posted by Sam Richards
Amazing how people are confused about racial and ethnic categories and don’t understand the meaning about certain categories and words. Everyone is offended. “I’m offended…dammit!” Enough already. Here’s the issue from the perspective of the Census people. There are lots of older black Americans who call themselves “negro” and will be confused if that term is not on the Census. People writing the Census are not idiots; they’ve done an incredible amount of preparation for these questions and no matter what they do, there will be confusion. They know this.
On the other hand, there are lots of people who understand that when the term was used as a descriptor for black Americans, it was when black Americans were disparaged and hated–and so the term is somewhat derogatory when used today.
But many older black people assume that they are “negroes” in the eyes of the government and will look for THAT term on the Census. If it’s not there, they’ll be confused and not mark anything. We know this; the Census people know this. Unfortunately, the people who are offended don’t realize this and assume that the Census people who wrote the question are idiots. Wait until they find out that millions of dollars went into testing that survey instrument…
This is a really interesting topic of discussion. Ok, so first I just want to say that I think the reporter who was interviewing people on the street said it perfectly when she stated that people feel as though they can only check one box. I think that says so much about the way that many people in society think. They think inside of this one box, and feel as though they can only think one set of things, and nothing else. But that’s not how the world works. People are made up of lots of different boxes, and that is an awesome thing. People are not supposed to have one set of opinions in one little box. People should think millions of different things about everything. They should have many conflicting opinions in order to find the opinion that’s right for them. This is the issue that comes to mind when I see these people commenting on the census form. They are so closed-minded. They are blinded by the WORD (yes, the word negro is simply a bunch of letters written near each other) Negro, so much so, that they cannot even realize the reason why it might be on the form. … Maybe, there are other people who live in America who may identify themselves as a Negro. Would that be the worst thing in the world? If someone chose to describe themselves as something other than what you might wish to be called if you were them, would that really be terrible? I think not. I think people need to get a spine and stop being so sensitive. The census is taken in order to count the people, but also to see how people identify themselves. There is no right or wrong answer. And the census bureau has NO INTENTION of trying to make a joke or demeaning comment towards black people by using the word negro. Honestly, I think the census bureau has much more important things to do than attempt to demean a race, sorry black people but don’t flatter yourselves.
I really hope society embraces this census. Because for a lot of people, it may be the most interaction that they have with people of a different race (just seeing the different races on the same sheet of paper near their own). Which is a very sad thing, but hopefully America will be able to figure out that, there are others who call themselves Negro, and that is just fine. There are also people of the same race and ethnic background who want to be called different things, and that also is perfectly fine. Enlightenment is not something that happens easy, I realize that. However, all that I ask is that people just listen to what others have to say, from there, he/she may make whatever decision he/she sees fit.
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I think that no matter how they make the census its going to offend someone unless they just make it completely a write in section, however that would just be way to hard to get any good information from. As for the term negro being used, that is a very tough situation as that older African Americans who still use that term would be offended for it to not be on there, and younger African Americans are offended that it is, so whats the right thing to do? I think that some people being offended is inevitable but good things coming out of taking a census definitely overshadow a little confusion.
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People want the world to revolve around them, this is the sad truth. Yea there have been complaints regarding this year’s census, and question 8 and 9 have gotten a lot of people ticked off, but the point is that none of it matters to anyone else but yourself. The main complaint heard in today’s world is regarding black and white, in fact most of the racial complaints revolve around black and white, we never really look at the other cultures such as Hispanics nearly as much. When I completed my census this year I didn’t notice “negro” being added to the race section, instead my focus was set on the fact that the census separated Hispanic from all the other cultures. Being Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Filipino, I remember checking both Puerto Rican and Cuban in the census and then moving on to question 9 and saying, “thank god I’m Filipino otherwise I’d have nothing to fill in this section.” My brother was also slightly offended by the separation of Hispanic cultures from the rest, but eventually we realized what everyone should regarding the census, that it doesn’t matter and it wasn’t put out there to offend anyone but help everyone.
