychologists' theory holds.
By contrast, those who enjoy more resources and greater class status live in contexts that enhance their personal power and freedom — larger and safer living spaces, the means to buy high-priced goods and experiences, and education that provides access to influential people, ideas and venues. These conditions give rise to a more self-focused approach to life, the theory states.
"With wealth and privilege comes this island of sorts, this increased insularity from others," as Piff puts it.
Another important aspect of the theory is that rank is, in part, subjective and relative. All relationships are marked by class scrutiny: Am I higher or lower than this person? Research also shows that people tend to be quite accurate in their assessment of their own and others' class rank, and that this self-assessment likewise predicts outcomes. For example, people who perceive themselves as lower in rank have worse health outcomes overall than those who see themselves as higher ranking, research finds.
In fact it is actually important to know that what PoC is, is actually a status group and not a (social) class:
social class, also called
class, a group of people within a society who possess the same
socioeconomic status. Besides being important in social theory, the concept of class as a collection of individuals sharing similar economic circumstances has been widely used in censuses and in studies of
social mobility.
History and usage of the term
The term
class first came into wide use in the early 19th century, replacing such terms as
rank and
order as descriptions of the major hierarchical groupings in society. This usage reflected changes in the structure of western European societies after the industrial and political revolutions of the late 18th century. Feudal distinctions of rank were declining in importance, and the new social groups that were developing—the commercial and industrial
capitalists and the urban working class in the new factories—were defined mainly in economic terms, either by the
ownership of
capital or, conversely, by dependence on
wages. Although the term
class has been applied to social groups in a wide range of societies, including ancient
city-states, early
empires, and
caste or
feudal societies, it is most usefully confined to the social divisions in modern societies, particularly industrialized ones.
Social classes must be distinguished from status groups; the former are based primarily upon economic interests, while
the latter are constituted by evaluations of the honour or prestige of an occupation, cultural position, or family descent.
So, PoC is not a class, it is at best a social group classification... Except...
It kind of isn't.
==
It is an anti-status-group, not even a status group.
If you had a Venn Diagram with all social groups based on race and ethnicity and looked for the circle where no PoC was involved, you'd have literally white people and perhaps Jews, as well as more caucasian Hispanics (mainland Europe Spanish, Portuguese and/or Italian descent without mixing with the natives of Latin America, or any foreigners to form the Latino race).
This means that PoC is not even a status group of people, it's not just a word slip-up. I am saying that even if Pro hadn't mistakenly used the term 'class' instead of 'status group', it's an inverted, anti-status group.
It is the culmination of all those that don't fall into the 'Caucasian' and perhaps Jewish and white-leaning Hispanic group.
All "classes" (as well as status groups) as used in this context (i.e., middle class, etc) are socially constructed, by definition. Racism is also "socially constructed" in that it is derived from cultural norms and human psychology. That doesn't mean that racism isn't REAL. People need to stop pointing at stuff that the "woke left" are doing and crying social construct like that's supposed to discredit them.
My votes frequently include feedback for improvement. I don't think he could have flipped this debate on just that, but it would have been the start to raising above the level of foregone conclusions.
Mall couldn't win by doing that, I had clearly separated them.
Done if you wish to vote.
ty