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2042135 Responseshttp://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people/What+About+Multiracial+People%3F2010-03-31+15%3A13%3A23Sam+Richards to What About Multiracial People?
I could understand where the confusion is amongst how to categorize yourself. As, the son of a white mother and white father, I consider myself 100% white and never really thought about how people who have parents of different races categorize themselves. In my opinion, I would put you on the white team. First off, you are the son of a white father and a Latino mother. I don’t see any variable in that equation that would insinuate either of your parents are of black or brown descent. Yet, it is also my view that Latinos or Hispanics shouldn’t be categorized in the black or brown portion of the population. Although their skin is darker than whites, I don’t believe they are as black or brown as other minorities groups. Thus , I acknowledge the fact that Latinos are a minority, but I wouldn’t go to claim them in them in the black or brown race. Now, since your father is white and each parent comprises 50% of your “genetics”, I would consider you white before black or brown.
It is interesting however that you grew up with the Latino culture as opposed to your father’s family. I’ve noticed that when an inter racial couple gets married and have children; the children will usually grow up and be around the white family more often. I don’t the complete story behind your family, but it is rather unusual that you can identify yourself as Latino because you grew up around your mother’s side more than your father’s side. I say this because you essentially are 50% and 50% when it comes to Latino and white, but you identify yourself as Latino. If I had to categorize you, like I already stated I would racially but you in the Caucasian category. However, this is the difference between race and ethnicity that we discussed about in class earlier in the year. Race in the biological and physical characteristics that determine what category you’re in, but ethnicity is essentially determined by the person. As you’ve stated you probably would identify yourself Latino in a ethnicity sense.
The debate will wage on until the end of time, and with globalization growing exponentially every year on how do we classify people. Every time someone takes their SATs, its necessary for them to fill out a race section in which you circle the category that best fits you. But what happens when you’re bi-racial? Are you forced to circle the ever popular “other” section, even though you know you’re both black and white? The argument just creates a large circle of arguing because every point just returns to its original starting point. Bottom line, I would categorize you as white because your skin is clearly more white than it is brown
I kind of have the same problem. My mother is Mexican and my father is for the united states. I grew up here in the united states in a really small, really white town. I always felt that I was not the same as the rest of the other kids because of the culture that my mother brought into my life. I never considered myself just "white" i always wanted to be and claimed to be something more. It makes me so angry when my white (and usually partly racist) white people that i know try to act like they are black like its for fun. They throw around the n word and try to act like the stereotype they them selves made up. That just stupid its like hey, we have oppressed these people for hundreds of years and now we are going to make it cool to act like those people. That disgusts me.
Any way, back to the issue of how to identify yourself. I think that everyone has the right to identify them selves in whichever way they feel most comfortable. No one knows themselves better than themselves, so who are we to try and stick a label on someone we may not even know that well? We have no right to do that to each other.
I don’t even think that racial and ethnic labels are that important. Why can I just be “me” and you just be “you” and he just be “he” and so on? Therefore we all get the recognition of being the diverse individuals that we are.
The only really true reason I can see for racial and ethnic identities is so that people can associate themselves with people that are similar, but that’s not going to help the human race become more united. If all we want to do is sit in our huddle with people who think that same as we do, we will never learn anything. There will never be differing opinions and therefore never be any understanding or each other and our uniqueness.
SO, to answer your question, be who ever you want. If you want to be Puerto Rican be Puerto Rican. If you want to be white, be white. If you want to be both , be both. Its doesn’t matter what other people think because honestly, most of the time other people are wrong.
As somebody who is also of Hispanic (Puerto Rican) decent on my mothers side of the family and whose dad’s side of the family is entirely white I can completely relate to this problem and face many of the same questions that you do. I have spent a majority of my life trying to figure out which group I identify more with and what I would consider myself when asked. Usually I go into an explanation and tell people everything that I am so that they can decide for themselves cause I try not to let it bother me. What race I identify with isn’t the most pressing issue in my life.
Yet my situation was actually a little different than the one that you grew up with. When I was growing up neither side of my family was really around a lot. Not that they abandoned us or anything, but almost all of my moms family lived in either New York City or further north in upstate New York. Her parents lived out in California so I just didn’t see them very often. My dad’s side of the family doesn’t live very close either. His family all lived in either New York or Florida. So there wasn’t any influence really on me. My influence came more or less from the community that I live in back home.
When I was growing up my main influence was probably from the kids I grew up with and all of my close friends. A majority of my best friends were white kids. I grew up in a suburban town about fifteen minutes outside of Philly. There were plenty of black and brown kids, but that wasn’t really the group of people I hung around with. I do have many friends who are black or brown and actually most of them are split in half like I am. But I think because of where I grew up and because a majority of my influences were white friends of mine, I think growing up I was pushed more towards identifying with the white team.
Yet the more I learned about my ethnicity the more I began identifying with being Puerto Rican over white. People still called me white and told me that I was more white than Puerto Rican but the truth is Puerto Rican is my majority ethnicity while my dads side of the family is split up into two different backgrounds (Russian and Polish). I started educating myself on my Hispanic heritage and took two trips to Puerto Rico during the summers in high school. I found out that I really love my heritage and in a lot of cases identify more with my Hispanic side. Yet growing up in white suburbia I also heavily identify with the white team. So at this point I am still pretty undecided on what team I identify with. Like I said I have other problems to worry about and to me this isn’t that big a deal.
When talking about the white team or the brown and black team, to be honest, I don’t know where Spanish and Latinos stand. So I think you should choose what team you want to be on. I mean people classify you as white because your skin color, but if you’re not completely white then I don’t know where you should stand. I think it has a lot to do with how you feel. You shouldn’t categorize yourself with a racial group that you don’t want to because it seems as you’re definitely not completely white or completely black or brown. The fact that Sam has called you white I don’t think means much because it’s an initial reaction if you see a light skin person that you can’t really tell what they are.
Grouping people is not easy because not everyone looks the same way. If you grew up and were raised one way then there should be no reason you need to change that. If you grew up with your mother’s side which is mostly Hispanic, then I would consider myself to be Hispanic and the race doesn’t really matter. Growing up in a multiracial family is a special thing because you get to learn about different cultures and adjust accordingly. I personally wouldn’t know the feeling of a multiracial kid picking sides because I am on the white team and never had to think about any of that. There is really no set of strict guidelines, as we have learned, when it comes to race and ethnicity. If you want to follow the definitions here, this kid was correct when he said that "technically" part of his ethnicity is Puerto Rican and his race is white.
Sure we would cook and eat a lot of pastas and other traditionally Italian foods, but that was about the extent of it. This is probably why my sisters and I distinguish them by saying: Chinese Grandma and Grandma. So while none of us can speak any dialect of Chinese, we still identify ourselves as Chinese and love to point our Asian glows when we drink (turning red). For this guy, I honestly think the best thing you can do for yourself is figure this one out on your own. No one likes being told what to do or who they are. The most gratifying experience is finding yourself and finally figuring out what it is in life you want to do and how far you can go. Once you figure that out, trying to identify with one group or another won't be as important to you anymore.
This video question was interesting to me. I would have to say he should identify with what ever he feels the most comfortable with. In the video it sounds like he identifies more with the Hispanic community, which is awesome. Don't lose what you have, having that makes you unique. I am half Italian and half Chinese, but I like to identify with other Asians. Growing up my family and I would always go to visit my Grandma who lives in Chinatown in Manhattan. We'd visit with lots of relatives, celebrate Chinese New Year, etc. My Italian side, we went there for the major holidays but we never did anything 'Italian'.
These last couples of classes have been very interesting and I was very interested with the boy’s topic about being multicultural and not knowing how to feel about the topic. I am not multicultural so even though I cannot relate to how multicultural people might feel I still want to know what they are going through, and how they deal with these problems they face daily. Balancing one culture is already tough I do not even want to imagine having to juggle two different cultures and be a part of two different cultures. I completely understand how the student is unsure about which group to categorize him in but as many other students replied I feel he should identify himself with the category he truly feels most comfortable with. I also agree that this student should not have to categorize himself into either a white or Spanish group instead he is an individual. He is an individual who has throughout his life has developed his own ideals and beliefs from his own actions. These actions have formed him into the individual he is today and he should not have to be categorized into any racial term. I also agree that when people start to forget that they are individuals they actually lose apart of themselves. Instead of always following the common stereo types they should think for themselves and act as individuals. I also do not think it is fair for someone who is biracial or bicultural to have to pick one race or culture. If an individual was immersed to two races or cultures his whole life why should he have to choose one or the other? Instead of approaching the situation as a problem or a dilemma I would look at it as if it was a gift. Not too many individuals are biracial or bicultural and you should show a great deal of pride for your various races and cultures. Another note that I never really thought about until Sam brought it up in class was his use of the brown/black team vs the white team. I understand that society usually categorizes the two groups as colored people and white people but it is much more complicated than that. I know that if I was Hispanic or Indian and I was continually called brown or colored I would start to get frustrated. I understand they might not mean to be racist or belittle ones nationality but it is pretty much categorizing many different nationalities as one, when that is clearly not the case. I know Sam says he just does it as a figure of speech and to save time but that type of stereotyping can make individuals question what their race or nationality actually is. In the end race is a complex issue that takes many years to fully understand.
Personally, I think that this student should identify himself as Hispanic. Just from looking at him, I wouldn’t classify him as white. His skin tone is too dark, and even his hair makes him look as if he is Hispanic. Plus, he said himself that his mother is Hispanic, and that he grew up with his mother’s side of the family more. So isn’t it kind of common sense for him to call himself Hispanic as opposed to white, like his father? For all mixed race people, I think that they should just refer to themselves at whatever race they look like. For example, even if a dark skinned person had a white parent, I would still call that person black.
I think that its whatever you feel more comfortable identifying with. I have a bunch of mixed friends but they all tend to indentify more with one race rather than the other. Most of my mixed friends identify with being a person of color. I’m not really sure why that is, but I guess it’s just what they feel most comfortable. One of my best friends from home is half black and half white. Even though we grew up in a primarily white community, she calls herself black. She is mixed, but she just feels more comfortable identifying with her black side. I think that she’s a rare case though. Most people will probably be more comfortable identifying with what their community is. If you’re mixed and black and white, and you grow up in a community with mostly black people, it’s quite likely that you would identify with being black. Likewise if you were half Asian and living in a primarily Asian community. In race relations class, we are split up into the black and brown team and the white team. It is not like this in the real world though. There is not someone separating us into teams like that. It’s a wonder then why we do feel the need to identify with one race. Like the kid in the video said he identified as Latino and it sounded like he got sort of offended when Sam called him white. People identify as one thing and are proud of it. I have another friend from home who is black, Puerto Rican, and Italian. He has actually experienced the negative effects of racism. He usually just laughs and is like I’m the colors of the rainbow, so really no one can hate me. He identifies as black because he is from a part of the city that is mostly black. I also think that people may identify with whatever they look like mostly, the exception being the boy from the video. If you have more “black” features, like we talked about in class, then you would probably identify as black. If you have more “white” features, then it’s likely that you would identify as white. Eventually as time goes on, there will be so many mixed people that hopefully people won’t feel the need to identify with a group. Hopefully one day we can all just identify as individuals.
It is too difficult to try to group people into categories anymore. I understand the benefit of having a census and having people define themselves. But it is almost useless to try and fit everyone into a category. There are too many racial lines that have been blurred. So many people these days identify with more than one race. People should not be seen as a color it is too difficult to define. Remember when Sam pulled like twenty people down in class and had someone else try to group them into hispanics, latino etc.? More than half were wrong, we saw people from all over the world and they were all grouped into a title. If you are from Colombia you shouldn't have to classify yourself as hispanic or latino. What if they would just want to be considered Colombian? I have Italian, Irish, German, Austrian, and Polish in me but I am white. It is unfair to have to classify people by their skin color.