Racism isn’t always established by the sender but the receiver. How many times have you heard of something being racist or have you said something and been considered a racist when attacking someone was not your intent. We feed into this whole racism thing in this world and make a lot of things a bigger issue than they actually are. The part that really is remarkable to me is seeing how the word “negro” is thrown out there among the black community. In my high school there was a clear distinction between two types of saying these words. There was a type of way to say it, you were allowed to say “nigga” with an “a” but that was it. If you sounded like it was with an “er” than it was looked at as a derogatory comment. Now the part I always wondered about since is exactly how worldly accepted is this? Coming to Penn State I didn’t know if I was allowed to call my black friends “my nigga” or would they take this to offense. The whole racism issue is so touchy from time to time that it makes comments in which the sender deems as friendly and turns it around to the point where everyone has to watch what they say. Even the government, and even the census that is trying to help us all out in the long run. Why is there such a difference in any of this though, why can’t we stop seeing everything as racist and stop living with these worries and arguments.
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So here we are again at the race table and everyone is intimidated. It is interesting to see what people think of the new census. It is great that we are finally differentiating between race and ethnicity, however I think people are way to uptight about the terms. If some people identify as a “negro” then we should include this rather than leave it blank. I think throughout the interviews that people were forgetting that this term was included with “black” and “African American.” The term “negro” was not put alone on the list.
People will always be offended by names and terms given to them. However, we never really looked at the fact that “white” was the only option given to the majority. As a “white” person, I identify with my Italian and Chilean culture, but because of my skin, I am “white.”
The whole purpose of the census is to improve society. We get better statistics and find patterns in society based on class in race in hopes that we can improve them. Sure, the census needs to be updated with time and terms need to be changed, but for right now, I find the census rather accurate.
I spoke about this with a friend of mine, and he said, “ The census using ‘negro’ is not wrong. People identify like this. We are not using this as a derogatory term. If we wanted to be derogatory we would have used “n***er.”
I thought it was interesting to see how the CNN reporter was bi-racial, the filmmaker was Latina, the interviewees were black, white, and Asian. There was a fair mix of people in this report.
Overall, I think this issue is a bit ridiculous. We take the race issue so out of hand today and everyone is so sensitive. I hate when people play the race card and use it as a crutch. It is like when we are sick and mommy takes care of us, we are more likely to fake the cough when we are being comforted. Sure it is better to be sensitive, but we are being too sensitive to race. This is why white people take a silent sit back at the race table. We are so scared of how other races will react when we are honest.
So here is where I stand as a white person. I am not affected enough by the census to complain that we are only given one option. I am glad we have options on the census for other races; however, we really need to expand our options. America is a melting pot and times have changed. We should not be scared that someone will be offended.
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I cannot even think about using the term ‘Negro,’ or other N words, in front of others including African-Americans and even non-Black people not only because I was taught that his term has very offensive meaning but also the environment that I was put in, United States, had a cultural norm or mutual agreement that the use of this term is prohibited. I think I saw this issue from one previous blog posting. I remember I criticized Census Bureau for having that term as well as its reasoning for using this term. It may be true that there are other African-Americans who would like to describe themselves as ‘Negros’ because they assumed that the answer must be filled in perspective of the government who used to call African-Americans as ‘Negros.’ It makes sense. I never said that Census is idiot but that was a stupid excuse. I would rather spend the money given for this “survey instrument” for educating them. Let’s take a close look at it.
Sam said “If it[the term Negro]is not there, they’ll be confused and not mark anything.” (Sam) It is true. But, couldn’t they be more proactive? They will be ‘confused’ if the term is not on the list. Why would they be confused? It is because, in my opinion, Census, or the government in general, did not take enough actions to acknowledge those people who are still concerning the perspective of government first not their own thoughts. It would be self-contradictory in the event that Census reasoned that they did not expect people still like to be described themselves as ‘Negro. ’It would cost much to let those people to describe themselves as ‘African-American’ or ‘Black’ rather than ‘Negro.’ That is why it must be done gradually. We should not expect to remove these words in the next Census survey. Rather, targeting for 2030~40 Census would be appropriate.
