# What is your race? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666 "2011-04-08T15:13:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/61 "2011-04-09T17:06:05Z")
Male 40 yr age bracket (unspecified due to crisis) - Lithuanian heritage but adopted by folks of Scottish descent. So I cked the “whitey” box. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/62 "2011-04-09T17:29:12Z")
Half Japanese, half mixed British. Sort of beige. Female, 32. My kids look disappointingly un-Asian. Shouldn’t have married a white guy. ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/63 "2011-04-09T18:04:17Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > Also why do people IMHO seem to over represent a group that is a relatively small part of their make up (and likely a non-existent part of their upbringing)? Very odd. Whilst you may be 1/8th Cherokeee I’m guessing that it is relatively meaningless to how you have been raised and it demeans the 7/8ths who are probably boring Europeans. Just an observation. European ancestry is the plain vanilla of ethnic identification, any deviation from which is the fudge topping, whipped cream and cherry on top of an otherwise dull list of ancestry. I suspect that many of us are just proud to be different in some small way from our contemporaries. There may also be some overcompensation for all those years when Grandma wouldn’t speak on the subject because she thought it was shameful. I’m just glad my own maternal Grandmother wasn’t like that. Dad’s mom, OTOH, took any such secrets to her grave. [tangent] I am astonished that in a discussion about race no-one has yet mentioned NASCAR or Formula One. Fixed that for ya. 😉 [/tangent] ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/64 "2011-04-09T18:51:29Z")
> [@SSgtBaloo](#): > > [tangent] > I am astonished that in a discussion about race, no-one has yet mentioned NASCAR or Formula One. > [/tangent] “Redneck” is not a race. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/65 "2011-04-10T00:44:24Z")
> [@pinguin](#): > > But here we aren’t in the U.S. We are in the world, aren’t we? This is an English language board and most of its members are American. ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/66 "2011-04-10T00:47:55Z")
200 m hurdles. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/67 "2011-04-10T01:06:41Z")
Rat. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/68 "2011-04-10T15:37:00Z")
> [@SSgtBaloo](#): > > European ancestry is the plain vanilla of ethnic identification, any deviation from which is the fudge topping, whipped cream and cherry on top of an otherwise dull list of ancestry. I suspect that many of us are just proud to be different in some small way from our contemporaries. There may also be some overcompensation for all those years when Grandma wouldn’t speak on the subject because she thought it was shameful. I’m just glad my own maternal Grandmother wasn’t like that. Dad’s mom, OTOH, took any such secrets to her. > [/tangent] mostly agree with you. I still love calling people out on it. My SO has people tell her her race all the time. Black, White, Asian, they all offer an unsolicited opinion. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/69 "2011-04-10T17:16:24Z")
My father was mostly German, my mother was 100% Irish; I, personally, am whiter than a glass of skim milk. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/70 "2011-04-10T21:18:13Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > Well, so far, we’re actually not all that different from the demographics of the United States. [Demographics of the United States - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States) > > Compared to the U.S. overall, whites and Asians (lumping East Asians and Indians) are slightly overrepresented here and blacks and Hispanics slightly underrepresented. As of this post, it is 171 to 44. That is, the SDMB is about 80% white. That’s where the U.S. was back in 1789 (and 1990). For all the cries by the racists that we are being overwhelmed by this race or that, I expected the U.S. results to be a lot more even. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/71 "2011-04-11T17:14:24Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > As of this post, it is 171 to 44. That is, the SDMB is about 80% white. That’s where the U.S. was back in 1789 (and 1990). > > For all the cries by the racists that we are being overwhelmed by this race or that, I expected the U.S. results to be a lot more even. Well, racists need a big buffer. I suspect a 4 to 1 white/non white ratio is a sign of impending racial decimation for some; they don’t want us getting any closer to parity. 😉 When I saw the numbers this morning, I had a similar reaction to yours. I thought there’d be a larger percentage of non white representation. Then again, only a fraction of board members respond to such queries, so the actual numbers are probably higher for non whites than we see in the poll. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/72 "2011-04-11T22:45:39Z")
My race? The 100 Yard Dash, why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/73 "2011-04-11T22:47:10Z")
White (non-Hispanic) - 80.58% Nice to see we’re a representative cross section of the global community… ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/74 "2011-04-12T14:48:54Z")
> [@pinguin](#): > > A wonder why every single American has only 1 Cherokee ancestor, and forget that they inherit Amerindian blood from **SEVERAL** branches of theirs family tree. > > Besides, why it is always Cherokee? Not a single Cree, Apache, Mohawk there? My guess is that Cherokee ancestry is simply easier to document. Unlike Ward Churchill, I have documents proving that I have two Cherokee ancestors. It’s entirely possible, perhaps even likely, that I have other Indian ancestors, but I have no reason to believe so and no documents to support it. And it seems to be a thing with white Americans to claim an Amerind ancestor or two. Makes us feel more authentically American or something. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/75 "2011-04-12T14:55:01Z")
Human. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/76 "2011-04-12T15:01:21Z")
> [@pinguin](#): > > There aren’t whites among humans, actually. Have you ever seen a person who is actually white like a paper? I haven’t. Meh. I’ve seen a few albinos. And calling ourselves “pinks” would be so gay. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/77 "2011-04-12T15:03:11Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > The Space Race. I’m a Cold War kind of guy. LOL! Good one! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/78 "2011-04-12T16:21:43Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Meh. I’ve seen a few albinos. And calling ourselves “pinks” would be so gay. Yeah, but there are nonwhite albinos. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/79 "2011-04-12T17:11:31Z")
400 meters. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666/80 "2011-04-12T18:48:22Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > Well, so far, we’re actually not all that different from the demographics of the United States. [Demographics of the United States - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States) > > Compared to the U.S. overall, whites and Asians (lumping East Asians and Indians) are slightly overrepresented here and blacks and Hispanics slightly underrepresented. “slightly”??? The SMDB poll shows 81% white non-hispanic, your wiki source says 64%. That’s hardly slightly. SMDB poll has 2% black, wiki has 12.6%. Not even close. SMDB poll has 0.8% Hispanic, wiki has 8.6%. The SMDB population is definitely not as diverse as the U.S. It is what it is. Not saying it’s good or bad. Really irrelevant to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-race/577666.md?page=5)