I thought that this little post regarding multi racial people was very interesting because to me, the majority of students do in fact come from many different races, not just black, brown, or white. When you identify with more than one ethnicity, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t identify with one more than the other. Like the guy in the video was saying, his mother is a Puerto Rican woman and his father is a white man. Obviously he would relate to one more than the other, and in my personal experiences and from what I have seen, children USUALLY identify with whatever their mother identifies with. For example, I am also mixed half Hispanic and half white, but in my case, my mother is white and my father is Mexican, so although I do relate and categorize myself with my Mexican heritage, I grew up in a predominantly white community being one of the only Hispanic people around. People make such snap decisions based on what they see on the outside and have no idea what that person relates to just by looking at them. A person’s race does not identify them. The guy in the video identifies with being Hispanic but people would never call him a “brown man” and even worse, it is really hard for biracial people who have white skin to identify and be accepted by their brown or black community. I guess it depends just how outgoing you are, and where you grew up, and how much you really relate with it, but I know a lot of people who are very confused by the fact that neither the white nor the brown/black society will really accept them. I feel like it sucks to be mixed and not know both or however many ethnicities you are very well and get to relate to them because I think that it is really important to know everything about your family’s culture and heritage in order to completely understand yourself. People think that race and ethnicity go hand in hand, but in reality these two things can be very different and very confusing because just because you have white or black skin doesn’t mean you identify and relate with that ethnicity, and people need to understand that and not make such rash first impressions. I guess that it is no one’s fault because we all just sort of do it and we do not realize it but I think that it is one of those things that can really effect a person that you do it to, like the guy in the video, but not something that you really think of on a day to day basis.
Additional blog#2
I feel that if you identify with one side of your racial heritage more than the other, then that is the one should go with. I mean you have come to know only that part of your heritage it seems that you are comfortable there. However, there should be a time when you should explore the other half of your heritage. You may find that it just might be something there that can clue you in on the entire race situation you are experiencing. There is so much you have yet to uncover.
Remember Sam is only trying to get you think about the other side of everything. He is not trying to take away years of what you know. Just work towards what you really want to know.
It is sad that the way we look on the outside sometimes does not match up with the way we feel on the inside. His whole life this boy has grown up feeling a certain way and identifying with certain people, of Hispanic race and now in this one class he is being told that is he is and he has to be white or black. Clearly by the color of his skin he is not black but he is not white either. Multiracial people I feel are more confused then people who are strictly black or strictly white. A white person identifies with a white person and the white persons struggles and a black person knows they are black and has learned the embraced what comes with the territory and accept the good and the bad and know about all the hardships their people have went through. When you are multiracial you normally associate with the “team” of which you have been brought up on, but what if you were brought up equally? If you have a white mother and a black father but you are darker skinned then a regular white person how are you supposed to feel when people make rude comments about black people because you look like one of them? If you have a white mother and a black father but you are lighter skinned and blend in more with white people how do you feel when people make rude comments about black people because you do not look like one of them but still feel black on the inside?
As well, when I looked at this boy I wouldn’t call him out in front of a class and ask him questions about being white. I feel that he has a mixed ethnic look and would rather call on a blonde hair, blue eyed boy then a boy who looks cultured. I think that you feel inside should just represent the way you look but in this world it does not work that way. I know this is a very extreme care but when a transsexual is born a man but feels female on the inside he knows that he cannot stay a she and must become a women. When you grow up your whole life feeling one way it is not easy for somebody else to come up to you and try to change your views. I do not know this students whole life story but if his dad was white but he grew up with his mothers side of the family and his dad was not a part of his life then being white should not even affect his life if he grew up around Hispanic people. Yes the color of his skin is not black but it is not white either. Many people through out my life have asked me if I was Hispanic or Latin because of the way my skin color looks just because I am a naturally tan female. Life your life the way you feel on the inside, not look on the outside.
I can totally relate to what you are saying. I come from a Hispanic background; my grandparents were from Spain, Cuba and Puerto Rico. However I was raised in a so-called “white society”. Since I am very fair and the color of my skin is basically white I never really was discriminated against. My parents were raised very culturally Spanish so I was. But when I go to spanish speaking countries im considered a “Gringa”. The best part about this is, I really do stand out as a “white person” when I visit my grandmother in Puerto Rico, but I am considered a Puerto Rican in the states. Also at my job since I’m not technically white, im considered a person of color. In class I felt the same way that you did. I didn’t know whether to vote on the white team or the brown/black team. I thought that even though my ethnicity is Hispanic, I answer on the white side because I am not a true “Latina” since I grew up in a predominantly white town. I also don’t know the Spanish language fluently. I don’t relate to the discrimination that Hispanics have gone through because I felt like I was raised in a mainly white part of Long Island, NY. But I honestly don’t care. I don’t feel like we have to categorize ourselves into teams or feel like we have to fit in one kind of bubble. I am not white, and I don’t fit in the category of the brown/black team because I feel due to the color of my skin I was never discriminated against. I completely agree with some of the other blogs with the fact that you should be very proud of your multiracial background and stand with the team that makes you feel most comfortable. In the end no one is completely perfect so it is ok to be different and have a bizarre upbringing. I feel blessed to be raised with a different culture, and don’t mind that I am a white girl in pr and a Spanish girl to my friends on long island. It suits me. So I say EFF the whole Multi-racial background debate. It doesn’t really matter to anyone except you. And you should be happy for the fact that you have the best of both worlds. You have the Latin spice in you as well as the ability to relate to the typical “white person”. Use it to your advantage and don’t be afraid to play both sides. Because in the end are there really sides? NO! we are trying to eliminate this whole team thing so everyone in the long run can relate with one another. You are still going to be the same person, whether you vote team White or team Brown/Black.
In response to this person’s questions about which team he belongs to, I’d say it’s something that’s hard to judge. As Sam said in class, I feel like it has more to do with how you identify yourself rather than how others might perceive you. If you feel a stronger connection to the colored side of yourself than I believe this is the side that you should follow during the stages. However, as someone who is not entirely white myself, this can be hard to do.
When looking at me, I have the whitest skin of most people that I know. I stay a porcelain color throughout the year regardless of the sun and yet my mother is half Cuban. My grandfather whom I was always closest to, was 100% Cuban and had much darker skin and certainly never appeared “white” in the way that I do. Even though anyone looking at me would say that I’m white and even Sam has not noticed any other ethnicities in me, it is still there. Not only is it there, but it is a big part of who I am. My mother is the person who raised me and she is mixed. Granted, she also looks far more “white” than her Cuban father, but it is something that we hold onto very dearly and is a large part of who I am.
But considering the way that I was raised, and the schools I was brought up in that always saw me as just another white female, I’d have to say that I always respond to the things Sam brings up in class as a white person. More so because of my features than anything I feel inside, I still feel it would be inappropriate to look at myself as someone on the black, or brown team. Though this is where I have always been indentified and will continue to be identified, I still feel a connection and a guilt for the members of my family that are not nearly as “white” as I am and that have faced racism because of their darker skin color.
I suppose what leads me to want to lean towards this black and brown side is my closeness with my family. Coming from a very large Cuban-German mixed family, I always saw both sides of things without even realizing it. No one in my family felt closer to one side of their ethnicity than the other. I’m not sure if this is a good thing, or a bad thing, but I think it’s important that they felt a strong sense of their identity as mixed as opposed to black, or brown, or white. I don’t feel as though placing everyone in their “boxes” as one specific race is doing anything to help the cause.
I feel bad for this kid because I think I know where he is coming from. My father is Hispanic and my mother is white, I look Hispanic but I was raised by my mom and her side of the family. I don’t know Spanish, I don’t know the Hispanic culture at all, but people look at me and think I do. An example of that would be when I was living in Orlando. There is a huge population of Hispanics in Orlando. I was at walmart doing my shopping and when I got to the checkout the cashier started speaking Spanish to me. I had to stop her and tell her I didn’t know Spanish, she said “but you’re Hispanic aren’t you?” I told her yes but I didn’t speak Spanish, her response to that was, “oh you really should learn.” And that wasn’t the only time I have gotten a comment like that from other people in the Hispanic community. I am not sure what to categorize myself as. I look Hispanic, but when I put Hispanic down on an application or other paperwork I feel guilty because I am not part of that culture at all, I consider myself part of the white culture.
I am not saying that I see myself as white, like we were talking about in class, but that is the culture I was raised in so that is what I know. I grew up in PA with an all white family who all spoke English. When I am in a new place and looking to make friends I tend to go towards the group of white people, not the group of Hispanic people. And I usually feel uncomfortable in a group of Hispanic people. In Orlando 3 of my roommates were Hispanic, and they were from Puerto Rico and spoke Spanish and everything. I did not hang out with them there, I felt uncomfortable and out of place with them, I just couldn’t fit in. I had tone other roommate that was white, and we were like best friends. Its not that I didn’t like the other girls, its just that I related with my white roommate better.
I haven’t really thought about what that means for me, I never thought felt the need o belong to a racial group, to fit in with one completely, but after Sam went over that stages in class I am beginning to wonder where I fit into all of that. One of the stages for people of color was to immerse yourself into your culture, but what culture would that be for me? I don’t really associate myself as an Hispanic even though that’s what I look like, and I am part of the white culture but I’m technically only half white and I don’t look white. Am I just doomed to a life of racial confusion?
It can be a tough decision to choose what race you want to be classified as but at the same time it can be kind of cool. You can get perks of each race. You have a privilege that many others do not have. When it comes down to it all, I think you should do whatever you want to do. If you want to play for the white team, then no one should stop you because you have both races in you. If you want to play for the brown or black team, you can do that too. I feel as if it is entirely up to the person what race they would associate with, even if it is not what most of the public would view their race to be. Live your life the way you want to and don’t let anyone tell you different. Whatever team you decide should be accepted by people because you got a little of it all.
This video question was interesting to me. I would have to say he should identify with what ever he feels the most comfortable with. In the video it sounds like he identifies more with the Hispanic community, which is awesome. Don't lose what you have, having that makes you unique. I am half Italian and half Chinese, but I like to identify with other Asians. Growing up my family and I would always go to visit my Grandma who lives in Chinatown in Manhattan. We'd visit with lots of relatives, celebrate Chinese New Year, etc. My Italian side, we went there for the major holidays but we never did anything 'Italian'.
After my freshmen year in college, i started to realize this and while i am far from figuring myself out, I realized that while it's fine that identify with being Asian more than being something else, to keep that other half of me in mind. The worse thing you could do is to forget who you are and where you come from. your roots or background is what makes you, you. without that, what would have? one of the first questions people usually ask each other is, "so where are you from?" or "Whats your family like?" I can not imagine what its like for people to say i don't know to both those questions.
So, do not forget who you are. Identify with what feels right to you. It doesn't matter what other people think you should be, it only matters what you think you should be. If you have lived your life thus far as identifying being Hispanic than you should keep going with that unless you find a different side to yourself through self-discovery. This class is meant to help us think critically about race and the world around us. Maybe this class is the beginnning to finding out who you really are on the inside and what it means to be a certain race and/or ethnicity.
Well first off I will like to say that u do not look white to me, I can most definitely tell that you is Hispanic. But my advice to you will be to go with what you feel most comfortable identifying as, whether its white or Puerto Rican. Since you said you grew up with your mother who is Hispanic will obviously must identify more with your mother side of your family, which is understandable.
I don't think Sam of ask you questions about what it is like being on the white team, even though you is half white, I think he should have ask you what is it like being on the mix team. Sam have his ways, and I think with his amount a experience with people and their race and ethnicity he might feel that it is okay for him to ask you a question like that? And I mean technically he is not wrong because you have white in you but he could have chosen his word choice better in the question. Not to take up for him or you, but I can say that you probably would have be able to answer that question easily had you grown up with your father and not your mother.