Some people may not understand why they should be bothered with these things. But, let’s take our time back to mid 20th century. It was natural for persons of color to use separate facilities including bathrooms, seats in the bus, and even educational institutions and these facilities usually have worse conditions in comparison with those for Whites. Nobody could dare to complain it until the movement began. Everything comes from a small, tiny thing. This thing can be idea, event, and so on. For example, it was one event Boston Tea Party that Americans made their minds to fight for independence. Furthermore, it was a Stamp Tax which Britain imposed taxes on every product they are selling in America that led American colonists to make a famous phrase “No Taxation without Representation.” A sequence of such events led the freedom in this country. When the small thing is ignored or not cared, then our next step forward better society would take so long.
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I can totally understand the confusion in the wording of the census. I haven't seen it yet but I do think that the bureau could have taken the time and the space necessary to clarify the terms or at least include an instruction sheet. despite the confusion I do understand the need for the census and the clarity that comes from breaking down the racial make up of the various cities and towns. The idea that people could be put in a box is outdated by today's standards, and they need to make it more indicative of who we the people they're trying to count are. we as people don't want to be placed in to narrow boxes such as white, black, or Hispanic. They need to consider that with technology we could easily report on our selves and our communities via the internet and then maybe we could be clear on who we are without the aggravation of words we find inappropriate. on the issue of whether or not Negro should be included I think that if people still identify as Negro then the term is valid however it is still a volatile term and the anger associated with it's use is understandable.
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The idea that people are confused and stressing about what race to identify with on this census is completely pointless. That is not what the census was mad for. It was made as a way fr the government to se which communities are in need of resources to better their life that they don't have at the moment. A person's racial affliation should not have any influence in determing this. I think the question should be removed from he census in the fisrt place because it takes focus off the main goal, how communities can be improved, how some feels underrepresented since their race is not an option. Last time I checked the choice of "other" is always there and if you feel that strong about who you are, feel free to fill in what you want to be considered or called. Other than that just leave it alone, the government is not going to change how you look they could careless, they just want to enhance communities. Get over yourselves people.
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I am tired of hearing about all these people who are getting all worked up about a stupid census form. It is just a case of people making a big deal over things out of nothing. I definitely understand while so many people would take such offense to the term negro, because it is a very old school term that now carries a very negative conotation with it. It was used in a time when the black race was far more oppressed than now a days. However, people don't get that there are many old African Americans who would only refer to themselves by the term negro. They grew up in a time when that was commonplace to be a negro and it is so engrained in their mind that when they think of themselves as a race they they think of themselves as a negro. The Census Bureau knows this and is trying to make sure that those elderly African Americans are
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counted. Like was said in the article, the Census spent millions of dollars to research this so they know what they are talking about. The only people outraged by the term are younger black people who never lived during the time that negro was a common word, but they always associate it with the oppression the happened when the word was commonplace. But they have no idea of the mentality of the blacks who experienced that time. It just seems like it is a case of trying to please everyone, but of course there will always be people who take offense. It's like that with anything. As for the being multiracial thing, of course the census knows this fact. But to accomodate all these mixed races would make the census much more complicated and would just be unfeasible. All they are trying to do is get a general snapshot of the people in our country. They don't need to get extremely specific. The United States is a melting pot, filled with an immense amount of diverse and
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multi ethnic people, so obviously to accomdate all those very different backgrounds would be rather difficult for the Census. Sure, we have to lump ourselves into one of the general race catagories, but it doesn't matter. The Census justs wants the general picture. They don't need to know the exact amount of Italian-African-half Native Americans people in the United States. It's just a general idea. So people need to stop whining and worrying about getting their feelings hurt and just suck it up, because it is really annoying having to listen to this dumbass complaints day in and day out on news channels and reading about it in the papers.
