In America there are four races, here listed in order of appearance, using the names that The Economist gives them:
1. Native Americans – came from north Asia thousands of years ago. Accounts for one American in 100.
2. Whites – came from Europe, starting in the 1500s. Accounts for 80 Americans in 100.
3. Blacks – came from Africa, starting the 1600s. Most came as slaves. Accounts for 13 Americans in 100.
4. Asians – came from Asia, starting in the 1800s. Accounts for 4 Americans in 100.
The remaining 2% are mostly mixed race.
But that is according to the U.S. Census. The truth is probably more like this:
- 66% white
- 20% black
- 8% mestizo
- 4% Asian
- 2% Native American
Some would add Hispanics to the current list. I do not because they are distinguished not by race but by speaking Spanish or having a Spanish family name.
The names The Economist uses are acceptable in mixed company in America in 2006. But by 2056 they are sure to seem old-fashioned, just as those from 1956 seem to us now: Indians, whites, Negroes and Orientals.
Even worse, some of these acceptable names obscure the truth:
People in America are treated differently according to the colour of their skin.
As if we were all still eight years old. We could all have a good laugh over it if the game was not played for keeps.
It may not be as bad as it was fifty years ago, but it is still bad enough.
For example, suppose you are looking for work. If you have a last name that seems Jewish and you sound like a white person over the telephone, then you might call up a company and they tell you they have six positions open. But when you get there an hour later, suddenly all six positions have been filled!
What happened? When you got there they saw that you are black. Your education and experience and everything they found out about you over the telephone suddenly does not matter. The colour of your skin now becomes everything.
I did not make up this story; I do not have to.
Not getting good work because of your colour has all sorts of consequences – on your health, your marriage, on where you can live, your children’s education and on and on. It is not amusing.
If you are black you are two times more likely to be out of work, to be in prison, to be poor and so on. You have to be two times as good as a white person before whites will admit that you are as good as they are. Ask Condoleezza Rice. You can even see it at work on television on “American Idol”. That is the way it works. Still.
White people act like they own America, like it is their country and no one else’s. Black people helped to build America and have given their lives to make it free, but it is as if they are ugly stepchildren.
See also:
Just reminded me of a Pat Buchanan quote:
“How is America committing suicide? Every way a nation can. The American majority is not reproducing itself. Its birthrate has been below replacement level for decades. Forty-five million of its young have been destroyed in the womb since Roe v. Wade, as Asian, African, and Latin American children come to inherit the estate the lost generation of American children never got to see.”
American = non-Hispanic white apparently. While you have to consider the source, I do believe that’s how many people, Hispanic whites as well as all non-white see it.
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Sad but true. But those who have grown up in America who have gone back to the land of their fathers know full well that they are Americans through and through. America is their country and no other.
For black Americans Africa is not their homeland – America is and America alone, for all that is wrong with it. It is the only place in all the world there are people like Aretha Franklin or Will Smith. Or Barack Obama. They are Americans just as much as George Washington or George Bush, even if some white people do not want to believe it or act like it.
America is bigger – and better – than just white America.
The Japanese pity us for being a mixed nation. I pity them.
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I would comment,but instead,I would like you to take a look at this!
http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm
(I hope I did the link right…)
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“The Japanese pity us for being a mixed nation. I pity them.”
really? I love the japanese. I’am a anime artist,and I love their culture too….
but anyways,maby they pity us because of the way we became such a nation? you know,like the whole slavery thing?
but I dunno,I want to live in japan one day…it’s been my dream….maby I’ll move to obama town! ;]
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From what I understand the Japanese think that many of America’s troubles come from having different races. There is some truth to that, but on the other hand I would hate to live in a country where everyone is so much the same.
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Ginga-chan said:
I would comment,but instead,I would like you to take a look at this!
http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm
(I hope I did the link right…)
The link worked for me. That is a cool website about race. Thanks!
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There is some truth to that, but on the other hand I would hate to live in a country where everyone is so much the same.
They have other ways to keep things….errr.. exotic..
http://www.snopes.com/risque/kinky/panties.asp
A friend from Hong Kong who has somewhat of an ax to grind against Japanese men (He’s Chinese lost some relatives in WWII) likes to refer to them as those panty sniffers.
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i was speaking to a coworker.
He is from India
I showed him this site and he was surpised by the perception that America is worse than the rest of the world when it comes to racism.
He said he had traveled all over the world and it is much worse in the EU and in India…
I was suprised by his comments. Its not what I hear from anyone who can possibly claim another race. My world experience is limited so I often take other peoples experience at face value since i have little of my own.