In class I can only imagine how you must feel having to decide which team you is on, whether you is on the "brown team" or the "white team", I bet that is frustrating. And you right, Sam really do not give mix people in the class a fair opportunity to pick a side. I can also understand why many people think you are white when they see you because of your skin color but like I said before, by look at this video I can tell you is not "completely" white because you look like you can be mixed with another race. And although Sam did mention that it would be extremely for him to pick out the mix people because of all the different ways someone can be mix white and something else or black and something, I do think that he should at least touch on it so that they do not feel left out and have to choose.
For example, I know my little have this problem all the time because or father is black and her mother is white, but when you look at her she look like she is Hispanic, and I know it is hard for her to cope or "decide" which race she should be when she is around a certain group of people. So I don't think its just same choosing "white team" and "black/brown team", I feel like society as a whole do the same thing as well.
I think it really sucks that this guy does not know how to identify himself when he is a mix of two completely different races and ethnicities. I feel as though this is a real issue for many multiracial people right now, but in the future, it will be so common that it will no longer be much of an issue to people. Maybe people will stop referring to themselves based on what they look like or where they come from. That would be pretty cool to see happen if it could. I guess he could just identify himself as whatever he wants. Maybe being multiracial gives him an option or set of choices as to what he wants to be.
I believe that it is truly up to the person to decide which “team” they want to be on or associated with. I am sure it is a difficult process to decide which part of you you feel that you best associate with or feel some sort of strong pull towards but who is anyone else to tell you that you are wrong in the way that you feel? I bring this back to the discussion we had in class a week or so ago about the young Korean Americans identifying as white or American rather than Korean. It is not our place to tell them that they are wrong to fell a certain way. When we did that pole in class asking the white team whether they identified as white, Caucasian, or a specific ethnicity I was one of the ones that said they would tell someone who asked “ what they were” that I was Irish, not American or white or any of the other options. I do not ask other people to justify this decision even though I can not exactly say why I feel this way more so than another way. I think it has a lot to do with whatever your focus was culturally growing up. If you have a strong influence of your ethnic culture, you would probably feel a specific connection to that. In this man’s case, he grew up very close to his mother’s Puerto Rican family and was obviously influenced by that culture. It makes perfect sense that he feels that he would identify with the “ brown” team because of this upbringing. I am not positive but I think he would probably identify with the “ white” team if he grew up with a strong influence from his father’s side of the family. I just don’t think that multiracial people should feel that they should or should not pick a side. I do not know very many multiracial people but I think it would be difficult not to feel more inclined towards one of your two races or cultures or whatever it is you are feeling conflicted with. I think that ultimately, the way someone feels is their decision whether the rest of the world agrees with it or not. It is because of this that I think that it is no ones place to tell anyone what category they feel they belong in. Why do we need categories at all? I guess people feel more content with knowing that everyone fits into their own little group and belongs in a sense but I say just do what makes you happy!
I am so glad you brought up this question. I think this is another discrepancy in the Race Relations class. Sam always talks about someone being on the black team, someone being on the brown team, or something being on the white team. I never considered myself part of any team before I joined this class. I guess I consider myself “white,” but thinking into more depth I’d say I’m more half Middle Eastern, half European… but 100% American. Sam told us to think about what we were and break down the boundaries of what people say is “politically correct.” Yet, Sam tends to draw the borders in class when he talks about all of the different teams.
I can understand why you would be confused. I am confused too. This also reminds me of Barack Obama being called our country’s first “African American” president. Really? Because the last time I checked, Barack Obama was half white, and half black. So, in technical terms, he is just as much white as he is black. And, like the original poster said, he was raised by the white side of his family. So, Barack Obama is half black, half white, raised by white people, but still this country’s first “African American” president? It really does not make any sense to me. If we were to call someone “white” it wouldn’t be as impressive. And, if Barack Obama’s fantastic marketing team didn’t use his race at all in the entire election process, would he really be where he is today? I can’t say yes or no, but I can say that his race most definitely played a large role in his election – through the media and the voters especially – and yet his race wasn’t even properly defined. Because, let’s be honest, do you really believe that if Barack Obama’s marketing team used the “America’s first Half-White, Half-Black President” approach, would he be the president now? That I also cant answer, but can’t imagine it being the case.
I believe in the end, it is up to you what team you decide to be a part of. After all, no one can tell you who to be. In the end, if you want to give yourself a title, you should. But, if you decide you would rather not be a part of any team, that’s okay too. You shouldn’t feel the need to fall into one of Sam’s categories because he is the one that told us to break those categories down. Embrace who you are inside, and embrace the fact that you are multi-cultural. That means more about your character than simply picking one and sticking to it because someone told you to. Next time Sam asks you a question about the “white team,” tell him what you really are. Just because he wants to fit you into a stereotypical mold doesn’t mean you have to comply.
I thought that this little post regarding multi racial people was very interesting because to me, the majority of students do in fact come from many different races, not just black, brown, or white. When you identify with more than one ethnicity, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t identify with one more than the other. Like the guy in the video was saying, his mother is a Puerto Rican woman and his father is a white man. Obviously he would relate to one more than the other, and in my personal experiences and from what I have seen, children USUALLY identify with whatever their mother identifies with. For example, I am also mixed half Hispanic and half white, but in my case, my mother is white and my father is Mexican, so although I do relate and categorize myself with my Mexican heritage, I grew up in a predominantly white community being one of the only Hispanic people around. People make such snap decisions based on what they see on the outside and have no idea what that person relates to just by looking at them. A person’s race does not identify them. The guy in the video identifies with being Hispanic but people would never call him a “brown man” and even worse, it is really hard for biracial people who have white skin to identify and be accepted by their brown or black community. I guess it depends just how outgoing you are, and where you grew up, and how much you really relate with it, but I know a lot of people who are very confused by the fact that neither the white nor the brown/black society will really accept them. I feel like it sucks to be mixed and not know both or however many ethnicities you are very well and get to relate to them because I think that it is really important to know everything about your family’s culture and heritage in order to completely understand yourself. People think that race and ethnicity go hand in hand, but in reality these two things can be very different and very confusing because just because you have white or black skin doesn’t mean you identify and relate with that ethnicity, and people need to understand that and not make such rash first impressions. I guess that it is no one’s fault because we all just sort of do it and not realize it but I think that it is one of those things that can really effect a person that you do it to, like the guy in the video, but not something that you really think of on a day to day basis.
Well I think your ethnicity is certainly Puerto Rican, because you grew up in that culture and have always identified with it. The problem that you’re having is identifying your race, and though you see this as a problem and are somewhat frustrated in choosing, I think it’s sort of a neat position you’re in. It’s a decision that you get to make completely by yourself. Disregard how people identify you. You have the option, and it seems that you more closely identify yourself with being Hispanic. If this is the case, and if you’re not comfortable being called white, then you should identify yourself as being Hispanic.
I think that this was a really good question that made you think of how Sam identifies people in class. I think you should just go with whatever you feel comfortable with. Unless it comes off as offensive to you, you should just go with what you feel you should if you always identified yourself as Hispanic then, you should be comfortable with that if that’s something you grew up with or if prefer to be identified as white, then you can do that too. I think that this could be confusing for everyone, so don’t feel bad I don’t even know everything I even am myself, just feel as if your accepted as both, which I am sure you are.
I have been going through this type of dilemma as well ever since taking soc 119. I've always seemed to identify with African Americans and I am African. On a deeper perspective, I am from North Africa; in class Sam has taught us that most North Africans are white because of their skin color. This is what confuses me. Even though I am from the North I have more of a darker skin tone. So even though my relatives may be lighter than me I identify as black and my relatives identify as white. This makes things even more confusing, so basically I have white relatives who actually identify themselves as black but have white skin. Through my overall experiences in life, especially with police, I would identify myself as black. To make things even more confusing I am of Arabic descent as well as African and my people speak Arab as a second language. Our first language is derived from Arab and is a Semitic language. So this makes me a black Arab man with white relatives? Also since I am not African American and just plain African what should I put down on a job application for any application for that matter? Should I just put other because there is no option for African, there's just one for African American.
Some of this does benefit as well. For one, putting African American on a college application gave me many advantages as far as affirmative action and black scholarships that I would not be able to earn if I put other on my applications. Of course, I have had many disadvantages being black with Arab descent in this country. Obviously, many white people who are in high places look at black men as secondary citizens, also the sight of my name may stir up some dislike to police who are not afraid to use coercion especially in the borrow of State College. This also may have been a huge decision factor when I was accepted to Penn State and declined by many colleges. Personally, I identify with Eritrea, my country because I grew up around people just like me, along with African Americans and some white people as well. People usually identify with what they familiar with when they are mixed, for some it’s either “this or that” and for others it could be numerous groups involved.
We live in a world where sticking to one’s race as far as marriage is obsolete and for some reason many people are attracted to features they are not used to or don’t see when they grew up around their own races. For the half Latino/ half white gentleman I would understand in a sense what he is going through, but do I have it harder than he does? It’s so many undertones to what I can identify myself with as mentioned above, but people still see me as a young black man with a possible mixture that may or may not be there.
This is a very relevant issue for me personally, because I go through this sort of identification problem myself. I am 100% international student here at Penn State. I was born in Ecuador, and both my parents are from the country in question, although just by looking at me you would think that I am white, european. In Latin America, we went through a different historical period of colonization, where the spanish that came to the new word did not seek to eliminate and suppress the native peoples. Rather we inherited their culture, language and religion; and in doing so, many of the european and native blood lines became mixed; in my country, my heritage is known as mestizo.
I know that I have native blood but I can also trace my lineage back to Spain, and the same can be said for many people in the Latin American continent, and most of my Latino friends here at Penn State.
In my consideration it is very difficult if not impossible to strictly qualify a person in a single ethnic group, specially if the criteria in question is only sin color. I believe that a person of some shade of light skin can combine many histories embodied in his/her genetic composition. In the case that it is absolutely necessary to categorize people under one criteria, it is far more simple to do so by nationality. In this particular point in time, I dont think The United States of America has the capability of doing this. In Latin America, when identify yourself in front of a diverse group of people, you would only do so by mentioning your nationality, not your ethnic background. Maybe, it is a difference in history. We had a relationship with our colonizers for a little over 300 years, which has been enough time, for the ethnical lines to be blurred, I do not think the same can be said for America.
Many years ago, there was a Roman influence in England. There has been Arab presence in Spain. There has bee Greek colonies in Middle East (mesopotamia). Due to our common human history, I believe that it is difficult to say that anyone is purely white. We all come from the same mother land.
I really do not like when in class we talk about White, Brown, Black, etc. As I said, no one is completely white. If someone wants to categorize people by color, we do not have to think about where they come from and where their parents come from. If you are white, if you look white, you are a white person, if you are almost black but not white, then you are brown. But we should not categorize people in different colors given our ancestry.
Can anyone tell me if I am right or wrong. Does anyone feel like this? I dont really like to label people.
I feel like although you may technically be considered mixed, the family that you grew up with is what you will most likely connect with an also who what you would consider yourself as, here it would be Latino. People tend to make assumptions based off of skin color so it may not be something to take offense to. If I were you I would explain that you are mixed but you grew up with your mother and that is the part of your ethnicity that you can most relate to. I cant imagine how you must feel because I personally don’t have too many questions about my background because im only English but that’s all I can really offer up.
I totally agree with Miss Fancy feet. We do not need to identify with a team, we do not need to call ourselves black, white, brown, yellow or whatever. Actually, what would Asians be? White? Brown? Those categorizes do not even completely cover all of the "colors" and races. We do not need to identify with a team. It is better to label people according to their nationality. I am not Brown, and I am Ecuadorian. I am not White and I am ecuadorian. Many people who see me, think I am Italian or Spanish. I am Ecuadorian, I do not think that being white is better, brown is worse, it is just that I do not want to be label as any of them.
There are so many races, that it is impossible to number them. So, is it really easy to categorize people into 3 different categories? Again, I just heard Sam talking about White, Brown and Black; he never uses any other color. It is OK to be multiracial. And you do not need to categorize yourself as white or brown. You are Puerto Rican and your father is "white", thats it. I have never though of myself as multiracial. I am from Ecuador and in the past some of my ancestors where Native americans and mostly europeans. But I do not think of myself as multiracial. Can someone comment on this post? Please… what do you think about multiracial people, and latin americans.