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We are so far caught up over wording right now, it seems like everyone is either on their guard, ready to be offended, or their trying to cover all of their bases afraid to say anything wrong. Here is something to think about. The individuals who develop the Census are just doing the best they can with the information they can gather. I am sure that they are not trying to offend the American people in any way. The people who create the Census and the questions that make it up are going off of the best knowledge they have in regards to what people classify themselves as racially. It is not easy to classify every possible race and fit it onto half a piece of paper. In this video they said that the Censes Bureau has done studies to make sure they use wording that will not offend anyone. They must have put a lot of money into a study to do that. And people still get offended. Until all of us Americans stop taking everything so offensively, someone will always be offended or insulted by their categorization in society. Society as a whole can never be completely happy with the final outcome. Something always has an edge or push towards one factor more so than another factor. I must admit that. I was a little shocked to see some of the reactions of various people to the things on the census that do not really deserve a reaction. I can understand wanting people to respect you and respect your heritage and where you came from. But people get upset about some of the most pointless things sometimes. I have a perfect example: the race section on the census. The census is used for more than just to count the number of people in the United States of America. It has more important implications than media stories that obviously blow things out of proportion and get people riled up about absolutely nothing. Another thing that I did not understand was when some of the people who were interviewed on the video said they were confused on what to mark if they were of more than one race, when it clearly stated in the directions that you could mark more than one. I feel like the people who make the census are trying to make it as simple and all encompassing as possible that I just do not understand why so many people are confused about most of it. Overall I think the people that are so offended by this need to work on solving one of the more important issues that we are facing, like world hunger or slavery.
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As a person who did not fill out the census yet, I did not know how the census questions were confusing. As a 100% Asian, and Korean, I have never had any difficulties when I define my race. I just put a check mark next to Asian or Korean. However, after I watched this CNN video, I started to admit that some questions on census are confusing for certain group of people. As the Asian woman said, when one is half Vietnamese and half Chinese, how is one going to answer? Chinese or Vietnamese? At the same time, how about Latinos and Hispanics? As the Puerto Rican woman said, she defines herself as a white person even when all of her family members are from Cuba. The difference between Hispanics and Latinos are not explained enough either. Some people might get confused when these two terms are put in front of them. Even for students who had lectures about these topics, just like us SOC 119 students, the differences are often hard to see and tell.
I think the most controversial category is for blacks. As the clip showed, the question box for African Americans includes blacks and Negroes. It was interesting to see that the three interviewed black people got mad about the term Negroes. As the news anchor and Sam said in his blog, the term does not offend to some of the black people; for example, old black people who used to use the word for themselves long time ago. People should not forget that census is not only for young people from modern society. It is for EVERY American from everywhere. Do you think that the census makers did not consider about offending some blacks when they included the term “Negro?” They are all well-educated people who know what to do gather concise results from everyone. Thus, I do not think that those African Americans should be too flipped out at the census because of the N term.
Also, I want to say to people who are confused which term they should pick when they define their selves that “You are the one who knows you the best.” As Sam once said in the class, race and ethnicity cannot be defined by other people. If you think yourself as a White, go ahead and place a check mark next to “White.” When you are a multicultural person, pick whatever you think that you belong to. Ethnicity or races are not easy things to be comprehended. They can be very confusing just as we saw in census questions and consequent rages. The one thing that I want to say in my response is that whatever you believe makes and defines your race and ethnicity.
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I think I talked about this before but the whole negro being offensive thing is totally insane. I can understand why people think it can be offensive, but at the same time, “Negro” is not a word that is used as an offensive slang. As I said before, “Negro was used as a respectful term for black people before the word, ‘black’ was reclaimed.” The ONLY reason why Negro is offensive to blacks nowadays is because during the Civil Rights Movements in the 1960s black movement leaders told their supporters to abandon the word as it was associated with African American slavery, segregation, and other such injustices.
But it does surprise me that one of the people being interviewed in the news report associated the word “slavery” almost immediately with the word “Negro.” Doesn’t the word, “nigger” do that job a bit more suitably? At the time, the word “Negro” was the most polite way to address a black person. And now, it’s an ethnic slur. Why?
Also, I think people need to take a step back and remember something: in official government forms, all words in that document are meant to be denotative, not connotative. That means, for all intents and purposes, the words on that paper are to be taken in their definition, not what the word is associated with. In our particular example with Negro and Black, the meaning of Negro is supposed to mean “A person of sub-Saharan African descent; a person with black or dark brown skin” nothing else. So what’s the big deal?
