From: BJörn Lindqvist bjourne@gmail.com
AD and BC might be offensive to some, who knows what the abbrevations actually mean. Good stuff that so few know about it. But what ACTUALLY MUST be extremely offensive to a huge number of people is the imperialist use of the word "American." Therefore, if we change all instances of AD/BC, shouldn't be also change all instances of "American" to something that will not offend the majority of all Americans?
The argument is silly; "American" is short for "citizen of the United States of America", not "resident of North or South America". Quite a few non-U.S. "Americans" find it offensive to be called "American", and what "ACTUALLY MUST be extremely offensive" to them is when Scandinavians try to appropriate their voice in order to bash the United States. The mindless application of the word "imperialist" whenever people think of the United States is also offensive.
Jay.
Jay.