If you grew up in a Hispanic home and know that culture better than any other culture, then that is your ethnicity. People may mistake you for being white because of the way you look, but what really matters is how you want to see yourself. If being called a white boy makes you feel uncomfortable, if it makes you feel like you are denying your Hispanic upbringing then you are Hispanic. When I look at you I see someone who looks like they are of mixed ethnicities. I guess it is unfair of Sam to ask you questions on behalf of the white team.
This student was actually in my race relations discussion group the other week so I got to hear what he had to say first hand. I must admit when I first saw him I just assumed he was white, but when he started talking he stated that he is not white, and he identifies with his Hispanic side of the family. I did not think much of it because that is the case for many people around here. But to see the turmoil that it is causing him is upsetting. I do not think people should be asked to pick a “team” if they feel uneasy about it. If you do not know what to identify with, or if you feel you identify with a race that society does not put you in, then go ahead and do so.
Wow…I feel really bad for this student that he doesn’t know how to categorize himself. I think it says a lot about how messed up our society is in terms of racial issues, which is really unfortunate. No one should have to hesitate when asked what race they belong to, and the fact that this student does have to makes me very frustrated. I never actually considered a question like this because of the fact that I am as white as a person can be – racially and literally! I have blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, etc. and I never before had to put myself in this person’s shoes so I’m glad this question brought up. After listening to his story and seeing his frustration, I must say that I am quite thankful that I never have and probably never will be asked this question based on what I look like.
If I was this student and I had to identify with a particular race, I would probably say that I am mixed because of the whole Puerto Rican background with white skin sort of thing. But I really think that it is up to him to decide which racial group he belongs to. Nobody knows who you are more than you do, so be whoever you want to be. Your skin might be white, but if you feel more comfortable in the black or brown crowd, then circle one of those races on applications. If you feel most comfortable with the white population, then circle white. If you are comfortable with being mixed, then circle mixed. It doesn’t matter what other people want to classify him as and it is sad that we have to have a blog about this. The only thing that matters is who he wants to be. Clearly, there is no wrong answer here because his background is a little bit of everything.
I hope that one day we don’t have to worry or feel sorry for these people who don’t know how to categorize themselves because there will be no such racial tension in society. I can’t wait for the day when everyone is equal with regards to race, if and when this ever happens. It sucks that racial issues are such a big deal in today’s time since that means that people aren’t accepted by others just because of what they look like on the outside. It’s what’s on the inside that truly matters. By choosing his race for him or telling him where he belongs, we are not allowing him to be his own person. If he feels like he needs to identify with a specific race, then fine. But if he just wants to embrace the fact that he is multicultural, that’s cool too. Therefore, let this kid be who he wants to be.
I don't feel as though it is a question of whether you are part of the black and brown team or the white team it is a question of which team you decide you would like to be part of. Being an individual of a multiracial background you have the option to switch teams based on where and when you must relate to your true inner self. Depending on the situation you are put into I feel as though you will take and relate to the situation differently. If I was put into a situation being a white male I would have a far different experience than a hispanic or asian background.
I can totally relate with this student. My dad is white, and my mom is half Korean. I strongly identify with my Korean ethnicity, but have white skin and speak very little Korean. I find myself pondering the same question when Sam asks us to answer questions as someone on the white team or an individual playing for the brown or black team. It is so hard to be forced to pick between identify with one single group of people when you honestly fit into either category. And I hate that today’s society forces you to have to make that decision. I will typically respond as a white person just because I am only a quarter Korean. Additionally, I feel that because I can pass as a white person physically, and I have not experienced the same discrimination as a Korean student who actually looks Korean, I have little right to add my opinion.
I would say that you are whatever you identify yourself with. I do not care if your skin color is black, white, brown, or purple. I feel like whatever you culturally identify with is what you are. I say you tell people exactly what you tell yourself. If you see yourself as a hispanic person, but others look at you like you are just another white boy then you say to them, "no, actually I'm hispanic". It's like Sam said when he was talking about his friend who had a black skin color but identified as a white man. I say live life as who you are, not what you look like.
This post brings up a good point. And it made me realize that I do not like the whole "team" thing. I understand that is makes things easier for things like the text voting and quick classroom discussion. However I do not think people should be categorized like that. We always talk about how we want everyone to be equal, so then shouldn't we all be on the same "team"? I feel bad for this student because it kind of seems like he has to take sides. And if I was him I am not sure what "team" I would pick. I think it depends on how he was raised.
Yeah it sort of sucks that everything has to be either this side or that side. What if you are in the middle and have both in your life? I guess since he said that for most of his life he identified himself as Hispanic because that was the side he grew up with then he would be leaning more towards that side. But it must be hard to be caught in the middle like that and not know where you truely belong. Maybe their could be a new team, black and brown team, white team, and the purple team for everyone who has different mixes in their background. I have never had to deal with this issue before so it is hard for me to think how I would feel but I guess you just have to be happy with yourself and you history and accept both sides of your family, that way race and ethnicity are not what makes you you.
It is important for this student to identify with the team he feels most comfortable with. If he was raised mostly by his mother’s side, why not identify with the “brown team.” I can see where he is coming from, as I am sure it can be conflicting, especially having Sam talk about it daily in class, but why not? That is not to say that he is more brown than white, he is equally white and brown, but it is all a matter of comfort. That said, it is also ok if he remains in the multi-racial category. Interesting video.
I would say that you are white. I certainly cannot say how much your life is affected by your Hispanic heritage, but I think I have a similar predicament even though I am most definitely white. I have a strong Italian heritage, and I am aware that Italian is still considered to be white, but the culture sets one aside from normal American culture, just like I am sure having Hispanic heritage does for you. However, my Italian heritage really only comes out in my house, not in public. But the point I am trying to reach is that because of your skin color, people treat you like a white person, and that should be the primary criteria in making this distinction. People do not know you DNA markers of race, so as long as you appear white, you will be treated that way. I say this because how one looks is often contingent upon how one is treated, especially if one does not know another intimately. I believe that this interaction is what shapes our opinions and beliefs about race, so this is what makes us who we are. So based on your skin color and the interactions you have likely had as a result of your skin color, I believe that you would most likely identify with a white person as far as your experiences and your ideas and values.
Furthermore, as far as I could tell, I did not detect any accent that would hint any origin other than American, so this would also help in pegging you as not only white, but also as a native born American, which also puts you into the majority group. I would imagine you have faced little to know discrimination in your life, which sets you apart from other minority groups who have experiences with racism or discrimination. I have noticed that many people discriminate more against accent than against race, so just having an American accent helps to dissuade any discrimination, and enforce that you are another white American that blends into the minority.
In conclusion, I would argue that if you had to choose a category of race then you would be placed into the white category. I know that you identify with a Hispanic heritage, but if it is anything like my Italian heritage, it only really comes up at home. I think this is an important distinction because how one is treated outside of ones comfort zone is really what shapes ones impression on race. If you appeared Hispanic then you would likely have experiences that would peg you as somebody of minority status, and this would let you know how you should identify. So to reiterate my point, how one is treated will determine one beliefs and values, and this will determine how you identify racially.
I believe that there should be no tags on races. Practically everyone is somewhat mixed, unless you are from Africa and all of your relatives were too. Since we are all out of Africa, we all share some DNA from that region. How someone decides to define his/herself is up to that person, it shouldn't really be anyone else's business unless that person decides to share. Being mixed should just be that, mixed. We are all mixed so whatever you want to call yourself is ok and the right decision. Especially since there is no such thing as right and wrong.
I watched this video and immediately knew where this guy was coming from. I myself have sat straddling the fence and hopping back and forth. Truthfully being Spanish but looking white allows me to jump back and fun and play on both teams. IT is quite interesting being able to look at the perspectives of both sides and I welcome the opportunity to see the grass on both sides of the field.
I am Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Philippine. However my appearance has had many people confuse me as an Italian and my accent can be confused with a New York accent. Therefore most of my life, I have been treated as if I were a Caucasian. I have been able to blend into the white crowds with my appearance and also been able to use my last name to gain acceptance into minority groups as well.
Many people would say that this is very two faced and it is not good to ride the fence. However I would argue that it is a good way to live. Since I am not too radical in myself I am able to view people both how they act towards all types of races. I have noticed that many people adjust they way they act based on the audience or crowd that they are around. This is very common in today’s society of political correctness and racial sensitivity.
Back on the topic of the video, the guy was confused which team he should actually support. And I guess my response is to go where you feel most comfortable. In all reality though I don’t believe there are truly teams. They are just groups. If you feel more in touch with your Spanish heritage than go on the brown and black side and live your life over there. If you feel more inclined to stay white, than join the white side. And if possible it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just hop back and forth in order to reap the benefits of both worlds. For instance, if you know a particular individual of power is prejudice in favor or white people, than you can play the white game, and vice a versa. This is how I like to play it since I think the entire race war that we face in this world is ridiculous. It is very much just a game that the two sides play and it symbolizes how far we have NOT come.
All and all your race does not generally determine what side you pick. You can both be born into a group just as well as you can opt to join or exclude yourself from a group. Black brown nor white are not things that are force on you you’re entitled to your own opinion and interpretation of facts.
This blog was really quite interesting to me. It made me think that he has absolutely every right to feel as confused as he does. However, this also makes me wonder why no one else has brought this up. I am sure that he is not the only multiracial student in our Soc 119 class and I would think that he is not alone in feeling the way that he does. Maybe not every multiracial student in the class has given such thought to the matter as he has but I would still think that a majority have a least thought about it to some extent and are probably feeling a similar way to how he feels. I agree with what some other respondents to this blog have posted concerning feeling bad for him not because he is multiracial but because he has to feel this way and doesn't know what team he should be on. Personally, I think he should be on whatever team he wants. He stated in the post that he had a hispanic mother and a white father but he grew up with his mother's side of the family which is hispanic so he shouldn't have to feel that he has to choose the white team just because his skin color is white. It really saddens me that people would look at him and automatically assume he is white just based off the color of his skin because upon hearing that said to him I can imagine that only makes him more confused on what team he should consider himself to be on. However, I know that people have always made stereotypes of people just based off of their skin color. I was in a discussion group for the race relations project a few days ago, and one of the topics we discussed was how no one can really tell what another person's race or ethnicity is based off of their skin color. However, many people often think that they can make the stereotypes based off of the color of their skin and they many times think they are right when in reality majority of the time people who assume someone is white or black or whatever race is wrong about it. It sucks that people, including Sam, have gone up to him and assumed he was white or asked about his views within the white team. Honestly, I know i am personally not in this situation myself but the best advice to him would be to pick whichever team he feels more comfortable identifying himself with. If he agrees with more views on the white team then maybe he should lean towards that but if its the opposite and he agrees with more views on the black/brown team then he should lean towards that. I don't even think he necessarily has to pick a team anyways. Maybe one day he would agree more with the white team and on a different day agree with the black/brown team so really he should just lean towards whichever team he feels more comfortable with.
Honestly, it’s totally up to him. This is something that really bothers me. The fact that he needs to choose what “team” he wants to play for and he has to constantly decide what he wants to categorize himself as. If I were in his shoes I would probably also categorize myself with the black/brown team because he did grow up mostly around his mother’s side of the family and interacted with people on the black/brown team more so than the white side. I really don’t like this idea of “teams” and stuff but I guess it’s something that we just have to live with.
I feel like this question relates to the posting Sam put up about the census and people’s view on the race questions. Honestly I think if you’re multiracial you shouldn’t have to categorize as one race. Check off more than one box that specifies all your ethnicities or fill in the “other” category and say what you are. It’s terrible that society has to make you feel confused and like you have to pick one race to identify with, but you’re NOT one race. There are so many people in the US who are multiracial and there is no way to simply pick one race to identify with and ignore the fact that there is another race in your blood.