Sam said it himself: the Census is a document that the government spent millions and millions of dollars researching and preparing. I just don’t understand why people are so worked up over this matter in the Census. Do they honestly believe that the United States Government is trying to offend the black Americans living here today? What would be the point? The President of the United States is half black for God’s sake. It’s not like they have another more offensive word on the Census. If they had, “Nigger,” on the census, then I can see a problem. But no, they have Negro. And they even explained WHY they have the word “Negro.” They gave a reason, it serves a practical purpose, and I doubt half the people in America even know why the word “negro” is offensive. They should just let it go.
I also think that people are forcing “their way” on other people. For example: when they were interviewing the people on the streets, a young black man said, “Well I can understand why they put Negro on the census. I mean I know some older black folk that still go by Negro” And almost immediately the other two black people practically attacked him. I think it’s those people that are dragging society down. People need to take a step back and stop taking things so personally. If everything is offensive, then no one can do anything without offending at least someone.
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I find it interesting to read and hear people complaining about the racial and ethnic stereotypes. I do think, though, that many times the effect of the wording of the census is exaggerated and has less effect than it is made out to have, I agree with Sam in that I think the people that wrote the census did do plenty of research. The conclusions they came to when deciding which categories to include and which to exclude from these particular questions came from the idea that they want to get the most accurate data by making it as clear as possible to everyone. I don’t think anyone would be confused by the term “negro” being included on this form. It may cause people to "feel a certain way about it", as Sam so often says, but I think that is better than having an older black person who only relates to the term “negro” not know which option to fill out. It ultimately is only making the census more accessible and thus more effective. So many people read that and don’t think into it that far, they just automatically call it out as being offensive. The one man stated that a woman was upset because it reminded her of her childhood in the south and the repression. I understand that, but that could have been any word that reminded someone in their childhood. I think that people being to distracted by the word negro and not focusing on the importance of the census is a bit exaggerated. I am sure there weren’t too many people refusing to fill this out because the word negro was printed on it. Regardless of the categories that they used, just because race is such an issue in this country and so many people get offended very easily, I think no matter what was printed, they would have angered someone and the media would cover it, just as they did here.
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The Census is just trying to make people put themselves into a category. I think that the word “negro” shouldn’t be on there because I think it is very offensive. That is just my opinion. So many people hate that word and feel that it reminds them of bad times and racism. It makes no sense to have it on the Census and just make more people angry and upset. I just don’t understand why they would put it on. It just makes more and more people annoyed and angry. Even if some African-Americans label themselves as “Negro,” many don’t, and find it offensive. I think that the Census people were trying to appeal to everyone, but it backfired. If they are going to keep words that most of the “race” find offensive, they need to leave an explanation or explain themselves better to the people. Hopefully they will do better next time.
This is also the same for the Latina category. By making Latinas that aren’t of Spanish origin have to mark that is making the person give them false information. It just doesn’t make sense to not give people more of a choice when it comes to people’s backgrounds and races. If I were a Latina that wasn’t of Spanish origin, I would be very upset and would probably call the Census people and complain. It makes people feel hurt that they aren’t included in America. I understand that they are trying to get better and include more people, but they missed the mark with this one. I feel that the Census messed up and needs to do a better job next time. Like I said earlier, they need to give a better explanation and help people be able to pick the right information.
I also think that the Census isn’t nice to white people. I don’t like to be just labeled as “white.” I am more than just what my skin color is. My ancestors came from so many different places and created me. I am Russian, Polish, Austrian, German, and English. Also, I am different from most “white” people because I am Jewish AND Episcopalian, even though I was raised Jewish. I feel that the Census might group “white” people together because it is easier for them than to list all the countries that we are from. Since the only people who are native to America are the Native Americans, the Census can’t call us the natives of America, but they need to label us as something. That something is “white.”
I feel that the Census is not listening and seeing what America is. They are just trying to label everyone and get a number on everyone. They need to do a better job and go more in-depth into the “Melting Pot” that is America.
