Sunday, September 4, 2011
What is Race?
Race is a category many people choose to place upon themselves and others. It is based on heritage, skin color, essentially where one “came from”. It can have either a negative or positive connotation, but when defined most always has some sort of impact on the individual. As a result, I do not believe race is a useful way to classify people. Most people are not simply one race, but rather a combination of many races, so in the first place it would be hard to classify many people’s race. Grouping people by one specific race would not be accurate grouping as a result. Secondly, as Claude Steele’s experiment showed, announcing one’s specific race can cause the individual to portray stereotypes which may not benefit them. I also believe that the Census Bureau should allow people to check multiple races to define themselves. Constricting people to a single race is not accurate in many cases, and will cause the data collected to be skewed as well. All in all, race is an important factor of identity to recognize in each individual. However, it has become so mixed in society that using it to classify or stereotype a person is ineffective and not appropriate.
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7 comments:
Dear LIND$AY,
You couldn't have said it any better. Race is not an efficient way to classify people. In certain situations yes, but most of the time, no. With so many people now and days having numerous ethnicities, it would be futile to consider them in one category. I also believe that the Census Bureau should allow people to check multiple ethnicities to define themselves. Its said that there are only three races in the world, caucasion, mongoloid, and negroid. Though it may be true, within those races are countless ethnicities, which should be used to classify people. Stereotypes only make the people using them sound incompetent.
Dear LIND$AY,
I agree that race is an ineffective way to classify people but that it is important to one's identity. America is a melting pot where so many people are bi-racial and would want the option with the Census Bureau to check multiple boxes to define themselves. I have a friend who is of Caucasian descent and Native American. He is proud of that and always defines himself by both.
Great post. Thanks for sharing!
-rompersb
Lind$ay,
I completely agree with you. Race and ethnicity is an essential part of identity, but in no way should it be any source of judgment. Especially in the bay area, we are seen as a melting pot of cultures in which everyone mixes and interacts with one another. People connect on a professional and romantic level. Most of the people I know are mixed with multiple ethnicities. I believe the Census Bureau would receive an incorrect response if they did not allow people to claim more than one race.
Also, thank you for always posting so early, I really appreciate it. It lets me get my stuff done quicker!
-Jossshhuaa
Your post was well written and really said a lot in just a little bit of words. Good Job! However I do and do not agree with you. I do not agree with you about race not being a good way for people to classify themselves because I think it is it gives us a way to say who we are (which is important). Although, I do agree with you on saying we should be able to choose more than one race because not everyone is just one. I am four different races and I would not be able to say this by only choosing one.
Hi Lind$ay,
I really enjoyed reading your post. I like how your definition of race was simply stated, and got the message across. I also agree with you that most people are not just one race, that they are usually multiples of them, and it is hard to classify people under just one race if they are more than one. I also agree that the Census Bureau should allow people to check more than one box for each of their race's. For example, I always have a hard time checking a box under race for whenever I fill out forms because technically the race that I am is never listed. I am semetic since I am Middle Eastern and middle easterners are not considered just white, or asian. We are in the middle of both, so either we have to say other, declined to state, or White since that is what we are closest to. This reading on race really got me thinking of how society classsifies people and group them into one specific group. That makes those individuals feel they identify most with that group when they really don't.
Thank you for your post. Great job!
Hey again,
I apologize I forgot to end my comment with
-little miss daisy
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