I could understand where the confusion is amongst how to categorize yourself. As, the son of a white mother and white father, I consider myself 100% white and never really thought about how people who have parents of different races categorize themselves. In my opinion, I would put you on the white team. First off, you are the son of a white father and a Latino mother. I don’t see any variable in that equation that would insinuate either of your parents are of black or brown descent. Yet, it is also my view that Latinos or Hispanics shouldn’t be categorized in the black or brown portion of the population. Although their skin is darker than whites, I don’t believe they are as black or brown as other minorities groups. Thus , I acknowledge the fact that Latinos are a minority, but I wouldn’t go to claim them in them in the black or brown race. Now, since your father is white and each parent comprises 50% of your “genetics”, I would consider you white before black or brown.
It is interesting however that you grew up with the Latino culture as opposed to your father’s family. I’ve noticed that when an inter racial couple gets married and have children; the children will usually grow up and be around the white family more often. I don’t the complete story behind your family, but it is rather unusual that you can identify yourself as Latino because you grew up around your mother’s side more than your father’s side. I say this because you essentially are 50% and 50% when it comes to Latino and white, but you identify yourself as Latino. If I had to categorize you, like I already stated I would racially but you in the Caucasian category. However, this is the difference between race and ethnicity that we discussed about in class earlier in the year. Race in the biological and physical characteristics that determine what category you’re in, but ethnicity is essentially determined by the person. As you’ve stated you probably would identify yourself Latino in a ethnicity sense.
The debate will wage on until the end of time, and with globalization growing exponentially every year on how do we classify people. Every time someone takes their SATs, its necessary for them to fill out a race section in which you circle the category that best fits you. But what happens when you’re bi-racial? Are you forced to circle the ever popular “other” section, even though you know you’re both black and white? The argument just creates a large circle of arguing because every point just returns to its original starting point. Bottom line, I would categorize you as white because your skin is clearly more white than it is brown
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I kind of have the same problem. My mother is Mexican and my father is for the united states. I grew up here in the united states in a really small, really white town. I always felt that I was not the same as the rest of the other kids because of the culture that my mother brought into my life. I never considered myself just "white" i always wanted to be and claimed to be something more. It makes me so angry when my white (and usually partly racist) white people that i know try to act like they are black like its for fun. They throw around the n word and try to act like the stereotype they them selves made up. That just stupid its like hey, we have oppressed these people for hundreds of years and now we are going to make it cool to act like those people. That disgusts me.
Any way, back to the issue of how to identify yourself. I think that everyone has the right to identify them selves in whichever way they feel most comfortable. No one knows themselves better than themselves, so who are we to try and stick a label on someone we may not even know that well? We have no right to do that to each other.
I don’t even think that racial and ethnic labels are that important. Why can I just be “me” and you just be “you” and he just be “he” and so on? Therefore we all get the recognition of being the diverse individuals that we are.
The only really true reason I can see for racial and ethnic identities is so that people can associate themselves with people that are similar, but that’s not going to help the human race become more united. If all we want to do is sit in our huddle with people who think that same as we do, we will never learn anything. There will never be differing opinions and therefore never be any understanding or each other and our uniqueness.
SO, to answer your question, be who ever you want. If you want to be Puerto Rican be Puerto Rican. If you want to be white, be white. If you want to be both , be both. Its doesn’t matter what other people think because honestly, most of the time other people are wrong.
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As somebody who is also of Hispanic (Puerto Rican) decent on my mothers side of the family and whose dad’s side of the family is entirely white I can completely relate to this problem and face many of the same questions that you do. I have spent a majority of my life trying to figure out which group I identify more with and what I would consider myself when asked. Usually I go into an explanation and tell people everything that I am so that they can decide for themselves cause I try not to let it bother me. What race I identify with isn’t the most pressing issue in my life.
Yet my situation was actually a little different than the one that you grew up with. When I was growing up neither side of my family was really around a lot. Not that they abandoned us or anything, but almost all of my moms family lived in either New York City or further north in upstate New York. Her parents lived out in California so I just didn’t see them very often. My dad’s side of the family doesn’t live very close either. His family all lived in either New York or Florida. So there wasn’t any influence really on me. My influence came more or less from the community that I live in back home.
When I was growing up my main influence was probably from the kids I grew up with and all of my close friends. A majority of my best friends were white kids. I grew up in a suburban town about fifteen minutes outside of Philly. There were plenty of black and brown kids, but that wasn’t really the group of people I hung around with. I do have many friends who are black or brown and actually most of them are split in half like I am. But I think because of where I grew up and because a majority of my influences were white friends of mine, I think growing up I was pushed more towards identifying with the white team.
Yet the more I learned about my ethnicity the more I began identifying with being Puerto Rican over white. People still called me white and told me that I was more white than Puerto Rican but the truth is Puerto Rican is my majority ethnicity while my dads side of the family is split up into two different backgrounds (Russian and Polish). I started educating myself on my Hispanic heritage and took two trips to Puerto Rico during the summers in high school. I found out that I really love my heritage and in a lot of cases identify more with my Hispanic side. Yet growing up in white suburbia I also heavily identify with the white team. So at this point I am still pretty undecided on what team I identify with. Like I said I have other problems to worry about and to me this isn’t that big a deal.
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When talking about the white team or the brown and black team, to be honest, I don’t know where Spanish and Latinos stand. So I think you should choose what team you want to be on. I mean people classify you as white because your skin color, but if you’re not completely white then I don’t know where you should stand. I think it has a lot to do with how you feel. You shouldn’t categorize yourself with a racial group that you don’t want to because it seems as you’re definitely not completely white or completely black or brown. The fact that Sam has called you white I don’t think means much because it’s an initial reaction if you see a light skin person that you can’t really tell what they are.
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Grouping people is not easy because not everyone looks the same way. If you grew up and were raised one way then there should be no reason you need to change that. If you grew up with your mother’s side which is mostly Hispanic, then I would consider myself to be Hispanic and the race doesn’t really matter. Growing up in a multiracial family is a special thing because you get to learn about different cultures and adjust accordingly. I personally wouldn’t know the feeling of a multiracial kid picking sides because I am on the white team and never had to think about any of that. There is really no set of strict guidelines, as we have learned, when it comes to race and ethnicity. If you want to follow the definitions here, this kid was correct when he said that "technically" part of his ethnicity is Puerto Rican and his race is white.
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Sure we would cook and eat a lot of pastas and other traditionally Italian foods, but that was about the extent of it. This is probably why my sisters and I distinguish them by saying: Chinese Grandma and Grandma. So while none of us can speak any dialect of Chinese, we still identify ourselves as Chinese and love to point our Asian glows when we drink (turning red). For this guy, I honestly think the best thing you can do for yourself is figure this one out on your own. No one likes being told what to do or who they are. The most gratifying experience is finding yourself and finally figuring out what it is in life you want to do and how far you can go. Once you figure that out, trying to identify with one group or another won't be as important to you anymore.
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This video question was interesting to me. I would have to say he should identify with what ever he feels the most comfortable with. In the video it sounds like he identifies more with the Hispanic community, which is awesome. Don't lose what you have, having that makes you unique. I am half Italian and half Chinese, but I like to identify with other Asians. Growing up my family and I would always go to visit my Grandma who lives in Chinatown in Manhattan. We'd visit with lots of relatives, celebrate Chinese New Year, etc. My Italian side, we went there for the major holidays but we never did anything 'Italian'.
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These last couples of classes have been very interesting and I was very interested with the boy’s topic about being multicultural and not knowing how to feel about the topic. I am not multicultural so even though I cannot relate to how multicultural people might feel I still want to know what they are going through, and how they deal with these problems they face daily. Balancing one culture is already tough I do not even want to imagine having to juggle two different cultures and be a part of two different cultures. I completely understand how the student is unsure about which group to categorize him in but as many other students replied I feel he should identify himself with the category he truly feels most comfortable with. I also agree that this student should not have to categorize himself into either a white or Spanish group instead he is an individual. He is an individual who has throughout his life has developed his own ideals and beliefs from his own actions. These actions have formed him into the individual he is today and he should not have to be categorized into any racial term. I also agree that when people start to forget that they are individuals they actually lose apart of themselves. Instead of always following the common stereo types they should think for themselves and act as individuals. I also do not think it is fair for someone who is biracial or bicultural to have to pick one race or culture. If an individual was immersed to two races or cultures his whole life why should he have to choose one or the other? Instead of approaching the situation as a problem or a dilemma I would look at it as if it was a gift. Not too many individuals are biracial or bicultural and you should show a great deal of pride for your various races and cultures. Another note that I never really thought about until Sam brought it up in class was his use of the brown/black team vs the white team. I understand that society usually categorizes the two groups as colored people and white people but it is much more complicated than that. I know that if I was Hispanic or Indian and I was continually called brown or colored I would start to get frustrated. I understand they might not mean to be racist or belittle ones nationality but it is pretty much categorizing many different nationalities as one, when that is clearly not the case. I know Sam says he just does it as a figure of speech and to save time but that type of stereotyping can make individuals question what their race or nationality actually is. In the end race is a complex issue that takes many years to fully understand.
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Personally, I think that this student should identify himself as Hispanic. Just from looking at him, I wouldn’t classify him as white. His skin tone is too dark, and even his hair makes him look as if he is Hispanic. Plus, he said himself that his mother is Hispanic, and that he grew up with his mother’s side of the family more. So isn’t it kind of common sense for him to call himself Hispanic as opposed to white, like his father? For all mixed race people, I think that they should just refer to themselves at whatever race they look like. For example, even if a dark skinned person had a white parent, I would still call that person black.
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I think that its whatever you feel more comfortable identifying with. I have a bunch of mixed friends but they all tend to indentify more with one race rather than the other. Most of my mixed friends identify with being a person of color. I’m not really sure why that is, but I guess it’s just what they feel most comfortable. One of my best friends from home is half black and half white. Even though we grew up in a primarily white community, she calls herself black. She is mixed, but she just feels more comfortable identifying with her black side. I think that she’s a rare case though. Most people will probably be more comfortable identifying with what their community is. If you’re mixed and black and white, and you grow up in a community with mostly black people, it’s quite likely that you would identify with being black. Likewise if you were half Asian and living in a primarily Asian community. In race relations class, we are split up into the black and brown team and the white team. It is not like this in the real world though. There is not someone separating us into teams like that. It’s a wonder then why we do feel the need to identify with one race. Like the kid in the video said he identified as Latino and it sounded like he got sort of offended when Sam called him white. People identify as one thing and are proud of it. I have another friend from home who is black, Puerto Rican, and Italian. He has actually experienced the negative effects of racism. He usually just laughs and is like I’m the colors of the rainbow, so really no one can hate me. He identifies as black because he is from a part of the city that is mostly black. I also think that people may identify with whatever they look like mostly, the exception being the boy from the video. If you have more “black” features, like we talked about in class, then you would probably identify as black. If you have more “white” features, then it’s likely that you would identify as white. Eventually as time goes on, there will be so many mixed people that hopefully people won’t feel the need to identify with a group. Hopefully one day we can all just identify as individuals.
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It is too difficult to try to group people into categories anymore. I understand the benefit of having a census and having people define themselves. But it is almost useless to try and fit everyone into a category. There are too many racial lines that have been blurred. So many people these days identify with more than one race. People should not be seen as a color it is too difficult to define. Remember when Sam pulled like twenty people down in class and had someone else try to group them into hispanics, latino etc.? More than half were wrong, we saw people from all over the world and they were all grouped into a title. If you are from Colombia you shouldn't have to classify yourself as hispanic or latino. What if they would just want to be considered Colombian? I have Italian, Irish, German, Austrian, and Polish in me but I am white. It is unfair to have to classify people by their skin color.