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Wow, this video is awesome, do you see how they brought people from different cultures to comment on the matter, they have white, African American and a Latina. So no one would hold it against them that they didn’t think of Spanish, black or whatever, but before that, they are trying to make it seem like a bigger deal than what it is, I mean come on, I get that old fashion people think of the word as an offensive term, but all it was a word to refer to black people. Black people were looked down upon; the term itself was not offensive, if they were refereed to as African American then that world would have been frowned upon just as the world Negro is right now. everyone wants to be politically correct and not be racist, but it is so hard to satisfy everyone. Some people don’t care about being called negro, some are offended. Some people don’t care about being called African American , some are offended. No one know to call whom what. Doesn’t matter what word people use to call others, some are still going to be offended. The fact that we categorize people in different races and most people don’t like that, for example I am middle eastern and I am also in Africa so I am African American , middle easter and iam also categorized white, so what am I, am I a middle eastern when there is terrorism is being questioned? Am I African when I start playing sports or am I white when. .. well I am never stereotyped as a white person, because everyone wants to think that you have to look white to be white, but when it comes to anything else you race will be traced thousands of years ago even though you don’t look like that race. It never stops with this race relation, everyone has a different opinion and everyone has a different view, but the fact that we categorized humans in different races is the problem here. It has been thousands of years with this race debate; it is never going to end. The comments they showed in the video, seemed to be a series of a bunch of smart / ethnically mixed people who knew exactly what to say regarding the race matter, but if you ask a random white person about the whole problem of having negro in the census they would probably have no comment, if anything they would have an ignorant comment. People need to understand racism before people try to talk about it ,and before people try to categorize races. It is going to be a long long time before the racism issue is going to be over.
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The essence of the inability to classify one’s self (one might think this would be easier – in terms of accuracy – than attempting the classification of someone else) has often sent my mind into a furious bewilderment. Why should I care what other people classify me as unless I am looking for a particular type of treatment based on that interpretation? Does the way I live my life depend on someone’s unfounded characterization of my background?
More importantly, what is to prevent anyone from choosing more than one of these categories? The bigger question I have found: what drives people to choose only one classification? Is there some issue with checking more than one box?
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Something that I have noticed now that I am part of SOC 119 is that people in the US, more than in any other country, pay too much attention to race and terminology. I understand that our History has given us the opportunity to mix into what we call the melting pot. We all come from many different places and many different origins. I did notice however in the video that even white people were complaining about the fact that the census does not offer any other option than checking the “white” box. I do agree with the CNN reporter as he points out that much work and thought by experts has been put into the elaboration of this important document. People should not care so much about the past terms and try to understand why such words are still used.
I believe the real problem does not lay with the census itself and its odd words. I think the American people are confused. They do not know what to call themselves anymore. There are too many cultural mixtures. No one is 100% this or 100% that. We have come to a point when a “white” looking person can be more “black” than an African American looking individual. I think we need to eliminate these racial identifications. Why can’t we just be citizens of the world? Why does our society attach so much important to the color of our skin? It is everywhere. I understand that affirmative action does require some kind of selection. Shouldn’t it be based on salary and not race? Another cancer to our society is the Media. Television (MTV, BET, even CNN…) stereotypes each ethnicity and involuntarily creates gap between different cultures and ethnicities. Black people are portrayed as “ghetto”, Hispanics as thieves, and Whites as preppy. Even in this school (Penn State University) you can sometimes see specific ethnic behaviors. The Asians hanging out together while the African Americans are all “chilling” together and the White people studying at a table. This is what TV shows us and how society wants us to feel. But this is not the way things are everywhere and this is not the way things should be.
I am of Italian descent and am proud of it. This does not however make me Italian. I am still American and I am proud to be part of a country where no one is the same. We all share different backgrounds and cultures. This is why this country is so amazing. We have reached a point of no return where we share and mix our knowledge to create a prosperous environment. We learn from each other and need to move forward. This is what I think we need to focus on. By looking at the details (race, skin color, and ethnicity) with too much skepticism, we do cannot better ourselves. I truly believe that one day, when race is not as big of an issue, things will become easier. Dialogue will be less politically correct and thus more direct. We will get straight to the point and conflict will not be the first option.
