Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Ethnicity?
Okay so I know this is off topic but I have noticed something throughout some peoples comments on posts. America has had this huge debate on what to call certain races. It has changed so many times through history that I am confused especially when people still say two different things. Do you want to be call Black or African American? Do you prefer to be called White or Caucasion? What about Latino or Hispanic? I feel that we are all humans and that we all live in the same country so we are all Americans but Im just curious as to what you prefer, or at least what you feel that you are. I call myself White not Caucasian, just White. So please tell me what your thoughts are on this whole situation.
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7 comments:
Good Question Meghan. My personal feelings are that I don't fit the same description as a Crayola and don't want to be referred to as such. Also, as for using color codes, I have never heard anyone say 'brown' for Hispanics, 'yellow' for Asians, or 'red' for Native American (Indians), and then what color code do we give Middle Easterners...'reddish-brown' and albinos of any origin would be 'really white' or 'transparent'? Those of mixed ancestry would be 'milky brown', and if they are really fair complected they could return to the term of 'high yellow'. My mother is seen in society as 'white', but she is very annoyed when she is called 'white'. My mother accepts two titles; American or Irish American, and Anglo-Saxon for the extremely politically correct. The double identity is annoying to me , because I am American...born and raised. However, if some one wants to identify me they need to recognize my 'Heinz 57' background and use Irish-African American or African-Irish American.
The main reason I don't care for the use of colors in a Crayola box is that while I lived in Florida for three years, as far as most people there were concerned I was Hispanic, based on skin tone and location.
Skin color is nothing more than a residual result of evolution. Those with darker pigmentation have it to block the UV rays because their ancestors lived in a very sun rich area, with long days of sun-light(12-14hours). Those lacking pigmentation (lighter complected) are a result of cooler climates because they are further from the equator and their sun-light is about 6 hour/day.
If someone wants to identify anyone as more than American, then respect their culture and history and address them as such. If I am to be referred to as 'black', then refer to the Hispanic as 'brown' and the Asians as 'yellow'. No one ethnic group deserves their culture identified and acknowledged, while others are nothing more than a color in box of Crayons.
This is a really good comment. I hate how this subject is so taboo. I feel that both ways can be wrong, and both ways can be right. I would say that I am white, and I believe that I would be offended if someone called me Caucasian. However, I feel that I am being racist if I call someone black instead of African American. Studies show that African Americans citizens prefer to be called black. However, when it comes to Indians I feel that they deserve to be called Native Americans, because it sounds like we are giving them more respect. So what is right, and what is wrong? I have never thought of a big difference between Hispanic and Latino. On a side note, does anyone think Mr. Michie's accent on the word Latino is cool?-just wondering. I think we all have unique identities. We need to stop being so scared to express ourselves, and everything doesn't have to be politically correct. However, we don't live in that world yet, and we will continue to call someone an African American instead of the preferred word of "black."
Yes, Mike, I do think that Mr. Michie's accent on the word 'latino' is not only cool, but also is a sign of respect. Many times in our language we adopt words from other countries, and with our Americanized accents, we end up mangling them. When Greg says 'Latino' the same way as would a person that that word represents it is giving them the respect that is deserved, and not just stealing it and Americanizing it.
I agree with the origional post, in that it is confusing on what to refer to people as. I, myself, don't really care if I am called white or caucasian. I try to refer to people as African American or Native American because I had an uncle that was Native American and would get insulted if someone called him indian. I think it depends on the person you're referring to and the people you are talking to. However, I do referr to people of spanish decent as Hispanic, because Latino tends to referr to only those of Latin America and not those that are across the ocean like Spain. But that is just my view, someone who is from spain may not care. All in all, I think that it just depends on the people you're talking to because those are the people that would get offended, and different people are offended in different ways.
Words are important. So are names. Most of us care about what we are called, how we are referred to, how other people pronounce -- or mispronounce -- our names. My last name, for example, is pronounced MITCH-ee, but many people, even those I've known for quite a long time, pronounce it MEE-chee. Most of the time I just let it slide, but I have to admit that it does bother me at times.
So yes, I think the names we call others -- and ourselves -- are important, and that includes the names of groups that we belong to, whether they are racial groups, cultural groups, religious groups, or what have you. And I think it's important that we do our best to educate ourselves about what terms are accepted or preferred by groups of which we ourselves are not a part.
For me, it's not about political correctness, which grows out of a defensive posture: a desire NOT to offend, NOT to say the wrong thing. Rather, it's about taking an affirmative stance, a position of solidarity: the recognition that part of respecting someone is respecting what they want to be called (this is the point Nicole is making above).
I understand how some people may feel that trying to figure out what terminology to use when referring to a person's race/ethnicity is a minefield they don't want to cross. Is it Black or African American? Hispanic or Latino? Native American or Indian? White or Caucasian? And I can also understand Sharli's reluctance to be boxed in by a label -- any label -- that's supposed to define her in overly simplistic, and even erroneous, terms.
Still, I do think that these are important matters to wrestle with. In class, Michael has subtly pointed out that even terms like "people of color" are problematic. If "people of color" refers to everybody that's not white (which is pretty much its popular usage), then does that mean white is not a color? Thus Michael's use of the term "people of MORE color."
Further, all terms are not created equal. Some terms ARE better/more respctful than others in terms of their history and/or origin. For a long time in this country, those in power (who were, almost always, white) used their power to name the world as they pleased, so part of the reason this issue is so important is that it signifies a "taking back" of power by people of color (or MORE color): an affirmation of the right to name one's self.
But that doesn't mean that every member of a certain group will agree on the "proper" term: Some Mexican people are fine with "Hispanic," for example, but others prefer Latino because it is a term that carries a connotation of political self-determination (and because "Hispanic" was pretty much invented as a catch-all for use by the U.S. census). Many more, if they had their preference, would much rather be called Mexican than either Hispanic or Latino.
It can be complicated. But to me, it's important for the reason I stated at the outset: Words matter.
I think I should open my comment with a true story that happened my junior year of high school.
I was filling out my ACT form that asks you questions about your age, religion, and so on. I got to the question that asked about my ethnicity. I looked through the possible answers. I turned to my twin brother and said "white isn't on here, which one do I pick?" After getting cursed out by him, I realized Caucasian was the right choice.
All of my life I have refered to myself as white. I do not expect other people to refer to me as a Caucasian, I honestly think the word is to complicated and fansy. I refer to African Americans as African American, and Hispanics as Hispanic as a sign of respect. My grandma always used to refer people who are not white as "colored" and I always used to say "what color are they? Green?" I agree to what Sharli said about fitting the description of a Crayon. Technically, I am a off white shade. African Americans are not the true color black, they are tan, brown, dark brown, and many other shades. I think the choice of words when it comes to labeling an ethnicity relies in the person themselves. Some people find things offensive while others don't.
My apologies to Micheal for misspelling his name here -- and in a post about how words and names are important, no less! Sorry about that, Micheal.
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