Odd sort of ethical connundrum

[charliesmum]

So, we're watching Wheel of Fortune, and of the three contestants, one was African American. At the end of the show, Charlie says, 'The brown-faced boy didn't win anything.' He's used 'brown-faced' before in describing people, but it's a fairly new thing.

I don't personally see anything wrong with it. I am confident that Charlie makes no distinction between people other then what their personality warrants, but I'm wondering, do you think it could be construed as rude or offensive? Should I correct him? What would I say?

Comments

[dindin.livejournal.com]

I think the thing is that you know Charlie and you know it's simply a statement of fact with him, but other people don't. Can you explain to him that sometimes people with different color skin are referred to in a particular way? That it's polite to refer to them as "Black" or "African-American", meaning that their parents parents may have come from Africa?