I don’t think we need to be colorblind. It is too hard of a task for a majority to understand and adopt. However, I believe we can overcome the physical traits by comprehending each others’ history and cultures.
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So we are counting the number of Americans in this country. Does anyone really believe that everyone in this huge country can be happy when they are trying to count everybody by giving them a piece of paper?
I can see how people would really be offended by this the word negroe being on the census but people need to realize that the census people are not idiots and they put this together on the hopes that people will just fill it out honestly and send it back so you can be counted. Honestly I the only reason people on Cnn made a big deal out of it was well because they brought it up so they could start a news story and the news loves a good racial story to show how terrible America is some respects. Just take a second to think about this stopping and reading this question for twenty minutes I like taking a small quiz and debating what the answer is on something that let’s face it has no real effect on your life. No one dies from the fact that the word Negro is on the Census and come on if there was a TV camera in front of me I would make a bigger deal out of nothing too but I probably wouldn’t because I know that that just a time waster also.
The word is on there because older blacks want that word on the census we can’t forget about the people that actually lead the civil rights movement that really know what racism is those people know what the word Negro is on there for, I don’t think that they will be complaining too much. People in this country are too sensitive to the little thing we all need to wake up and realize we are in it together and no one is going anywhere. America is this huge melting pot were far better off with civil rights then most parts of the world, but still were nowhere near perfect and I don’t expect to see perfection anytime soon in my lifetime or lifetimes after mine. We all need to just realize what we can do one by one and that is raising children and break down color barriers. I sure that most people won’t even think two seconds that the word Negro is on the census and I’m sure that some will be upset that it is on there. You just have to realize that with something like this not everyone can be happy because we don’t live in a quaint world like that at all.
The word is on their its 2010 this place it way better that it was 100 years ago can we just not be forward looking, we should not forget the past but let’s not dwell on it that just causes inefficiencies in moving forward we are all pursuing happiness and well life isn’t really that fair everyone knows that.
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I think the Census would be a hard job to think of what questions to ask and what answers to put. So many people think and feel so many ways its hard to please everyone. Like the part of the interview with the younger man, woman and older (mid-aged) man were talking about the term "Negro." The younger man and the woman were somewhat shocked and outraged, whereas the mid-aged man saw where it was coming from, yet still would never pick it to describe himself. However some older individuals would have been upset if the term "Negro" was not on the form. It seems to me like it is a lose-lose situation for the Census Bureau.
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I agree that the census does not look easy. In all honesty, I try to avoid it. I hate that they might be knocking on my dorm door to ask me what color I am and all that junk. I guess it matters, but I really do not see how. I mean it would be impossible to try and define Americans by racial categories. Yet we have legislators who think it is possible and that is just ridiculous. There are so many blends of heritage color and culture taht to even think we can come close is ludicrous! America knows what America needs. Wait, that is even more ridiculous. Even when America knows it still does nothing to improve its livability for all. I think its ridiculous that ten questions can make you "feel counted." We are in a place withe three hundred million other people. It is a daunting task to want to count us all. And the question about Negroes is not offensive. I do not believe that there are still people who refer to themselves as it, but alright. A person knows what they are and if they do not view the term offensively, why should we? I know I would be somewhat upset, but it is nothing I cannot fall back to sleep over. No harm, no foul as they say. I would be angrier if my category did not exist then if it existed with a term from 1855. It does not matter in the grand scheme of things. Census people need to work on a census that will ensure most major groups are recognized in a way that allows for freedom to choose among groups. Whatever that means, I do not know. All I know is that we all have blends of heritage in us so we can restrict ourselves to the census and be counted or we could be missed and excluded. But liberated. Which makes no sense. Who wants to be liberated in exile? Laugh out loud because that is a hilarious statement. Who would really want to be free somewhere that does not care about your freedom? I always knew what to put on a bubble sheet, but I always wondered what the black and white or mixed girl put on hers. You are not allowed to bubble two you know? So what should one put. I agree that the census is not easy. But it does not have to be difficult either. It is what it is. Plain and simple. Most People do not do it anyway, which opens up another can of nasty worms. The census is meant to be a resource initiator, not a count of every specific racial category. It does not make sense no matter what the purpose. It is an unrealistic sheet of paper, that says it has a purpose of good but stirs up drama every four or ten years. Who remembers the last census? In all seriousness, who really gives a damn? In the end, it does not really matter. Sam said it. We will all be dead anyway someday!