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I thought that this little post regarding multi racial people was very interesting because to me, the majority of students do in fact come from many different races, not just black, brown, or white. When you identify with more than one ethnicity, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t identify with one more than the other. Like the guy in the video was saying, his mother is a Puerto Rican woman and his father is a white man. Obviously he would relate to one more than the other, and in my personal experiences and from what I have seen, children USUALLY identify with whatever their mother identifies with. For example, I am also mixed half Hispanic and half white, but in my case, my mother is white and my father is Mexican, so although I do relate and categorize myself with my Mexican heritage, I grew up in a predominantly white community being one of the only Hispanic people around. People make such snap decisions based on what they see on the outside and have no idea what that person relates to just by looking at them. A person’s race does not identify them. The guy in the video identifies with being Hispanic but people would never call him a “brown man” and even worse, it is really hard for biracial people who have white skin to identify and be accepted by their brown or black community. I guess it depends just how outgoing you are, and where you grew up, and how much you really relate with it, but I know a lot of people who are very confused by the fact that neither the white nor the brown/black society will really accept them. I feel like it sucks to be mixed and not know both or however many ethnicities you are very well and get to relate to them because I think that it is really important to know everything about your family’s culture and heritage in order to completely understand yourself. People think that race and ethnicity go hand in hand, but in reality these two things can be very different and very confusing because just because you have white or black skin doesn’t mean you identify and relate with that ethnicity, and people need to understand that and not make such rash first impressions. I guess that it is no one’s fault because we all just sort of do it and we do not realize it but I think that it is one of those things that can really effect a person that you do it to, like the guy in the video, but not something that you really think of on a day to day basis.
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Additional blog#2
I feel that if you identify with one side of your racial heritage more than the other, then that is the one should go with. I mean you have come to know only that part of your heritage it seems that you are comfortable there. However, there should be a time when you should explore the other half of your heritage. You may find that it just might be something there that can clue you in on the entire race situation you are experiencing. There is so much you have yet to uncover.
Remember Sam is only trying to get you think about the other side of everything. He is not trying to take away years of what you know. Just work towards what you really want to know.
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It is sad that the way we look on the outside sometimes does not match up with the way we feel on the inside. His whole life this boy has grown up feeling a certain way and identifying with certain people, of Hispanic race and now in this one class he is being told that is he is and he has to be white or black. Clearly by the color of his skin he is not black but he is not white either. Multiracial people I feel are more confused then people who are strictly black or strictly white. A white person identifies with a white person and the white persons struggles and a black person knows they are black and has learned the embraced what comes with the territory and accept the good and the bad and know about all the hardships their people have went through. When you are multiracial you normally associate with the “team” of which you have been brought up on, but what if you were brought up equally? If you have a white mother and a black father but you are darker skinned then a regular white person how are you supposed to feel when people make rude comments about black people because you look like one of them? If you have a white mother and a black father but you are lighter skinned and blend in more with white people how do you feel when people make rude comments about black people because you do not look like one of them but still feel black on the inside?
As well, when I looked at this boy I wouldn’t call him out in front of a class and ask him questions about being white. I feel that he has a mixed ethnic look and would rather call on a blonde hair, blue eyed boy then a boy who looks cultured. I think that you feel inside should just represent the way you look but in this world it does not work that way. I know this is a very extreme care but when a transsexual is born a man but feels female on the inside he knows that he cannot stay a she and must become a women. When you grow up your whole life feeling one way it is not easy for somebody else to come up to you and try to change your views. I do not know this students whole life story but if his dad was white but he grew up with his mothers side of the family and his dad was not a part of his life then being white should not even affect his life if he grew up around Hispanic people. Yes the color of his skin is not black but it is not white either. Many people through out my life have asked me if I was Hispanic or Latin because of the way my skin color looks just because I am a naturally tan female. Life your life the way you feel on the inside, not look on the outside.
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I can totally relate to what you are saying. I come from a Hispanic background; my grandparents were from Spain, Cuba and Puerto Rico. However I was raised in a so-called “white society”. Since I am very fair and the color of my skin is basically white I never really was discriminated against. My parents were raised very culturally Spanish so I was. But when I go to spanish speaking countries im considered a “Gringa”. The best part about this is, I really do stand out as a “white person” when I visit my grandmother in Puerto Rico, but I am considered a Puerto Rican in the states. Also at my job since I’m not technically white, im considered a person of color. In class I felt the same way that you did. I didn’t know whether to vote on the white team or the brown/black team. I thought that even though my ethnicity is Hispanic, I answer on the white side because I am not a true “Latina” since I grew up in a predominantly white town. I also don’t know the Spanish language fluently. I don’t relate to the discrimination that Hispanics have gone through because I felt like I was raised in a mainly white part of Long Island, NY. But I honestly don’t care. I don’t feel like we have to categorize ourselves into teams or feel like we have to fit in one kind of bubble. I am not white, and I don’t fit in the category of the brown/black team because I feel due to the color of my skin I was never discriminated against. I completely agree with some of the other blogs with the fact that you should be very proud of your multiracial background and stand with the team that makes you feel most comfortable. In the end no one is completely perfect so it is ok to be different and have a bizarre upbringing. I feel blessed to be raised with a different culture, and don’t mind that I am a white girl in pr and a Spanish girl to my friends on long island. It suits me. So I say EFF the whole Multi-racial background debate. It doesn’t really matter to anyone except you. And you should be happy for the fact that you have the best of both worlds. You have the Latin spice in you as well as the ability to relate to the typical “white person”. Use it to your advantage and don’t be afraid to play both sides. Because in the end are there really sides? NO! we are trying to eliminate this whole team thing so everyone in the long run can relate with one another. You are still going to be the same person, whether you vote team White or team Brown/Black.
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In response to this person’s questions about which team he belongs to, I’d say it’s something that’s hard to judge. As Sam said in class, I feel like it has more to do with how you identify yourself rather than how others might perceive you. If you feel a stronger connection to the colored side of yourself than I believe this is the side that you should follow during the stages. However, as someone who is not entirely white myself, this can be hard to do.
When looking at me, I have the whitest skin of most people that I know. I stay a porcelain color throughout the year regardless of the sun and yet my mother is half Cuban. My grandfather whom I was always closest to, was 100% Cuban and had much darker skin and certainly never appeared “white” in the way that I do. Even though anyone looking at me would say that I’m white and even Sam has not noticed any other ethnicities in me, it is still there. Not only is it there, but it is a big part of who I am. My mother is the person who raised me and she is mixed. Granted, she also looks far more “white” than her Cuban father, but it is something that we hold onto very dearly and is a large part of who I am.
But considering the way that I was raised, and the schools I was brought up in that always saw me as just another white female, I’d have to say that I always respond to the things Sam brings up in class as a white person. More so because of my features than anything I feel inside, I still feel it would be inappropriate to look at myself as someone on the black, or brown team. Though this is where I have always been indentified and will continue to be identified, I still feel a connection and a guilt for the members of my family that are not nearly as “white” as I am and that have faced racism because of their darker skin color.
I suppose what leads me to want to lean towards this black and brown side is my closeness with my family. Coming from a very large Cuban-German mixed family, I always saw both sides of things without even realizing it. No one in my family felt closer to one side of their ethnicity than the other. I’m not sure if this is a good thing, or a bad thing, but I think it’s important that they felt a strong sense of their identity as mixed as opposed to black, or brown, or white. I don’t feel as though placing everyone in their “boxes” as one specific race is doing anything to help the cause.
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I feel bad for this kid because I think I know where he is coming from. My father is Hispanic and my mother is white, I look Hispanic but I was raised by my mom and her side of the family. I don’t know Spanish, I don’t know the Hispanic culture at all, but people look at me and think I do. An example of that would be when I was living in Orlando. There is a huge population of Hispanics in Orlando. I was at walmart doing my shopping and when I got to the checkout the cashier started speaking Spanish to me. I had to stop her and tell her I didn’t know Spanish, she said “but you’re Hispanic aren’t you?” I told her yes but I didn’t speak Spanish, her response to that was, “oh you really should learn.” And that wasn’t the only time I have gotten a comment like that from other people in the Hispanic community. I am not sure what to categorize myself as. I look Hispanic, but when I put Hispanic down on an application or other paperwork I feel guilty because I am not part of that culture at all, I consider myself part of the white culture.
I am not saying that I see myself as white, like we were talking about in class, but that is the culture I was raised in so that is what I know. I grew up in PA with an all white family who all spoke English. When I am in a new place and looking to make friends I tend to go towards the group of white people, not the group of Hispanic people. And I usually feel uncomfortable in a group of Hispanic people. In Orlando 3 of my roommates were Hispanic, and they were from Puerto Rico and spoke Spanish and everything. I did not hang out with them there, I felt uncomfortable and out of place with them, I just couldn’t fit in. I had tone other roommate that was white, and we were like best friends. Its not that I didn’t like the other girls, its just that I related with my white roommate better.
I haven’t really thought about what that means for me, I never thought felt the need o belong to a racial group, to fit in with one completely, but after Sam went over that stages in class I am beginning to wonder where I fit into all of that. One of the stages for people of color was to immerse yourself into your culture, but what culture would that be for me? I don’t really associate myself as an Hispanic even though that’s what I look like, and I am part of the white culture but I’m technically only half white and I don’t look white. Am I just doomed to a life of racial confusion?
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It can be a tough decision to choose what race you want to be classified as but at the same time it can be kind of cool. You can get perks of each race. You have a privilege that many others do not have. When it comes down to it all, I think you should do whatever you want to do. If you want to play for the white team, then no one should stop you because you have both races in you. If you want to play for the brown or black team, you can do that too. I feel as if it is entirely up to the person what race they would associate with, even if it is not what most of the public would view their race to be. Live your life the way you want to and don’t let anyone tell you different. Whatever team you decide should be accepted by people because you got a little of it all.
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This video question was interesting to me. I would have to say he should identify with what ever he feels the most comfortable with. In the video it sounds like he identifies more with the Hispanic community, which is awesome. Don't lose what you have, having that makes you unique. I am half Italian and half Chinese, but I like to identify with other Asians. Growing up my family and I would always go to visit my Grandma who lives in Chinatown in Manhattan. We'd visit with lots of relatives, celebrate Chinese New Year, etc. My Italian side, we went there for the major holidays but we never did anything 'Italian'.
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After my freshmen year in college, i started to realize this and while i am far from figuring myself out, I realized that while it's fine that identify with being Asian more than being something else, to keep that other half of me in mind. The worse thing you could do is to forget who you are and where you come from. your roots or background is what makes you, you. without that, what would have? one of the first questions people usually ask each other is, "so where are you from?" or "Whats your family like?" I can not imagine what its like for people to say i don't know to both those questions.
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So, do not forget who you are. Identify with what feels right to you. It doesn't matter what other people think you should be, it only matters what you think you should be. If you have lived your life thus far as identifying being Hispanic than you should keep going with that unless you find a different side to yourself through self-discovery. This class is meant to help us think critically about race and the world around us. Maybe this class is the beginnning to finding out who you really are on the inside and what it means to be a certain race and/or ethnicity.
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Well first off I will like to say that u do not look white to me, I can most definitely tell that you is Hispanic. But my advice to you will be to go with what you feel most comfortable identifying as, whether its white or Puerto Rican. Since you said you grew up with your mother who is Hispanic will obviously must identify more with your mother side of your family, which is understandable.
I don't think Sam of ask you questions about what it is like being on the white team, even though you is half white, I think he should have ask you what is it like being on the mix team. Sam have his ways, and I think with his amount a experience with people and their race and ethnicity he might feel that it is okay for him to ask you a question like that? And I mean technically he is not wrong because you have white in you but he could have chosen his word choice better in the question. Not to take up for him or you, but I can say that you probably would have be able to answer that question easily had you grown up with your father and not your mother.
In class I can only imagine how you must feel having to decide which team you is on, whether you is on the "brown team" or the "white team", I bet that is frustrating. And you right, Sam really do not give mix people in the class a fair opportunity to pick a side. I can also understand why many people think you are white when they see you because of your skin color but like I said before, by look at this video I can tell you is not "completely" white because you look like you can be mixed with another race. And although Sam did mention that it would be extremely for him to pick out the mix people because of all the different ways someone can be mix white and something else or black and something, I do think that he should at least touch on it so that they do not feel left out and have to choose.
