What ethnicity are you?

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by Stephen!, Mar 20, 2013.

?

What ethnicity are you?

  1. White

    83.0%
  2. Black

    2.1%
  3. Asian

    1.1%
  4. Hispanic

    1.1%
  5. Mixed race

    5.3%
  6. Other

    7.4%
  1. CorporalClegg

    CorporalClegg Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2001
    Sometimes on applications I check the other box and write "Irrelevant."
     
  2. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2006
    Location:
    Brooklyn thestrangequark
    ^Please don't take this as a personal attack, because you know I love ya, but the thing is, while it probably should be irrelevant, for anyone who's not white, it's not (I'm being Western-Centric right now, obviously). I hate to toss up words like privilege, but the experience of being White in America (and Canada and Western Europe, as far as I know) is markedly different from being Not White. Racial demographics are actually important in understanding things like social, educational, and financial inequity, violence, disease rates, morbidity, drug use, etc.

    I admire the philosophy behind opting for "human" or "irrelevant" or whatever, but philosophy and reality aren't the same thing, and I think that entering incomplete data is just doing a disservice to those who don't have the luxury of considering their ethnicity irrelevant.
     
  3. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2002
    Location:
    United States
    Good point. Personal blindness to ethnicity/skin color is a wonderful thing. When you see someone as a human being rather than solely as a [skin color] person, you've managed to move past silly differences like that, because those things are irrelevant. They say nothing about the person's character.

    The problem is that there are still people who gauge the value of others based on mere skin color, and as long as that's a problem, such form questions have to exist, if only to ensure that people aren't discriminated against for something which has no bearing on the content of their character, or the value of their skills. I can't wait for the day when such questions are no longer needed, but for now, they have to stay.

    Still, I do like the idea of "irrelevant" being shorthand for one's derision toward people who base their judgments on another person's skin color, gender, disability, or orientation. On a form, though, it's got to be there.

    Although I have been mighty tempted to check a box other than "White", and then show up for an interview. I don't think it would end well, though, so I doubt I'll ever try it. I wanted to try something like "Pacific Islander", and then tell them I lived on a small island just north of Antarctica, way far into the south Pacific. I'd have a great backstory, too.
     
  4. Miss Chicken

    Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    Howrah, Hobart, Tasmania
    Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand - third largest island of New Zealand. Population 400. Southernmost settlement of NZ. There are a few uninhabitant NZ islands further south.

    Macquarie Island, Tasmania is much further south but only scientists live there.

    The trouble with trying to say you live on a small island just north of Antarctica is anything further south is in the Great Southern Ocean not the Pacific.
     
  5. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2002
    Location:
    United States
    It wouldn't really matter in the United States. I could say Tasmania, and all the interviewer would likely do is give me a blank stare anyway.

    Geography: Not our nation's strong suit. :D

    Although I am liking the scientist angle now.
     
  6. CorporalClegg

    CorporalClegg Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2001
    If I knew, you wouldn't have to tell me. :p But that's okay, love you too. :)

    But I don't see why. A person's ethnicity is absolutely no barometer of a person's aptitude for any job. It's like when they ask permission to check your credit rating. The reality, as you say, is that there are a million reasons a person might have a poor credit score, non of which have anything to do with an applicant's ability to work.
     
  7. Jono

    Jono Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2001
    Location:
    Australia
    Mixed. White and Melanesian. I often get mistaken for being Polynesian.
     
  8. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Location:
    RJDiogenes of Boston
    Shake a leg, butter and egg. :mallory:

    And probably the reason they're looking for a job. :rommie:
     
  9. Gotham Central

    Gotham Central Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 15, 2001
    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Glad someone wrote this :)

    As a black American, I can tell you that all that "human" and "irrelevant" stuff is nonsense out in the real world. In fact the only folks that have the luxury of saying such things are white (or could pass as such). The rest of us know better.

    I even consider the label "mixed" not particularly useful because in the real world it does not mean much. I mean honestly who isn't mixed?
     
  10. Haggis and tatties

    Haggis and tatties Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2002
    Location:
    Glasgow
    White, Scottish.

    I dont drink buckfast or whiskey, i dont take lard intravenously, and i dont have ginger hair, so before you ask yes, i'm not very scottish. lol
     
  11. scotpens

    scotpens Professional Geek Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2009
    Location:
    City of the Fallen Angels
    Mention Tasmania to most Americans and this is probably what first comes to mind.

    [​IMG]
     
  12. Gotham Central

    Gotham Central Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 15, 2001
    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    But since Taz is awesome is there really anything to complain about ;)
     
  13. MANT!

    MANT! Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    Location:
    in Atomo-vision
    White
    Anglo
    Saxon
    Protestant...AKA WASP...

    But I really identify myself as Californian
     
  14. EmoBorg

    EmoBorg Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Apr 2, 2012
    Location:
    in the 10 dimensions of reality
    What is the difference between Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian. Aren't all of you pacific islanders?
     
  15. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 1999
    Location:
    USA
    I honestly thought we were more diverse than that...hmmm.
     
  16. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2002
    Location:
    United States

    I am rather short and somewhat furry...

    It looks like I'm the only French Polynesian here.
     
  17. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2006
    Location:
    Brooklyn thestrangequark
    Well, if you're talking about specifically job applications then I agree.

    I was with you till the end. Saying we're all mixed is as meaningless as saying we're all human. Sure, if you go back far enough, we're all mixed, and sure, ideally we should all recognize that, but being mixed race has its own meaning and issues in the real world -- I'm kind of baffled by anyone who can't see that!
     
  18. Locutus of Bored

    Locutus of Bored Yo, Dawg! I Heard You Like Avatars... In Memoriam

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2004
    Location:
    Hiding with the Water Tribe
    We're very diverse. There are people who are...

    Anti-flash white
    Antique white
    Beige
    Blond
    Cornsilk
    Cosmic latte
    Cream
    Eggshell
    Floral white
    Ghost white
    Honeydew
    Isabelline
    Ivory
    Lavender blush
    Lemon chiffon
    Linen
    Magnolia
    Mint cream
    Navajo white
    Old lace
    Papaya whip
    Pearl
    Seashell
    Snow
    Splashed white
    Vanilla
    White
    White smoke
     
  19. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2006
    Location:
    Brooklyn thestrangequark
    ^I will always consider myself mixed, but forevermore I will describe my skin tone as cosmic latte.
     
  20. CorporalClegg

    CorporalClegg Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2001
    That was the intended implication when I wrote "application." I've been filling out a lot lately, so they're foremost on my mind. Sorry for the confusion.