"As the revised standards for collecting and presenting data are implemented, we must ensure that we maintain our ability to monitor compliance with laws that offer protections for those who historically have experienced discrimination. In addition, we must minimize reporting burden for institutions such as schools and businesses that report aggregate data on race to Federal agencies.
In response to requests from agencies responsible for monitoring and enforcing civil rights laws, OMB has led an interagency group to develop guidance. This guidance addresses the collection of aggregate data when agencies request information from businesses, schools, and other entities. The guidance also addresses the allocation by agencies of responses, whether individual or aggregate, for use in civil rights monitoring and enforcement. "
Sounds like a pretty good reason to me.
You turn me on. But maybe it’s because I just spent 20 years in the jungle, getting it on with anything I could attract with a piece of fruit.
I totally agree with EnigmaOne, and our box is checked “human” thankyewverymuch.
Ty, they don’t need to know “race” to determine what languages are spoken. Indeed, there’s a hue and cry in some public schools over Hispanic children who do speak English being assigned to ESL classes based on “race” classification.
These forms are not being used for medical/genetic tracking purposes, and so there is no medical justification for requiring racial classification.
And it’s absolutely wrong. And feeding society more information instead of less about racial composition won’t help change it at all.
And this is just wrong. Employment decisions ought to be based on competency and skills, not on race.
I disagree completely. The government should be color-blind; it should not be demanding that people identify themselves this way.
Maybe if these forms were completely anonymous (and tell me how you would assure THAT in this day and age?) I would agree with someof this analysis, but these forms are directly traceable. Wasn’t it Tom who referred us back to the use of racial identifying information on Census forms during WW2 to identify those of Japanese descent?
Nope. Not buying it. Nationality: “American.” Race: “Human.” It’s what I write on these forms every time the question comes up (not just for the Census), and what I teach my children to do. I’m doing a fine job of raising non-prejudiced, colorblind kids, if I do say so myself, and I intend to keep it that way.
Well I believe the whole Census is a joke. I worked for the Census in 1990 around Maryland & DC and the amount of money wasted and the inacuracies are staggering. We went WAY over budget (the 2000 Census will cost in excess of $4,000,000,000) and were still off by more than 4,000,000 people.
This time out they’re deciding not to actually COUNT everybody, but to use statistical sampling to ‘estimate’ numbers in some areas. Rural areas will be undercounted and urban areas will be overcounted (which is a boon for States with large urban populations).
The Census dry run for the 2000 count was pathetic: 12% of the forms has bad or old addresses on them (and so were wasted), and after 2 seperate mailings (there will be only one in the actual count) only a meager 55% of the people actually filled the forms out and sent them back in time.
In the actual Census, after the forms are returned they spend millions of dollars sending Census workers to the residences (as many as six times) to pester them into filling out a short form. Many of these people are fiercly protective, anti-government or here illegally, and do not take kindly to government workers knocking on their door every other day.
I’m for a headcount, but not the way it is being handled now.
I’ll fill out my little form though - I like pointless statistice as much as the next guy.
Yet to be reconciled with the reality of the dark for a moment, I go on wandering from dream to dream.
No, they’re not. There was a very big lawsuit on this issue that made it to the USSC. The Supremes ruled that on The Decennial Census (as opposed to other activities in which the Census Department works) enumeration is the only legal method.
I’ve only read Byz’s responce to my last post, but I want to clear something up.
Byz, I wasn’t ranting at you in the least, I intended the answer to your dilemma, and create a new thought directed as a continuation of my original rant. Sorry you misunderstand, I didn’t intend to sound like I was directing anything at you. About that race question, unfortunately I sent in my form already so I can’t quote exactly, but the big publicized change in the form this decade was that people are instructed to check all that apply for race, it has made some major news. The point being your concern has been addressed.
Tom: Oh, last I heard it was still tied up in Court.
The NSA & FBI should do the census, as they already have information about all of us. That’s the only way to gather reliable information, anyway.
You don’t ASK someone how much they make, how many people live in their house and how many sex partners they’ve had: you show some initiative and find out for yourself.
