What has "race" become?
 

How do I determine and prove I am this "race" or that "race"? Because my parents told me I was? By looks? By DNA? By name? By language? By one root on my family tree? What percent of that one line/root is needed to be called a member of that "race"? Who checks these things?

Go with your gut.

Yes, go with your gut. Put a mirror up to your navel and look at the serial number. It's usually a 17 digit VIN after 1982, 14 digit before that time. :D

Hah! Have you ever tried to read your V.I.N.? Mine used to be easy to read when it was a nice flat surface but now...:P

I want a check box that says "HUMAN" under race!
I never check those boxes - it is none of anybody's damn business what I am

Race has become whatever it is you want to call yourself.

Let's look at Obama.

The White House released to the public how he filled out his census form, and he decided to check off the box for "black, African American", and nothing else, even though you could check off more than one box.

What is ludicrous about this is that he is exactly half white, and everyone knows this. He is denying or ignoring exactly 50% of his genetic make-up.

And the sad irony of this is that every person in his life who was there for him and loved him every day was white.

He met his dad twice in his entire lifetime, and they were both negative experiences.

Can you see any issues with this method?

In that case what stops someone from calling themselves "X" race when it benefits that person?

lol ya but he is the "black" president not the milato one.

He is, in fact, black.

even the Reverend Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have stated that he is NOT black. and that's coming from two black men who ought to know what they are talking about....

white momma + black daddy does not equal black child.

kinda like German Shephard + Poodle does not equal Poodle

Determining race is the basis for this thread- how do you prove a person is "X" (insert race of choice)?

Sounds like we are going back to the "one drop" test. I thought we got rid of all that crap. Face it: most of the people in the world including me are of somewhat multiracial makeup. So what? It is long past time for everyone to get over it. Those little check boxes are really just for people who make money counting them, in one form or another.

there's only one race. you are correct. same number of chromosomes, etc. anything else is just foolishness.

by what standard? sounds like racist drivel to me...:rolleyes:

This happened a lot in my home town. You would get an extra point toward getting hired as a Sheriff if you are Hispanic... I knew a guy who went from being Mr. Rodgers to Mr. Rodriguez :rolleyes:

What ever it takes to get hired I suppose.

I had a prof in college who was a biologist and not too political, and said there is only one race, human, technically, and all the other claimed races were not races and were boloney. There is no more division once you get to human race from the point of view of classification of species.

If he broke into your car, how would describe him to the police?

as the guy bleeding from rock salt wounds to his rear end?

So physical looks is your standard? If not please describe how you know the BHO is "in fact" black.

Now we have the advantage factor. In real life, according to your viewpoint, some folks will change what they want others to view them as so that they can have an advantage in society?

He is " in fact, black" because that suits JR's political motives.

No, he is in fact, black, because that is what he is. If you were not aware one of his parents were white, how would you describe him?

hey, i'm out in the sun a lot, and some people think i am greek or italian. so what. just because some people dislike obama because of his alleged "race' (and some like him because of his "race) doesn't mean its a valid way of assessing him. might as well decide that people with widow's peaks are ... devils. like eddie munster. or grandpa munster? makes as much sense.

You determine your 'race' by first figuring out which answer will be the most beneficial to you. ;)

For the third time- do you have a reason for coming to that conclusion or any conclusion about the alleged race of anyone?

Why is it beneficial to be one race and not another?

this is a question I've always asked... maybe its growing up in CA, or just being younger, but when it comes to assessing someone for a job, the first question is "how well will you do the job"
I hate affirmative action, and "good 'ol boy" deals alike. any time race gets in the way of letting the most qualified person do the job, well its Bull$hi#

Since he is exactly 50% white, then he can certainly call himself white. Race is a social construct. Only about 15 of our 35,000 genes deal with skin color.

A bi-racial person of black and white ancestry.

My kids are half white and half Japanese. While they look predominantly Asian, it would never occur to them to describe themselves as either just "white" or just "Asian". I think they would feel foolish to say they are one to the exclusion of the other.

To make matters more difficult, they are actually technically 55% Asian and 45% white.

I took a dna test to prove Native American ancestry. I am 90% white and 10% Native American.

At what percentage, racially speaking, are they allowed to claim Native American ancestry? Should they (or I) be checking the Native American box as well when filling out forms?

I live in Oklahoma, which is Choctaw for 'Red Man Land', and I have heard this 'What is an Indian?' discussion a few times. (Okla=people, humma=red; this first appeared on Spanish maps in 1541.)

Going by my memory, which I will be the first to claim as faulty, you are an NDN (this is how some Native Americans spell this) if you are 1/16 Native American.

But now you have to prove this and some tribes make this easy and some tribes make it very, very hard. The Cherokees will accept no one into their tribe unless they are on the tribal rolls (The 'Dawes') which were closed in something like 1907. The Delawares used to be more open about accepting members until a treaty from the 1700's turned up that gave their tribal leadership over to the Cherokees. After a lot of court battles the Delawares ceased to exist as a tribe, so you might not want to apply to them.

