Question about heritage/ethnicity

[Renee750il]

You know, for all the *equality* that's supposed to be enforced by the government, those ethnic questions on forms don't do anything but ensure that it doesn't exist. If we're ever going to be considered on what we can do or our potential race/ethnic/gender questions on employment/education forms are going to have to go.

[Fran101]

I'm not sure about government forms (don't fill out many of those) I meant just regular forms (doctors, surveys, standardized tests), college applications, job applications etc..etc..

Most I know say African American-Black or some variance of.
I just wish there were more boxes, especially a multi-race box or the option to check more than one. Heck I'd even take just a caribbean box lol don't even have to say which part.

[milos_mommy]

Originally Posted by Renee750il

You know, for all the *equality* that's supposed to be enforced by the government, those ethnic questions on forms don't do anything but ensure that it doesn't exist. If we're ever going to be considered on what we can do or our potential race/ethnic/gender questions on employment/education forms are going to have to go.

They actually do help. Those forms do help to ensure that people aren't receiving treatment differently based on their racial category, to determine where segregation is more prominent, and have many other beneficial uses.

Unfortunately, using (and abusing) them to get government money isn't all that uncommon.

[Renee750il]

Most of the ones I've seen have a box for "Other." Not perfect, but better than being categorized so broadly.

I know that's the theory, MM, but it manifestly doesn't work out that way

[zoe08]

Originally Posted by milos_mommy

Zoe08, I know you don't mean it, but your posts in here are honestly some of the most racist things I've ever read on Chaz. Please, take an African American studies class, or an Anthropology class, Race and Gender studies, anything like that if you get the chance.

#1, I have taken a multicultural class.

#2, I am probably the LEAST racist person here, because I believe if people want EQUALITY then they should get EQUALITY. That means not qualifying for special funds/scholarships/etc because of their race. People jump to "racism" conclusions when people actually do TREAT THEM EQUALLY. If a black person and a white person apply for the same position, but the white person gets it, the employer is immediately considered racist, because they didn't select the black person. Even if the white person had more experience and was a better fit for the position. Just like because I didn't vote for Obama last time, or this time, I am considered a racist. When no way no how would I have voted for him if he was 100% white. I would have voted the same way (republican), even if the republican candidates were black. However how many black people registered and voted for the FIRST time in the 2008 elections, just to vote for a black president, regardless of his policies? A LOT.

I have been on the other end of racism, just because I am white does not mean I don't know what it is like to be a minority. I grew up in a school where there were more hispanic kids than white. Some of them legal, some of them not. I grew up being the one saying that my friends were not different than me. And I ended up being the one ditched in high school, and my best friend would no longer talk to me because her brother formed some "Brown Crowd" group where you could only speak Spanish and fly a Mexican flag.

What disappoints me the most is that these kids want to be all "proud to be Mexican", not at all "proud to be American" when their parents have worked hard, many of them risking everything by coming to America illegally because they wanted their children to have a BETTER life. If Mexico was so great and awesome, than why did their parents bring them here or come here to have them?

You ancestory is different from what you ARE. I have a great grandma directly from Germany, which I guess most of my mother's side is German. My dad's side is mostly Scottish. That doesn't make me a German-Scottish-American. I believe trying to differentiate everyone like that is going further away from the "EQUALITY" everyone so desperately says they want.

It is great to be interested in your ancestory, I love to learn about that stuff, but that doesn't change that I am still an American, and I am proud to be American. My ancestors came here for a reason. And I am thankful to them, because of it, I am an American.

America is a melting pot, the only way for everyone to be equal is for everyone to be American. The more we differentiate ourselves, the more chances for inequality in the workplace, etc. If we all start calling ourselves German/Irish/Scottish/etc Americans, well if the boss is German, he may be more likely to hire the person who writes down 'German American' even if they have no connection to Germany other than some great-great grandparents whom they have never met that were born there and brought to America as children.

The main thing is that if you want to around spouting about how different you are, you shouldn't complain about inequality in the next sentence.

[darkchild16]

I know my dad considers himself German American.

His mother was German (born and raised in Manheim, her family is still there) he was born on an Army base in Germany but his father is American (from Virginia)

I am American but english/scottish decent.

Jeremy is French Canadian/??? decent but American.

[milos_mommy]

Originally Posted by zoe08

#1, I have taken a multicultural class.

What exactly is a "multicultural class"? Like, what was the course summary or did the curriculum involve? Because I've never seen one offered and when I googled it nothing came up except material for teachers teaching classes of students of various races, and everything you said in your post is what any Race Studies class I've taken has taught me is a serious cause of racism in our country.

The "I'm not racist, I think everyone should have equal rights" attitude, where it's claimed "well if everyone acted the same and ignored their differences and didn't throw their racial category into everything, there wouldn't be any problems."

[Fran101]

Racism is not people being mean to you.
-“I got bullied in school for being white. You can’t tell me that’s not racist!” No, this is called you being picked on by a mean child.
- "Oh but he called me a cracker!" ...oh the name people came up because of the sound a whip makes? Please PLEASE tell me how that is the same thing as being called the N word. I DARE YOU.
- "But people can be racist against white people too!"