I have not traveled much and have no personal experience. Just an interesting perspective of someone who is not white who has traveled round the world.
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Interesting. I have heard that the British are much more racist against South Asians than Americans are.
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Kick off Native Americans since they came from Asia. Which leaves blacks, whites, and asians. And life began in Africa w/ black people, so kick off whites and asians. In the end, you realize that all these subcategories are stupid. What really differentiates us is our cultures, and the environments we live in.
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>>Blacks – came from Africa, starting the 1600s. They first came as slaves. Accounts for 12 Americans in 100.<<
Abagond, actually we first came as indentured servants, as did most whites at that time.
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>>“The Japanese pity us for being a mixed nation. I pity them.”
really? I love the japanese. I’am a anime artist,and I love their culture too….
but anyways,maby they pity us because of the way we became such a nation? you know,like the whole slavery thing?
but I dunno,I want to live in japan one day…it’s been my dream….maby I’ll move to obama town! ;]<<
My daughter used to feel the same way, until she got to know a Japanese friend her age who had spent too much time (her high school years) outside Japan and tried to go back…even that was too much time "out of the Borg" (as my daughter now says) to ever get plugged back into Japanese society. It's just that tight.
And after my daughter spent a month there, she's come away with a great relief that she didn't have to stay. Not to be Japanese is never to be Japanese.
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>>Sad but true. But those who have grown up in America who have gone back to the land of their fathers know full well that they are Americans through and through. America is their country and no other.
For black Americans Africa is not their homeland – America is and America alone, for all that is wrong with it. It is the only place in all the world there are people like Aretha Franklin or Will Smith. Or Barack Obama. They are Americans just as much as George Washington or George Bush, even if some white people do not want to believe it or act like it.<<
This is the truth. It is also why we need to go back and claim the heritage of what we have been and what we have done in America. It's more than slavery–we need to go back and claim that history, our music, our dances, our folklore (yeah, including tap, including the banjo, including Brer Rabbit).
And we need to be pissed off that Republicans are rewriting the history of the Civil Rights era to take that from us as well.
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This goes straight to the whole race issue in America. Once again a good one abagond!
I have always wondered the obsession of americans about the race. Americans, that is the people of the USA, are number of so called races, okay, but they are ALL americans. From european point of view it does not matter if you are american italian, american jewish, american black or hispanic or what ever, you are a american.
Barack Obama is the first black president, yes, but he is the PRESIDENT of the US. In our news and magazines, radio shows etc. it is very seldom brought up that he is black. He is just the president of the USA. They don’t say in the news: “Barack Obama, the black president of the USA”. They just say: President Barack Obama etc.
But when I was living over there back in the 80’s and 90’s I noticed that race was something that popped up here and there. Your ethnic backround became something that defined you automatically. Steven, my black buddy and neighbour, used to say to everybody that he was american, period. He did not like term AFRICAN american, which was new back then. He used to say that he is from South Side Chicago and proud of it too. He absolutely demanded to be called american. I think he was absolutely right there. He was american and is american. Period.
I never asked my friends what was their race. I had some black friends, some latino friends and some white friends. I didn’t care about their race or what ever. To me they were all americans friends. Some whites said that “I’m jewish” and I was little bit puzzled by that. So? I have jewish friends in Finland too, but to me they are just my friends. I don’t care if you’re jewish one way or the other.
Also I was surprised to find out that so many blacks and whites did not know how much the american culture is by and from black americans. The impact of the blacks to the whole american culture is huge! It can not be downplayed. Ok, I understand that the white media and elite does not want to share the credit here, but now, in 21st century I think it is time to admit the facts. There would not be american culuture without black americans. Period. It is that simple.
You can study american litterature, music, arts, what ever and sooner or later you’ll find a connection or find black roots in them. I always wondered why ordinary black americans are not more proud of that. Maybe they just don’t see it? I have no idea.
I think it is a high time for black americans claim their position in the country simply because without them, there would be no USA today. It would be something totally different.
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“I have always wondered the obsession of americans about the race. Americans, that is the people of the USA, are number of so called races, okay, but they are ALL americans. From european point of view it does not matter if you are american italian, american jewish, american black or hispanic or what ever, you are a american.”
It’s not that much different from the situation in Europe if you think about it. From what I’ve read and seen on television, Europe still has manifold ethnic conflicts, some of them violent. You have the Catholics and Protestants at odds with each other in Northern Ireland, Flemings and Walloons in Belgium, Basques and Castilians in Spain, and all out wars between competing ethnicities in the Balkans and Russia. There also appear to be growing tensions and violence between Muslim Europeans and secular/Christian Europeans. I would say that the major difference between Europe and the US is that in the US the ethnic groups have tended to congeal into larger social conflict groupings based on shared phenotype (i.e. races).
