# Is Kamala Harris Asian-American? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 16, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240 "2020-08-16T03:54:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/61 "2020-08-17T13:00:56Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > > [@AK84](#): > > > > Desi is used as a synonym for South Asian sub continental. > > …a ghetto raised hip hop black … What the fucking fuck with this racist shit? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/62 "2020-08-17T13:03:28Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Genuine question: why didn’t you just check off “American”? Because the census wants to know your race or ethnicity. “American” isn’t a race or ethnicity. It’s a nationality. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/63 "2020-08-17T13:05:11Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > > > I’m curious how Commonwealth Dopers would phrase it. > > Born American: 2nd Generation American. Around here, that would make her “Australian”. So Australian society doesn’t recognize different races or ethnicities among Australians? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/64 "2020-08-17T14:11:57Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > What the fucking fuck with this racist shit? Because whether or not it’s right this is the way most americans think about blacks. Same with them characterizing that all Asians are yellow skinned with slanted eyes. You may not like it and it is racist but there it is. You cannot talk about racism without actually giving examples of it. Not sorry if it’s offends you. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/65 "2020-08-17T14:15:33Z")
You weren’t giving examples of racism. You said, “Kamala Harris is an American Black _ **as far as I’m concerned** _. Not a ghetto raised hip hop black, but a black American.” ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/66 "2020-08-17T14:15:47Z")
This weekend on PBS, Ms Amanpour said Kamala is an African American and Indian America… She isnt black-minority but not black ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/67 "2020-08-17T14:43:19Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > The Associated Press reports that in 2001, Haley listed her race as “white” on her voter registration form. There are states that ask for your race when you register to vote? I’m sure that’s never abused. /sarcasm ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/68 "2020-08-17T15:00:37Z")
> [@jprokos](#): > > My options were “White” or “Asian”. Should I choose Asian because they are “50% Newari (Nepali)”? Do I choose “White” because they are “50% European”. The census form asked you to “mark one or more boxes.” [(cite)](https://2020census.gov/en/about-questions/2020-census-questions-race.html) Is there a reason you felt uncomfortable marking multiple boxes? ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/69 "2020-08-17T15:08:27Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > The census form asked you to “mark one or more boxes.” [(cite)](https://2020census.gov/en/about-questions/2020-census-questions-race.html) Is there a reason you felt uncomfortable marking multiple boxes? Speaking for my family: yes, there is a reason we felt uncomfortable marking those boxes. Last century, my marriage would’ve been illegal and/or renounced my citizenship. Things have improved since then, but as recent politics show, nothing is secure. We answered our races and ethnicities as “American”. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/70 "2020-08-17T15:09:22Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > There are states that ask for your race when you register to vote? [SC Voter Registration Form](https://www.scvotes.gov/sites/default/files/VR%20Blank%20Form.pdf) Apparently South Carolina does. > [@](#): > > I’m sure that’s never abused. /sarcasm On the other side - if you _don’t_ have that information then it’s much, much harder to detect, track, and fix a problem because you’re missing the statistics. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/71 "2020-08-17T15:12:51Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > You weren’t giving examples of racism. You said, “Kamala Harris is an American Black _ **as far as I’m concerned** _ . Not a ghetto raised hip hop black, but a black American.” Still not sorry. As far as I’m concerned you are being nitpicky. Grow a thicker skin. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/72 "2020-08-17T15:14:21Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Speaking for my family: yes, there is a reason we felt uncomfortable marking those boxes. Last century, my marriage would’ve been illegal and/or renounced my citizenship. Things have improved since then, but as recent politics show, nothing is secure. We answered our races and ethnicities as “American”. To be clear, I was specifically asking @jprokos who seemed to say that s/he was choosing to mark only one box instead of marking multiple boxes. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/73 "2020-08-17T15:20:59Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > 🙄 > Besides the Americanitis, if you want to get real technical about it, only Turks are Asians and only Tunisians are Africans. You seem to be confusing ‘stating something’ with ‘defending something.’ I am not saying that East Asians are the only ones who _should_ be considered Asian-American. I’m saying that that’s how it generally **is** - that in general, when someone says “Asian-American”, they are referring to East Asians specifically, not Arabs, Indians, or white-skinned Russians from the Asian half of Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/74 "2020-08-17T15:29:45Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > > [@Acsenray](#): > > > > You weren’t giving examples of racism. You said, “Kamala Harris is an American Black _ **as far as I’m concerned** _ . Not a ghetto raised hip hop black, but a black American.” > > Still not sorry. As far as I’m concerned you are being nitpicky. Grow a thicker skin. How exactly do you think I’m picking nits here? I’m letting you know that you posted a very shady phrase. It has nothing to do with the thickness of my skin. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/75 "2020-08-17T15:32:20Z")
It is a simple and unfortunate fact that many Americans do, in fact, discriminate according to what they perceive as race. By the standards of most such people, both Kamala Harris and Barack Obama fall into the category “black”, and are treated as such. We, as a society, would like to decrease (and hopefully, eventually eliminate) this discrimination, but in order to do so, we need to first be able to detect when and where it’s happening. And one of the ways we detect it is via forms like the one in the Census where people are asked to report their race. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/76 "2020-08-17T16:19:22Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’m letting you know that you posted a very shady phrase And nobody here cares. Take your issue with my phrase to the Pit where I will just ignore you. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/77 "2020-08-17T16:23:32Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > > [@Acsenray](#): > > > > I’m letting you know that you posted a very shady phrase > > And nobody here cares. It’s interesting that you’re comfortable speaking for everybody here. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/78 "2020-08-17T16:30:04Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It’s interesting that you’re comfortable speaking for everybody here You the only one complaining. Meh. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/79 "2020-08-17T16:47:34Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > You the only one complaining. Meh. No, he is not. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-asian-american/918240/81 "2020-08-17T16:55:50Z")
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