No, they cannot. There is an inherent logical fallacy in your argument that will never make it true. However, white people can be discrimated against. Discrimination is different from racism.
Let’s start from the beginning. Your first step is to accept that being mean to someone because of their race is not what racism is
Racism is when intolerance in government laws, attitudes, the justice system and ideals of a society are ingrained in a culture to the point where patterns of discrimination towards a certain race are institutionalized as normal. If you keep this in mind, you’ll understand that reverse racism doesn’t- and can’t- exist.

and why is it white people are so scared to be a minority? "There are more _____ people than white people at ______!! BLASPHEMY!!"
Is it because minorities are treated badly or something?
lol who would've thought.



Take a minute and wonder why people of color and minorities have scholarships and workplace incentives in the first place.
If all was fair and every one was just american and people were making a big deal over nothing, wouldn't things just balance out naturally?
Why are most universities STILL majority white? and yet people still kick a bit over affirmative action. Even with it, look around a typical university, even boasting their high diversity rates, take a moment and look at what race is still the norm. Think about, no matter how small of a fraction minorities represent at most universities, how they are seen.
I have attended two universities in my life. I am literally pictured on the diversity pamphlet in their welcome packet for BOTH.

Oh but please, continue to cry over the white guy that got passed over for the job because a minority got hired.
Like that is SUCH a common scenario. I hear this argument all the time and frankly, I look around offices and companies, and think about how common it could possibly be. Does it happen? sure, lots of things happen.. but is it a more common occurence than the systematic racist views of businesses who will NOT hire a person of color due to racist stereotypes? Doubt it.

I have never seen ANYONE give a second glance to an employer hiring somebody that was white. Nobody questions that choice. but hire someone of color when somebody white also applied? ..there must be something going on there. tax cuts? forced diversity?

There are a lot of things I personally dislike about Affirmative Action but the thing that gets me the most is the notion that every moderately well off African-American individual is only moderately well off because of it. From President Obama, to Herman Cain, to Alan West there's this idiotic idea that these guys were handed everything and got to where they are because the system favors them. That they don't deserve what they have, they took high profile positions because of their skin and nothing more.

After numerous studies shown that employers will not hire "black sounding" names with the same resume as more common "white" names, after 'Mud People loans', Redlining, disproportional conviction rates, sentencing rates, and poverty rates why do they feel the most victimized? It's pretty simple, what you're feeling isn't discrimination or "reverse racism". What you happen to be feeling is known as a loss of entitlement.

Oh but "whinneee look at all the black people who voted for Obama because he was black". I'm sure there weren't people who voted for Romney because he wasn't.


Please continue to tell me how hard it is to be a white man running for president of the united states.
I mean, look at the history books! Look at all the minorities that were once presidents! It's so easy!!
Oh but I forgot, black people vote for Obama because he's black. White people voted for him because of his economic policies and stance on equality.

America is a melting pot. Melting pot =/= everyone just abiding by the culture that is most popular here. Everybody should be totally allowed to celebrate their heritage because THAT is what a true melting pot is.
The argument of "I'm not racist. I just think we should have a melting pot where they should act like everyone else, then we wouldn't have a problem" is not a good one.

I would love true equality.. I would love for race to not matter. but it does.
The first step is recognizing that fact.

[milos_mommy]

Originally Posted by Fran101

Racism is not people being mean to you.
-“I got bullied in school for being white. You can’t tell me that’s not racist!” No, this is called you being picked on by a mean child.
- "Oh but he called me a cracker!" ...oh the name people came up because of the sound a whip makes? Please PLEASE tell me how that is the same thing as being called the N word. I DARE YOU.
- "But people can be racist against white people too!"

I was going to comment on that, too, but decided to just leave it. Yeah, I'm sure having the other high school kids omit you from their "club" for being white was just as traumatizing for all those kids who couldn't walk down the street at night for fear of being arrested, or worse, shot by a police officer

[Laurelin]

Originally Posted by Romy

The reason caucasian Americans don't typically self identify as "European American" is because most have the luxury of being able to trace their ancestry to country of origin, or retain direct links to their ancestral land. I look at my family and we're still participating "members" of the same family clan that's been around for over 2,000 years.

I don't think that's true of all or even most white people. I certainly can't trace my family back to a specific country. Heck, I don't even know what I am. Too many orphans sent to orphanages. Too many native americans that didn't stay on tribal lands, so they're hard to identify too. Too many times they changed our last name. My surname truly just pops up in the US. They think it was originally German, but they don't know for sure. Too many racist people that wouldn't ever talk about certain ancestors. I know my grandma's dad was 'brown' (my eldest uncle was the only one to see him and he was a little kid). But we have no idea what kind of 'brown' he was.

The only ones really traced well is my great-grandaddy Earp's side. And that's just because Wyatt Earp is famous. And then my mother's maiden name is definitely Scottish. And there's likely some English in there based on some last names.

I've really tried to look into it and most the lines were dead ends. I do know a lot of my friends' families moved here a lot later than mine did so they can say for sure 'I am Swedish.' or 'I am Irish'.