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If it’s not race, it’s ethnicity, or religion or political differences, etc. I guess one could ask which one is the lesser of all these evils.
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The British react to South Asians similarly to how whites react to black people in the U.S. For the British it’s the whole I colonized you, and now you act like I owe you something.
The Japanese are really friendly to tourists and people that stay to work temporarily. The problem arises when you want to become a citizen and marry their people.
As a mixed Japanese-American (half white), I’ve never fit in Japan. My Japanese family didn’t want to see me when I was born, because I’m mixed. However, my family has mixed even more since I was born with non-whites this time, and our relationship has improved over the years.
As for Japan, I agree and disagree with their stance. It seems nice to have one place in the world where white people aren’t welcome for long term stay or mixing. Living in a homogeneous society (for those that blend in) can also be great because race isn’t an issue that will come up much in terms of being oppressed because of it.
On a personal note, I like having friends of many races. I love learning about new cultures, and understanding the world a little bit differently with new people that I meet. So, the above for me doesn’t apply. Not only because I stand out physically and culturally, but because I too prefer diversity.
Yet, it’s really difficult for me to see how many races will ever get along on a large scale. If whites didn’t have power in the states, who would? How would that race treat other races? I see it as same old, with a different face.
There are people like us on this blog that want to know and understand more, and do our best to be anti-racists. However, we will probably always be a minority. So, while living in a homogeneous country isn’t for me, I definitely see the merits of it for every ethnic group.
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I also want to add that there would be no America if it weren’t for the First Nations, African, and Chinese people.
The whole model of America is based off the Iroquois system of 5 nations. Where they had their own tribes, but they were united by intermarrying and working together for the common good of their people.
Without African slaves and Chinese building railroads, where would white people have gotten all of that capital from?
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kpp,
So, while living in a homogeneous country isn’t for me, I definitely see the merits of it for every ethnic group.
I get what you’re saying, but this kind of thinking can be really dangerous (not your thinking per se, but the idea homogeneous countries are a good idea. Some people did try to do exactly that in the past and it got pretty ugly). So no, I don’t think it’s a solution.
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Without African slaves and Chinese building railroads, where would white people have gotten all of that capital from?
Probably from the underpaid Irish laborers that they also had working on those railroads.
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The American understanding of race is kind of lame in my opinion. It pretends as if these four continental groupings (whites, blacks, Asians, Native Americans) can both coexist in one country and retain their distinctiveness over time. Of course all of these groups in reality reproduce with each other and thus shade into each other but there is no recognition of this basic fact. So we have a situation in which mixed people are accorded no social space or are consigned to their non-white ancestry, ignoring that such individuals are TRULY genetic and cultural crosses. But rest assured that the American race notion will be a bit more sophisticated by 2056.
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@ FG
The existence of “Mixed people” tends to overly complicate “race.” You can’t just have one giant “mixed” category, because then White-Asian hapas could not be superior to Black-White “Mulattos.” So you’d have to develop a new category for every possible kind of racial mix. That’s just too complicated, so mixed people must be forced to chose on race and stick to it!!!
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You can’t just have one giant “mixed” category, because then White-Asian hapas could not be superior to Black-White “Mulattos.”
Sure you can King! On my planet Mars, there are the red men, an amalgamation of the black white and yellow races:
“Dejah Thoris and I (examined) the …beautiful chambers of the building… (built by) people (who) had presumably flourished over a hundred thousand years before. They were the early progenitors of her race, but had mixed with the other great race of early Martians, … almost black, and also with the reddish yellow race which had flourished at the same time. …”
http://www.erblist.com/index.shtml
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@ King,
You’re kidding, right? The other mixes have been trying to ride OUR coat tails, especially since the rise of Obama! LOL.
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So, what’s your proposed solution to this problem, FG?
Do you think that mixed people should be recognized as yet another race? Or that the acknowledgment of mixed individuals on itself would be beneficial (in stopping racism, for example)?
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OH…. well then in that case, forget it.
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@ Herneith
Well, the Martians are a little ahead of the Earthlings.
“Carthoris was pensive as he later descended from the roof. He presently joined an officer in the courtyard, effectively sidestepping me to avoid a confrontation.
His mind shield was fully intact;”
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“So, what’s your proposed solution to this problem, FG?