Yet to be reconciled with the reality of the dark for a moment, I go on wandering from dream to dream.
Some of you have seem to think that Census data are not related to keeping track of diseases and other health determinants. What do you think we use as a denominator to determine rate of disease in certain ethnic populations? How do you think we know that Black Americans are being impacted by HIV at a much higher rate than other racial groups? I could give a number of other important examples. How do you think poverty in certain groups is determined? We need to know how many there ARE to figure out the rate.
Jill
I already stated in another thread that I don’t see what the big friggin’ deal is about marking what your race is (and I am a minority, JFTR). Sometimes I think we are all getting just a bit too PC for our own good. “Human race”…good lord…make me barf…I mean really…The whole color blind thing really makes me gag too…do we really want to be color blind? What we need to do is learn to accept and love our differences…not make everyone the same. But heck, if it makes people feel better to be “above” stating race, ethnicity, creed, culture, whatever, do whatever you want.
Michelle, the differences, our ethnicities, our national heritages, are the things that enrich our personal lives. We should not overlook them, ignore them, or get rid of them on that basis. I’ve had a parade of kids through my house just in the last week of various colors and backgrounds, and exchanging recipes with their moms, or sharing their holidays or festivals or learning to respect such things as their “family temples” in their homes is enriching, no doubt about that. If we were all the same, we’d be boring to interact with.
BUT when the government starts keeping track, and starts making decisions, based on race, or religion, or national heritage, that is just wrong. So far as the government is concerned we should all be just citizens or non-citizens.
What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so
sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
Patrick Henry
Please explain why it is necessary to know poverty rates for different groups? Do we need separate programs to fight black poverty, Native American poverty, Hispanic poverty, white poverty, Asian poverty, Korean-Puerto Rican-German-Cherokee poverty? Why can’t we just fight poverty?
The time, money, & effort spent classifying our more & more mongrel population really could be better spent helping our population as a whole.
Sue from El Paso
Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
First, death to Popillia for screwing up this thread.
Second, I’ll worry about marking down my race or ethnicity, or whatever, when I wake up and find a yellow star slapped on my house, or they haul me away to a concentration camp…but they might have a hard time figuring out which one to take me to considering my background.
Really, I think it is just a QUESTION. Not every question regarding this sort of thing has some insidious racist agenda behind it.
And as to the census as a whole…again…who cares? It’s just a form, it won’t kill anyone to fill it out…what’s the big deal??? I honestly can’t believe the whole uproar this thing seems to be causing.
Well, this may not be the correct answer, but this is actually a very interesting topic if looked at in an anthropological perspective. Cultural anthropology might have us looking at exactly this sort of thing…why are cetain groups living in poverty? Some of the reasons COULD be related to their ethnicity. I know there have been anthropological studies done on groups like migrant farm workers and things like that, to try to figure out how to better their lives. Now, if this is the reason they ask racial questions on the census, I have no idea. But I still don’t think it is a big deal.
Omni – Okay, I might have gone off on a rant of my own. Perhaps I didn’t read mine clearly but I would have had to check quite a few boxes… anyway, I still don’t see why race is important… seems language spoken is.
I guess each person needs to make their own decision on how to answer the “race” question. FWIW I answered all the questions honestly and even gave them my phone number if they want to call and talk to me about it.
I have no problem with gathering raw data but as we become more and more mixed I think within a hundred years (or so) race really won’t matter all that much. Well HOPEFULLY it won’t matter much…
Best!
Byz
Voted most sex obsessed. (Yeah, blow me smart ass!)
Does anyone believe we’re already a color-blind society?
Might it not be worthwhile to have the information available to try to measure the extent to which we’re not a color-blind society, so we know in what ways it’s still a problem?
Might not knowing where high concentrations of minorities live, aid in studying such questions?
Nobody’s gonna come knocking on your door if you claim ‘human’ as your race, or if you check eleven out of fifteen possible boxes, or whatever. But there really are some legitimate uses for honest answers to the ‘race’ question.
That’s the only way to gather reliable information, anyway.