For example, I know my little have this problem all the time because or father is black and her mother is white, but when you look at her she look like she is Hispanic, and I know it is hard for her to cope or "decide" which race she should be when she is around a certain group of people. So I don't think its just same choosing "white team" and "black/brown team", I feel like society as a whole do the same thing as well.
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I think it really sucks that this guy does not know how to identify himself when he is a mix of two completely different races and ethnicities. I feel as though this is a real issue for many multiracial people right now, but in the future, it will be so common that it will no longer be much of an issue to people. Maybe people will stop referring to themselves based on what they look like or where they come from. That would be pretty cool to see happen if it could. I guess he could just identify himself as whatever he wants. Maybe being multiracial gives him an option or set of choices as to what he wants to be.
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I believe that it is truly up to the person to decide which “team” they want to be on or associated with. I am sure it is a difficult process to decide which part of you you feel that you best associate with or feel some sort of strong pull towards but who is anyone else to tell you that you are wrong in the way that you feel? I bring this back to the discussion we had in class a week or so ago about the young Korean Americans identifying as white or American rather than Korean. It is not our place to tell them that they are wrong to fell a certain way. When we did that pole in class asking the white team whether they identified as white, Caucasian, or a specific ethnicity I was one of the ones that said they would tell someone who asked “ what they were” that I was Irish, not American or white or any of the other options. I do not ask other people to justify this decision even though I can not exactly say why I feel this way more so than another way. I think it has a lot to do with whatever your focus was culturally growing up. If you have a strong influence of your ethnic culture, you would probably feel a specific connection to that. In this man’s case, he grew up very close to his mother’s Puerto Rican family and was obviously influenced by that culture. It makes perfect sense that he feels that he would identify with the “ brown” team because of this upbringing. I am not positive but I think he would probably identify with the “ white” team if he grew up with a strong influence from his father’s side of the family. I just don’t think that multiracial people should feel that they should or should not pick a side. I do not know very many multiracial people but I think it would be difficult not to feel more inclined towards one of your two races or cultures or whatever it is you are feeling conflicted with. I think that ultimately, the way someone feels is their decision whether the rest of the world agrees with it or not. It is because of this that I think that it is no ones place to tell anyone what category they feel they belong in. Why do we need categories at all? I guess people feel more content with knowing that everyone fits into their own little group and belongs in a sense but I say just do what makes you happy!
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I am so glad you brought up this question. I think this is another discrepancy in the Race Relations class. Sam always talks about someone being on the black team, someone being on the brown team, or something being on the white team. I never considered myself part of any team before I joined this class. I guess I consider myself “white,” but thinking into more depth I’d say I’m more half Middle Eastern, half European… but 100% American. Sam told us to think about what we were and break down the boundaries of what people say is “politically correct.” Yet, Sam tends to draw the borders in class when he talks about all of the different teams.
I can understand why you would be confused. I am confused too. This also reminds me of Barack Obama being called our country’s first “African American” president. Really? Because the last time I checked, Barack Obama was half white, and half black. So, in technical terms, he is just as much white as he is black. And, like the original poster said, he was raised by the white side of his family. So, Barack Obama is half black, half white, raised by white people, but still this country’s first “African American” president? It really does not make any sense to me. If we were to call someone “white” it wouldn’t be as impressive. And, if Barack Obama’s fantastic marketing team didn’t use his race at all in the entire election process, would he really be where he is today? I can’t say yes or no, but I can say that his race most definitely played a large role in his election – through the media and the voters especially – and yet his race wasn’t even properly defined. Because, let’s be honest, do you really believe that if Barack Obama’s marketing team used the “America’s first Half-White, Half-Black President” approach, would he be the president now? That I also cant answer, but can’t imagine it being the case.
I believe in the end, it is up to you what team you decide to be a part of. After all, no one can tell you who to be. In the end, if you want to give yourself a title, you should. But, if you decide you would rather not be a part of any team, that’s okay too. You shouldn’t feel the need to fall into one of Sam’s categories because he is the one that told us to break those categories down. Embrace who you are inside, and embrace the fact that you are multi-cultural. That means more about your character than simply picking one and sticking to it because someone told you to. Next time Sam asks you a question about the “white team,” tell him what you really are. Just because he wants to fit you into a stereotypical mold doesn’t mean you have to comply.
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I thought that this little post regarding multi racial people was very interesting because to me, the majority of students do in fact come from many different races, not just black, brown, or white. When you identify with more than one ethnicity, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t identify with one more than the other. Like the guy in the video was saying, his mother is a Puerto Rican woman and his father is a white man. Obviously he would relate to one more than the other, and in my personal experiences and from what I have seen, children USUALLY identify with whatever their mother identifies with. For example, I am also mixed half Hispanic and half white, but in my case, my mother is white and my father is Mexican, so although I do relate and categorize myself with my Mexican heritage, I grew up in a predominantly white community being one of the only Hispanic people around. People make such snap decisions based on what they see on the outside and have no idea what that person relates to just by looking at them. A person’s race does not identify them. The guy in the video identifies with being Hispanic but people would never call him a “brown man” and even worse, it is really hard for biracial people who have white skin to identify and be accepted by their brown or black community. I guess it depends just how outgoing you are, and where you grew up, and how much you really relate with it, but I know a lot of people who are very confused by the fact that neither the white nor the brown/black society will really accept them. I feel like it sucks to be mixed and not know both or however many ethnicities you are very well and get to relate to them because I think that it is really important to know everything about your family’s culture and heritage in order to completely understand yourself. People think that race and ethnicity go hand in hand, but in reality these two things can be very different and very confusing because just because you have white or black skin doesn’t mean you identify and relate with that ethnicity, and people need to understand that and not make such rash first impressions. I guess that it is no one’s fault because we all just sort of do it and not realize it but I think that it is one of those things that can really effect a person that you do it to, like the guy in the video, but not something that you really think of on a day to day basis.
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Well I think your ethnicity is certainly Puerto Rican, because you grew up in that culture and have always identified with it. The problem that you’re having is identifying your race, and though you see this as a problem and are somewhat frustrated in choosing, I think it’s sort of a neat position you’re in. It’s a decision that you get to make completely by yourself. Disregard how people identify you. You have the option, and it seems that you more closely identify yourself with being Hispanic. If this is the case, and if you’re not comfortable being called white, then you should identify yourself as being Hispanic.
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I think that this was a really good question that made you think of how Sam identifies people in class. I think you should just go with whatever you feel comfortable with. Unless it comes off as offensive to you, you should just go with what you feel you should if you always identified yourself as Hispanic then, you should be comfortable with that if that’s something you grew up with or if prefer to be identified as white, then you can do that too. I think that this could be confusing for everyone, so don’t feel bad I don’t even know everything I even am myself, just feel as if your accepted as both, which I am sure you are.
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I have been going through this type of dilemma as well ever since taking soc 119. I've always seemed to identify with African Americans and I am African. On a deeper perspective, I am from North Africa; in class Sam has taught us that most North Africans are white because of their skin color. This is what confuses me. Even though I am from the North I have more of a darker skin tone. So even though my relatives may be lighter than me I identify as black and my relatives identify as white. This makes things even more confusing, so basically I have white relatives who actually identify themselves as black but have white skin. Through my overall experiences in life, especially with police, I would identify myself as black. To make things even more confusing I am of Arabic descent as well as African and my people speak Arab as a second language. Our first language is derived from Arab and is a Semitic language. So this makes me a black Arab man with white relatives? Also since I am not African American and just plain African what should I put down on a job application for any application for that matter? Should I just put other because there is no option for African, there's just one for African American.
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Some of this does benefit as well. For one, putting African American on a college application gave me many advantages as far as affirmative action and black scholarships that I would not be able to earn if I put other on my applications. Of course, I have had many disadvantages being black with Arab descent in this country. Obviously, many white people who are in high places look at black men as secondary citizens, also the sight of my name may stir up some dislike to police who are not afraid to use coercion especially in the borrow of State College. This also may have been a huge decision factor when I was accepted to Penn State and declined by many colleges. Personally, I identify with Eritrea, my country because I grew up around people just like me, along with African Americans and some white people as well. People usually identify with what they familiar with when they are mixed, for some it’s either “this or that” and for others it could be numerous groups involved.
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We live in a world where sticking to one’s race as far as marriage is obsolete and for some reason many people are attracted to features they are not used to or don’t see when they grew up around their own races. For the half Latino/ half white gentleman I would understand in a sense what he is going through, but do I have it harder than he does? It’s so many undertones to what I can identify myself with as mentioned above, but people still see me as a young black man with a possible mixture that may or may not be there.
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This is a very relevant issue for me personally, because I go through this sort of identification problem myself. I am 100% international student here at Penn State. I was born in Ecuador, and both my parents are from the country in question, although just by looking at me you would think that I am white, european. In Latin America, we went through a different historical period of colonization, where the spanish that came to the new word did not seek to eliminate and suppress the native peoples. Rather we inherited their culture, language and religion; and in doing so, many of the european and native blood lines became mixed; in my country, my heritage is known as mestizo.
I know that I have native blood but I can also trace my lineage back to Spain, and the same can be said for many people in the Latin American continent, and most of my Latino friends here at Penn State.
In my consideration it is very difficult if not impossible to strictly qualify a person in a single ethnic group, specially if the criteria in question is only sin color. I believe that a person of some shade of light skin can combine many histories embodied in his/her genetic composition. In the case that it is absolutely necessary to categorize people under one criteria, it is far more simple to do so by nationality. In this particular point in time, I dont think The United States of America has the capability of doing this. In Latin America, when identify yourself in front of a diverse group of people, you would only do so by mentioning your nationality, not your ethnic background. Maybe, it is a difference in history. We had a relationship with our colonizers for a little over 300 years, which has been enough time, for the ethnical lines to be blurred, I do not think the same can be said for America.
Many years ago, there was a Roman influence in England. There has been Arab presence in Spain. There has bee Greek colonies in Middle East (mesopotamia). Due to our common human history, I believe that it is difficult to say that anyone is purely white. We all come from the same mother land.
I really do not like when in class we talk about White, Brown, Black, etc. As I said, no one is completely white. If someone wants to categorize people by color, we do not have to think about where they come from and where their parents come from. If you are white, if you look white, you are a white person, if you are almost black but not white, then you are brown. But we should not categorize people in different colors given our ancestry.
Can anyone tell me if I am right or wrong. Does anyone feel like this? I dont really like to label people.
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I feel like although you may technically be considered mixed, the family that you grew up with is what you will most likely connect with an also who what you would consider yourself as, here it would be Latino. People tend to make assumptions based off of skin color so it may not be something to take offense to. If I were you I would explain that you are mixed but you grew up with your mother and that is the part of your ethnicity that you can most relate to. I cant imagine how you must feel because I personally don’t have too many questions about my background because im only English but that’s all I can really offer up.
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I totally agree with Miss Fancy feet. We do not need to identify with a team, we do not need to call ourselves black, white, brown, yellow or whatever. Actually, what would Asians be? White? Brown? Those categorizes do not even completely cover all of the "colors" and races. We do not need to identify with a team. It is better to label people according to their nationality. I am not Brown, and I am Ecuadorian. I am not White and I am ecuadorian. Many people who see me, think I am Italian or Spanish. I am Ecuadorian, I do not think that being white is better, brown is worse, it is just that I do not want to be label as any of them.
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There are so many races, that it is impossible to number them. So, is it really easy to categorize people into 3 different categories? Again, I just heard Sam talking about White, Brown and Black; he never uses any other color. It is OK to be multiracial. And you do not need to categorize yourself as white or brown. You are Puerto Rican and your father is "white", thats it. I have never though of myself as multiracial. I am from Ecuador and in the past some of my ancestors where Native americans and mostly europeans. But I do not think of myself as multiracial. Can someone comment on this post? Please… what do you think about multiracial people, and latin americans.