Do you think that mixed people should be recognized as yet another race? Or that the acknowledgment of mixed individuals on itself would be beneficial (in stopping racism, for example)?”
First of all, a “multiracial” category has already been partially established in the United States. Alot of public and private agencies now list it as a racial grouping on their forms. For example, when I was applying for college a few years back, I checked the “multiracial” box. Furthermore, there are plenty of individuals (probably on the younger side) who use that term in everyday life when referring to themselves or others. People have referred to me as “multiracial” without knowing that’s how I personally identify. Moreover, there are now many celebrities (e.g. Mariah Carey, Jennifer Beals) whose primary identity is mixed or multiracial and they are referred to as such by the media.
I a mixed category beneficial? I think so. It won’t stop racism because nothing can do that. But it would designate a stable social position for racially blended individuals.
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I a mixed category beneficial? I think so. It won’t stop racism because nothing can do that.
It’s a bit pessimistic, don’t you think? There must be some things that could stop racism, but I don’t think they’re pretty (there has to be something radical and, probably, involve dehumanization of people based on criteria different than the racial ones).
That being said, I don’t think mixing can stop racism, not at all. Not that I’m against mixing, quite the contrary.
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The race statistics are so messed up. Only 2% of our nation is mixed and yet 60% of Mexicans identify as Mestizo(Amerindian+white mix). Most of the Hispanics are being thrown into the white category regardless of race. I wonder just how “white” America and the Hispanic population is…
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The Cynic:
Good point. About 80% of Mexicans are mestizos, but half the ones in America call themselves white. Likewise there are many part-black Dominicans who call themselves white too.
I would put America at something like this (using the One Drop Rule and splitting up mixed race people):
66% white
20% black
8% mestizo
4% Asian
2% Native American
Many of those Native Americans are from Central America.
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Whoa! You really think our country is a fourth Black? Iono about that one. I know they say minorities are often under-counted, but I don’t believe the census would be that much off the mark over and over again. I say we’re around 12-15%.
Are you counting all Dominicans? My Dominican Aunt looks as if she is part black and also Native American, but she looks more white than anything else. I don’t think any one would suspect she is part Black upon their first look at her.
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White people in the United States are out of their minds! They’re idiots because they think that USA is their possession, their own country and treat it as if it was their property. Guess what, it didn’t belong to them. Hundreds of years ago they stole the land that the Native Americans had and the Native Americans have lived there long before the European settlement. So the U.S was the original land of various Native tribes but those idiots took it away from them and never gave it back to them, only to put them in reserves, therefore it’s not Whites belonging to the U.S. It was the Natives’ who had US as their homeland. So maybe if it were the White’s who would have been kicked out of the country, then it wouldn’t be an all white America, good enough for me.
Technically, the four races in the United States are Native Americans, Whites, Blacks and Asians. Latins are not a race but they are an ethnic group who are mixed race. You mentioned mixed race, so that means you are referring to Latin Americans since they have Indigenous and Spanish as well as African blood and Spanish surnames. By the way what about Arabs? Where do they belong in the race category? What about the Caribbean?
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Arabs are white, even if they don’t want to admit it. Specifically,
mediteranean white as opposed to northern European white–the current
division of races is a gross oversimplification. Lok at the facial features of
an Ethiopian. They are not any thing like those of a west African. Filipinos
do not look like Chinese, yet they are both lumped together as “Asian”.
Mayans do not look like Sioux, yet they are lumped together as “Native
American.” There are no 4 “races”–there are probably at least several hundred–and they are unstable, because they are all inter-fertile with one
another and people do intermarry, Races are based on obvious external
characteristics like skin color and hair form. If other criteria were used, e.g.
blood type, we would have a whole different set of races.
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Homo sapiens is what biologists term a “polytypic species” meaning that there
is a wide degree of variation. Honeybees are, if we include only appearance,
a monotypic species–all individuals look alike (although there are behavioral
differences between different populations–e.g. regualr honeybees versus
africanized brazilian honeybees–the infamous “killer bees”.).
It is possible that some human populations once thought to be different
species from Homo sapiens may actually just be subpopulations (“races”–
although I dislike the term) with very extreme characteristics or adaptations
to extreme climates–I am referring to Neanderthal man and the recently
discovered Denisova man (who could be the same as the mysterious
“red deer cave people) because there is evidence of interbreeding
which produced fertile offspring.
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[…] Race in America […]
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“ White people act like they own America, like it is their country and no one else’s.”
I could say the same thing about black South Africans. They act like they own South Africa, like it is their country and no one else’s.
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