Posts
La Shawn Barber mentions that "Columbia University [students] are in a tizzy over ethnic cleansing of a sort. Schools are subject to a new federal survey that lumps people of North African and Middle Eastern descent into the 'White' category."
Her post concludes:
Discussing the U.S. Census on the 'Uncommon Knowledge' show in 2002, the American Civil Rights Institute's Ward Connerly said, "I think that we need to reach the point where the census doesn't even ask you about race."We just all need to agree collectively to ignore these statistical shackles. Leave it blank, or pick Other and put in 'fnord' or something.
Connerly added that race "is a political phenomenon essentially that's been used to divide people, to segregate people and to engage in all other kinds of societal mischief. And I think that the more people are aware of the fact that this purity of races is kind of like the Nuremberg laws and is something that America should get away from."
If only we could! But the government won’t allow it. I'd vote for the removal of race/ethnicity boxes from all government applications.
Whatever sociological value can be argued for trying to track this information, the institutional racism of Affirmative Action is an order of magnitude more troubling.
Technically, they are white, Caucasian, as are Indians from India.
ReplyDeleteI always put "other" or "mixed". I think pretty well everyone should.
ReplyDeleteI started to do that after I realized my value as a new PhD went up dramatically when people found out I was a Real Live American Indian.
It pissed me off that they didn't care about my research, just who Grandma slept with.
Did someone mention Columbia! I see another Obama beer summit in the works...
ReplyDeleteThe whole race thing is puzzling for a naturalized American citizen. America will never get beyond its ancient racial tensions if this self-selection crap keeps getting dug up on a daily basis time and time and time again.
ReplyDeleteGiven that filling in anything apart from "Other" perpetuates what George Will called "the Racial spoils system", I fill out such forms with an "Other - Human" in the "Race" field. Not only is it one of the many ways I choose to register my displeasure with the current state of affairs in my adopted country, it has the redeeming value of being the absolute truth.