As a rule of thumb the wealthier a tribe the harder it is to get in. Around here the Choctaws own a number of Casinos and truck stops which provide a lot of income for their tribe. The Osage have been one of the richest tribes in the US since Frank Phillips, of Phillips Petroleum, hit oil on their land. I don't know if any of these tribes are recoginizing new members, but a Cherokee told me they were getting about 50 letters a day from people who claimed to be a member.

For more information on this contact the B. of Indian Affairs. A word of caution, though: If any of your ancestors fought at Little Big Horn it would be best not to mention this. I have heard more than one NDN claim this with cause you heaps of trouble with the Great White Father.

That last sentence may sound like I am trying to make a stupid joke, but according the the Indians I know this is supposed to be the truth.

This is the problem with race, if we'd all forget about it and just be humans everything would work out.
But everybody plays the race card (Sharpton and Jackson in the pro league).

I am American, born and raised here. Not even sure of my decendency (?), Mom's grandparents came over from Germany, Dad's side is fuzzy supossedly grandpa from Russia, grandma unknown.
But I have a Swedish or Norwegian name ??

And I will repeat a rant of mine, and this refers to BO as well as anyone.

If he claims to be African-American he should get his **** back to Africa.
If he is American of African descent I am proud of him.


Symantics yes, but if you aren't an American FIRST LEAVE.


Note this applies to Mexican-American, Italian-American, German-American ....

You should be checking if your Native American brothers own a casino. ;)

That is certainly one place where it is beneficial to be one race over another.

I once was referred to as Irish-American. I had to point out that my faimly arrived here in 1697, fought in the Revolutionary War, and that I carried a Passport issued by the United States of America.

Apparently it was a research thing for satistical reasons, but it still seemed silly to me.

However, I was born a fifth-generation Texan. If you live in Texas you will understand the bragging rights that come with this, but you are also admitting that your ancestors must have been some of the world's biggest dead-beats since most people came to Texas when my people did to escape their debts.

"I am going to Texas; you can go to Hell!"... Davy Crockett (to a political opponent).

I don:t have a racist bone in my body, we are ALL Gods creatures. I do have a funny story about stereotyped racism, do you guys and gals want to hear it? :eek:

Run it....

Ok, I will do it, but I need to get me a beer first. Stay tuned. :cool::cool::cool::D

My Native American ancestor was a member of a small band of the Souix Indians (Lakota Nation). It is a small band that I'm sure no one would recognize, or possibly confuse them with another tribe. They were living in the Great Lakes / upper Midwest in the 1800's, but were slowly driven west as Europeans slowly migrated west, they displaced the tribes as they lost their homeland.

Here it goes my man. I live in a town where there is 90% Whiteys and 10% African Americans, and when I am around African Americans, the get nervous because I look like a Big Time Redneck, once they get over their initial shock, they Realize that I care about everybody no matter what Race they are. Just last week I met an African American at the store and saw that he was buying charcoal, being my usual self, I asked him what he was going to grill, he said pork ribs. In my excitement I asked him if I could come over to his house for the cook out, he said yes, I ate the best ribs I have ever eaten in my life. :D

Aren't there any adults around to look after you, CLK man?;)

So does the census have a block to check for mixed race?

If he had checked white you all would be *****iing about that!

There is nothing to stop you adding your own category & box. Watch the census people go into melt down. simply add a box for 'other'!! I remember years ago on a form like that when they asked about where you lived, you could have with parents - extended family, renting or purchasing (mortgage) , I added a box, 'own home' They got upset and asked me to tick one of their boxes, I said I couldnt as it would be providing false information & that was against the law. They left me alone after that.

Plenty of humor/off topic stuff here but no real answer to a serious question. Seems no one either wants to touch this, or there is not an answer.

i think the answer is to not take the "race' thing very seriously. again, i may decide that we are two races, those with widows' peaks, and those without. makes about as much sense.

It obviously makes sense to those folks that wish to continue programs that stand to gain from "race" status questions.
If a grant or business can only go to members of a minority- then what is stopping a white person from saying they are black- or asian? How does one prove they are black or asian or pacific islander or any other "race"?

Why does the census ask for race? Funding for minorities is the biggest part of that answer.

i agree, somewhat. i think also the justification is for reasons of research, to study the patterns of "race" in society. anyway, i am not supporting the whole thing, just offering an alternative explanation.

If this man

http://b1ff.org/wordpress/wp-content...rack_obama.jpg

was going to go to one of these

http://blog.ericharmatz.com/wp-conte...-fountains.jpg

in the 1950's. Which one do you think he would have to drink out of?

I dare any of you to say he could drink out of the one on the left and not get his a$$ kicked.

Do you people honestly think that people that the color of a persons skin does not matter? Yes we have come along way from the 40's and 50's but please do not be so delusional as to think that Obamas race was not a factor (negative or positive) to very many people who voted for or against him on that basis alone.

My father was turned down for a position with Delta as a FO because he was Jewish. He was told this to his face. Hatred based on religion, race (or what ever you want to call it) national origin, economic status or anything else people can come up with still happens.

yes, he would have been lynched.

remember, though, the whole "black" thing is based originally on the "one drop" theory i.e. one drop of black blood makes you "black" (whatever that means - its not science, thats for sure) it means nothing. just that people are irrational and ignorant.