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I do not understand why so many people get offended by the census. It is just words on a paper. It is not like someone is in your face calling you a name like Negro. At one point in time, all black people were referred to as that so of course they would put that term in the census because they want to get an accurate count of everyone and their races. I would understand if Negro was the only term referring to black people, but since there are a few other choices that refer to the same race, they should not be complaining. Also, the one lady mentioned how the term Negro reminded her of slavery, but honestly we have come a long way from those days so I think it about time to start letting go of some the hate that was created back then. The census did a lot of research to make sure they would get the information they needed so they should just trust in what is on the paper and fill it out. People today are too worried about being politically correct because there are too many people who are being overly sensitive to certain issues. Like I said before, it is just a piece of paper that is asking you what race you consider yourself. I am pretty sure you can leave it blank or fill in another word if you want to. People need to just relax and stop trying to create problems where there are none. If anyone should be offended, it should the multi racial people since they do not list everyone’s races. Instead, they just are usually just labeled as white or one of the other general races, but even for that situation, people should not get that offended. The census is just collecting stats. It is fine if you want to explain what race or races you identify with when you are talking to other people, but in this case, just take a general guess of what you are and forget about it.
The census should just be focused on making sure that they get a close to accurate count of how many people who are in each county or state. The number of people influences different political aspects so why put so much emphasis on race. They need all this information in order to get the right amount of seats for each state in the House of Representatives, congressional redistricting, redrawing state legislative and congressional districts, and the distribution for government funds for different programs. Not all of those purposes rely on how many blacks or Negros that have African and American blood in them or white people who are Hispanic and polish or some other combination of races. It only wants a generalization so that is what people should provide.
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Okay. So honestly, I found the Census form extremely confusing. I also found it offensive that Hispanics were singled out and put in a box by ourselves. The first question asked if I was Hispanic, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Cuban or Other and if so to specify which type. At first when i saw the Hispanic box, I was like okay, check this box, but then it also said "this is not a race, please answer the next question as well." So I go to the next question and my choices are White, Black/African American/Negro, and American Indian or Alaskan India ( specify which tribe ) or other. I cannot choose any of the choices because first off, I'm not white, not black and not NATIVE AMERICAN…I'm of Spanish decent which is European which I guess would be considered white, then I'm also Indian (Inca) but the native Indian people of Ecuador migrated from China and the Asian continent, so what am i supposed to answer if it says "choose one."
I'll admit, I was somewhat uncomfortable and had a hard time deciding what to choose and so I asked one of my floor mates, whose Colombian what she put down and she answered "Hispanic and for race I put down Colombian," so that didn't help. Then one of my other floor mates asked me what I had put down because she wasn't sure what she should put down. It was so stupid, I think. In the end, I chose the other box and put down Mestizo as my race. However, I am not sure if everyone is familiar with the term, it means half Indian and half Spanish.
So not only was the Census form confusing but it was also offensive. I felt singled out when I saw the box that asked if I was Hispanic. I felt like the government is watching me and my people and trying to see how many of us are in the country and I honestly felt like they'd use the information to "control" the Hispanic population. I've noticed this singling out of Hispanics on many other forms though. On recent work applications, on surveys, on whatever form asks one about their race, the box that asks if one is Hispanic is present. I really don't like it and I wondered why it is? Why don't they have something similar for the Whites or Blacks or Asians?
I thought about it some more and I guess it may be because the highest number of immigrants in the U.S. right now is of Hispanic or Latino origin. However, I think, the census should do it based on what country the people are coming from because race is just too confusing, and Hispanics have so many different things they could be. We can’t all just be one type or race.
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