It’s the one about half way down entitled “While We Are On the Topic.”
Apparently, some prude had a problem with people being labeled white, or any other color. She seems to think that white people should be labeled (to be politically correct so we can avoid sad frowning faces) “European American.”
I don’t know about some of you other “white” folks out there, but I’m not of European heritage. So in a sense, I’m rather put off by this newly coined chunk of verbal trash. This is similar to how “undeveloped” nations became “underdeveloped,” then “newely developing”, then “developing.”
I think you need to hone your sense of sarcasm, Habanero. The two men who wrote the letter (not a “she”, as you suggest) were obviously using it to point out the ridiculous lengths to which some will take “PC-ness.”
Incidentally, where are your forebears from, if not Europe? I’m not aware of any non-European “white” ethnic groups, so please educate me. Thanks.
And no one who uses the word “white” to refer to a racial/ethnic group of people is intending to include any Chinese, Japanese, or Koreans - sorry, that was quite lame.
You have a good point; I knew these people are grouped as “Caucasians,” but I sometimes forget that the part of the world they live in is considerd “Asia.” The whole Europe/Asia thing is pretty indistinct, I think. But that doesn’t invalidate your answer one bit. My mistake.
I have a friend from Panama, very dark skin, and she hates being refered to as African American and doesn’t hesistate to tell anyone who will listen.
European American is great! I think we should also have Canadian American, and Australian American and Falkland American…lets just label everyone down to the roots in their family tree.
When the 2000 Census came, I insisted on identifying my children as Teutonic-Slavic-Celtic-American.
Awhile after I turned in the form, someone showed up in person to question my wife about what it meant. I, unfortunately, wasn’t there. My wife apparently rolled her eyes, said, “My husband’s an idiot,” and just told them to put down Caucasian. I was so betrayed.
I still get a chuckle to this day thinking about it.
If by your inverted commas around ‘white’ you meant “the common usage of the term”, then your original question was quite lame. ‘White’ is indistinct but has particular meanings associated with it - as does ‘Caucasian’, and as potentially would ‘European American’. None have any inherent definition.
And in any case, asking “Where are your forebears from?” is ignorant in its implied assumption that any ‘white American’ person only has European ancestory.
Separate point: I wonder how the authors of the pitted article would like us to refer to non-white Europeans who emigrate to America, and their descendants?
considered Asia? you write it like it’s a techinicality that is really is on a different continent.
And how is the whole Europe/Asia thing indistinct where Saudia Arabia and india are concerned? I don’t think you’d stroll down the Champs-Elysées, lose track of time and all of sudden find yourself in Riyad.
They’d be immigrants from whatever country they immigrated from and whatever ethnic group (possibly religious) they self-identified with. Racially, they’d be… well, whatever nonwhite race.
Identify is pretty fluid. But some racial and ethnic descriptors are more valid than others.
What makes Saudi Arabia and India intrinsically related? If you can’t give a good reason, other than “that’s what Asia is because that’s what I’ve been told”, you should ask yourself what “Asia” means.
So how about if they identify themselves as British? What about if their ancestory of immigration isn’t important to them?
Note that the most recent British census had catagories such as ‘Black British’: ancestory (immigrant or otherwise) isn’t regarded as a necessary part of self-identity.
So how would a Black British (or Asian British, or Irish British, or Greek Cypriot) emigree to America fit into the ‘European American’ description? Isn’t this supposedly-helpful term as full of ambiguities and assumptions as anything it would replace?
Oh, for fuck’s sake - if you are Chinese, and go around calling yourself a white person (with or without “inverted commas,” or, as we call them in American English, quotation marks), then you are clearly not telling the truth.
See above, where I stated “my mistake” in regard to forgetting some middle eastern peoples. And in no way did I use the word “only” - but I think it’s ridiculous to get that nit-picky. If you’re of more than one “race” - say you’re multi-racial, dammit.
OK - show me exactly where one continent ends and the other begins. I know I’m not the first person to say that it’s an arbitrary line. “Eurasia” is more like it. When I think of the Middle East, I think of it as culturally & ethnically different than Europe and theFar Eastern countries. The same for the “Indian subcontinent.”
Um, no. Arabians are horses. Like SlyFrog I messed with the census once and put down something like “North American.” Pretty much the same thing happened. I still write it in whenever possible. Sure, I’m of Celtic roots, but I probably have more in common ethnically with African Americans than I do with White Europeans. And that’s because I live in North America.
My great-X grandparents that gave me my last name came to America in 1610. When is the statute of limitations up so that I can just call myself American? I think 400 years should be enough to forget the whole European stopoff.
Like SlyFrog I messed with the census once and put down something like “North American.” Pretty much the same thing happened. I still write it in whenever possible. Sure, I’m of Celtic roots, but I probably have more in common ethnically with African Americans than I do with White Europeans. And that’s because I live in North America.