Re: CHAT: American Racism [was: Star Wars]

On Tue, 25 May 1999, Brian Betty wrote:

> Bryan Maloney wrote: "Heh.  I check virtually everything, myself.  When
> they complain, I tell 'em that this is what the truth is.  Then they take
> one look at me and decide that I'm "really" white, because that's how I
> look to them. (Under the old South African racial code, though, I would
> have been "mixed" or "coloured".)"
>
> It's the same here. I'm 'really' white because I look white. They suggest I
> check off white. As if that's all that counts. Usually you can only check
> off one, but I'm not comfortable checking off just white, Native American,
> or African American. I'm certainly not a member of any of these categories,
> and just because I seem white is a bad reason to choose white.
I think I'm growing slow on the uptake in my old age - you mean there
forms in the US where you have to enter your colour or race? I suppose
that that's for affirmative action or something like that?

The only comparable thing in the Netherlands is when you enter you
children for school and you have to indicate whether they're from an
official ethnic minority (Turkish children are, Chinese not, because the
Chinese minority never applied for the status), and the school gets more
money for an ethnic minority child (because a Turkish child will often
get extra lessons in Turkish and Dutch children don't - my eldest daughter
is quite indignant about that - she wants to learn Turkish, too!).

Boudewijn Rempt  | http://www.xs4all.nl/~bsarempt