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If you grew up in a Hispanic home and know that culture better than any other culture, then that is your ethnicity. People may mistake you for being white because of the way you look, but what really matters is how you want to see yourself. If being called a white boy makes you feel uncomfortable, if it makes you feel like you are denying your Hispanic upbringing then you are Hispanic. When I look at you I see someone who looks like they are of mixed ethnicities. I guess it is unfair of Sam to ask you questions on behalf of the white team.
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This student was actually in my race relations discussion group the other week so I got to hear what he had to say first hand. I must admit when I first saw him I just assumed he was white, but when he started talking he stated that he is not white, and he identifies with his Hispanic side of the family. I did not think much of it because that is the case for many people around here. But to see the turmoil that it is causing him is upsetting. I do not think people should be asked to pick a “team” if they feel uneasy about it. If you do not know what to identify with, or if you feel you identify with a race that society does not put you in, then go ahead and do so.
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Wow…I feel really bad for this student that he doesn’t know how to categorize himself. I think it says a lot about how messed up our society is in terms of racial issues, which is really unfortunate. No one should have to hesitate when asked what race they belong to, and the fact that this student does have to makes me very frustrated. I never actually considered a question like this because of the fact that I am as white as a person can be – racially and literally! I have blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, etc. and I never before had to put myself in this person’s shoes so I’m glad this question brought up. After listening to his story and seeing his frustration, I must say that I am quite thankful that I never have and probably never will be asked this question based on what I look like.
If I was this student and I had to identify with a particular race, I would probably say that I am mixed because of the whole Puerto Rican background with white skin sort of thing. But I really think that it is up to him to decide which racial group he belongs to. Nobody knows who you are more than you do, so be whoever you want to be. Your skin might be white, but if you feel more comfortable in the black or brown crowd, then circle one of those races on applications. If you feel most comfortable with the white population, then circle white. If you are comfortable with being mixed, then circle mixed. It doesn’t matter what other people want to classify him as and it is sad that we have to have a blog about this. The only thing that matters is who he wants to be. Clearly, there is no wrong answer here because his background is a little bit of everything.
I hope that one day we don’t have to worry or feel sorry for these people who don’t know how to categorize themselves because there will be no such racial tension in society. I can’t wait for the day when everyone is equal with regards to race, if and when this ever happens. It sucks that racial issues are such a big deal in today’s time since that means that people aren’t accepted by others just because of what they look like on the outside. It’s what’s on the inside that truly matters. By choosing his race for him or telling him where he belongs, we are not allowing him to be his own person. If he feels like he needs to identify with a specific race, then fine. But if he just wants to embrace the fact that he is multicultural, that’s cool too. Therefore, let this kid be who he wants to be.
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I don't feel as though it is a question of whether you are part of the black and brown team or the white team it is a question of which team you decide you would like to be part of. Being an individual of a multiracial background you have the option to switch teams based on where and when you must relate to your true inner self. Depending on the situation you are put into I feel as though you will take and relate to the situation differently. If I was put into a situation being a white male I would have a far different experience than a hispanic or asian background.
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I can totally relate with this student. My dad is white, and my mom is half Korean. I strongly identify with my Korean ethnicity, but have white skin and speak very little Korean. I find myself pondering the same question when Sam asks us to answer questions as someone on the white team or an individual playing for the brown or black team. It is so hard to be forced to pick between identify with one single group of people when you honestly fit into either category. And I hate that today’s society forces you to have to make that decision. I will typically respond as a white person just because I am only a quarter Korean. Additionally, I feel that because I can pass as a white person physically, and I have not experienced the same discrimination as a Korean student who actually looks Korean, I have little right to add my opinion.
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I would say that you are whatever you identify yourself with. I do not care if your skin color is black, white, brown, or purple. I feel like whatever you culturally identify with is what you are. I say you tell people exactly what you tell yourself. If you see yourself as a hispanic person, but others look at you like you are just another white boy then you say to them, "no, actually I'm hispanic". It's like Sam said when he was talking about his friend who had a black skin color but identified as a white man. I say live life as who you are, not what you look like.
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This post brings up a good point. And it made me realize that I do not like the whole "team" thing. I understand that is makes things easier for things like the text voting and quick classroom discussion. However I do not think people should be categorized like that. We always talk about how we want everyone to be equal, so then shouldn't we all be on the same "team"? I feel bad for this student because it kind of seems like he has to take sides. And if I was him I am not sure what "team" I would pick. I think it depends on how he was raised.
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Yeah it sort of sucks that everything has to be either this side or that side. What if you are in the middle and have both in your life? I guess since he said that for most of his life he identified himself as Hispanic because that was the side he grew up with then he would be leaning more towards that side. But it must be hard to be caught in the middle like that and not know where you truely belong. Maybe their could be a new team, black and brown team, white team, and the purple team for everyone who has different mixes in their background. I have never had to deal with this issue before so it is hard for me to think how I would feel but I guess you just have to be happy with yourself and you history and accept both sides of your family, that way race and ethnicity are not what makes you you.
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It is important for this student to identify with the team he feels most comfortable with. If he was raised mostly by his mother’s side, why not identify with the “brown team.” I can see where he is coming from, as I am sure it can be conflicting, especially having Sam talk about it daily in class, but why not? That is not to say that he is more brown than white, he is equally white and brown, but it is all a matter of comfort. That said, it is also ok if he remains in the multi-racial category. Interesting video.
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I would say that you are white. I certainly cannot say how much your life is affected by your Hispanic heritage, but I think I have a similar predicament even though I am most definitely white. I have a strong Italian heritage, and I am aware that Italian is still considered to be white, but the culture sets one aside from normal American culture, just like I am sure having Hispanic heritage does for you. However, my Italian heritage really only comes out in my house, not in public. But the point I am trying to reach is that because of your skin color, people treat you like a white person, and that should be the primary criteria in making this distinction. People do not know you DNA markers of race, so as long as you appear white, you will be treated that way. I say this because how one looks is often contingent upon how one is treated, especially if one does not know another intimately. I believe that this interaction is what shapes our opinions and beliefs about race, so this is what makes us who we are. So based on your skin color and the interactions you have likely had as a result of your skin color, I believe that you would most likely identify with a white person as far as your experiences and your ideas and values.
Furthermore, as far as I could tell, I did not detect any accent that would hint any origin other than American, so this would also help in pegging you as not only white, but also as a native born American, which also puts you into the majority group. I would imagine you have faced little to know discrimination in your life, which sets you apart from other minority groups who have experiences with racism or discrimination. I have noticed that many people discriminate more against accent than against race, so just having an American accent helps to dissuade any discrimination, and enforce that you are another white American that blends into the minority.
In conclusion, I would argue that if you had to choose a category of race then you would be placed into the white category. I know that you identify with a Hispanic heritage, but if it is anything like my Italian heritage, it only really comes up at home. I think this is an important distinction because how one is treated outside of ones comfort zone is really what shapes ones impression on race. If you appeared Hispanic then you would likely have experiences that would peg you as somebody of minority status, and this would let you know how you should identify. So to reiterate my point, how one is treated will determine one beliefs and values, and this will determine how you identify racially.
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I believe that there should be no tags on races. Practically everyone is somewhat mixed, unless you are from Africa and all of your relatives were too. Since we are all out of Africa, we all share some DNA from that region. How someone decides to define his/herself is up to that person, it shouldn't really be anyone else's business unless that person decides to share. Being mixed should just be that, mixed. We are all mixed so whatever you want to call yourself is ok and the right decision. Especially since there is no such thing as right and wrong.
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I watched this video and immediately knew where this guy was coming from. I myself have sat straddling the fence and hopping back and forth. Truthfully being Spanish but looking white allows me to jump back and fun and play on both teams. IT is quite interesting being able to look at the perspectives of both sides and I welcome the opportunity to see the grass on both sides of the field.
I am Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Philippine. However my appearance has had many people confuse me as an Italian and my accent can be confused with a New York accent. Therefore most of my life, I have been treated as if I were a Caucasian. I have been able to blend into the white crowds with my appearance and also been able to use my last name to gain acceptance into minority groups as well.
Many people would say that this is very two faced and it is not good to ride the fence. However I would argue that it is a good way to live. Since I am not too radical in myself I am able to view people both how they act towards all types of races. I have noticed that many people adjust they way they act based on the audience or crowd that they are around. This is very common in today’s society of political correctness and racial sensitivity.
Back on the topic of the video, the guy was confused which team he should actually support. And I guess my response is to go where you feel most comfortable. In all reality though I don’t believe there are truly teams. They are just groups. If you feel more in touch with your Spanish heritage than go on the brown and black side and live your life over there. If you feel more inclined to stay white, than join the white side. And if possible it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just hop back and forth in order to reap the benefits of both worlds. For instance, if you know a particular individual of power is prejudice in favor or white people, than you can play the white game, and vice a versa. This is how I like to play it since I think the entire race war that we face in this world is ridiculous. It is very much just a game that the two sides play and it symbolizes how far we have NOT come.
All and all your race does not generally determine what side you pick. You can both be born into a group just as well as you can opt to join or exclude yourself from a group. Black brown nor white are not things that are force on you you’re entitled to your own opinion and interpretation of facts.
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This blog was really quite interesting to me. It made me think that he has absolutely every right to feel as confused as he does. However, this also makes me wonder why no one else has brought this up. I am sure that he is not the only multiracial student in our Soc 119 class and I would think that he is not alone in feeling the way that he does. Maybe not every multiracial student in the class has given such thought to the matter as he has but I would still think that a majority have a least thought about it to some extent and are probably feeling a similar way to how he feels. I agree with what some other respondents to this blog have posted concerning feeling bad for him not because he is multiracial but because he has to feel this way and doesn't know what team he should be on. Personally, I think he should be on whatever team he wants. He stated in the post that he had a hispanic mother and a white father but he grew up with his mother's side of the family which is hispanic so he shouldn't have to feel that he has to choose the white team just because his skin color is white. It really saddens me that people would look at him and automatically assume he is white just based off the color of his skin because upon hearing that said to him I can imagine that only makes him more confused on what team he should consider himself to be on. However, I know that people have always made stereotypes of people just based off of their skin color. I was in a discussion group for the race relations project a few days ago, and one of the topics we discussed was how no one can really tell what another person's race or ethnicity is based off of their skin color. However, many people often think that they can make the stereotypes based off of the color of their skin and they many times think they are right when in reality majority of the time people who assume someone is white or black or whatever race is wrong about it. It sucks that people, including Sam, have gone up to him and assumed he was white or asked about his views within the white team. Honestly, I know i am personally not in this situation myself but the best advice to him would be to pick whichever team he feels more comfortable identifying himself with. If he agrees with more views on the white team then maybe he should lean towards that but if its the opposite and he agrees with more views on the black/brown team then he should lean towards that. I don't even think he necessarily has to pick a team anyways. Maybe one day he would agree more with the white team and on a different day agree with the black/brown team so really he should just lean towards whichever team he feels more comfortable with.
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Honestly, it’s totally up to him. This is something that really bothers me. The fact that he needs to choose what “team” he wants to play for and he has to constantly decide what he wants to categorize himself as. If I were in his shoes I would probably also categorize myself with the black/brown team because he did grow up mostly around his mother’s side of the family and interacted with people on the black/brown team more so than the white side. I really don’t like this idea of “teams” and stuff but I guess it’s something that we just have to live with.
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I feel like this question relates to the posting Sam put up about the census and people’s view on the race questions. Honestly I think if you’re multiracial you shouldn’t have to categorize as one race. Check off more than one box that specifies all your ethnicities or fill in the “other” category and say what you are. It’s terrible that society has to make you feel confused and like you have to pick one race to identify with, but you’re NOT one race. There are so many people in the US who are multiracial and there is no way to simply pick one race to identify with and ignore the fact that there is another race in your blood.
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