Do you think that asking people what their ethnicity are is considered "racist".

[MagnusTheBrewer]

That was my point...just like any other "ethnic group" or group of people of any kind, whether is was a group of boy scouts, bankers, or even construction workers.
(OK, there's be more assholes than nice guys in the construction worker group) 😀

My point was it's difficult to know who the assholes are without understanding something about their background. Sure, if you work with someone you find out pretty fast but, if you only have social contact, you need more clues.

 

[Imp]

I like asking because it can tell me more about someone than a few hours of conversation. For example, one person I met a while back told me she was Columbian. Instantly got an idea of what other language she spoke, religion, general beliefs, family structure, etc. You might call those stereotypes, but most of them were true in her case: Roman Catholic, speaks Spanish, tight knit household (from what I've heard of Spanish and Catholic people). If it's not true, it gives me a reference point.

There was a new person at work who looked like she was of mixed race (African/White), but I never asked because she seemed like the type that would actually be offended if I asked. I was a bit lost because I didn't know what her background was.

 

[kyrax12]

America is not the only country with wildy different cultural bases. We're not even close to India or China.

If you want to inquire more about the Country that someone was from, then you would ask for nationality rather than ethnicity.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I'm damn tired of being the token Norwegian around here.

I'm 1/8th Norwegian. That makes me a true Nordic badass, right? I had a great-great grandfather named Thor.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

If you want to inquire more about the Country that someone was from, then you would ask for nationality rather than ethnicity.

You missed the point. Culture, perspectives and, thinking varies within countries which is why ethnicity is a stronger predictor than nationality.

 

[kyrax12]

You missed the point. Culture, perspectives and, thinking varies within countries which is why ethnicity is a stronger predictor than nationality.

I would think that asking someone about their culture directly, rather than having to inquire about their ethnicity would be better.
If you want to inquire about their perspective and way of thinking, then why not do so directly?
Race/Ethnicity doesn't have to be part of the question.

I wouldn't assume that just because people that resides in the U.S don't look white, that they are born in a foreign country. Chances are, they might be born in the U.S. So culturally those people ARE VERY SIMILAR to "Americans".

Accents are a VERY GOOD PREDICTOR at this. You can tell whether someone is born in the U.S based on their accent alone. If their accent is foreign, then you know they weren't born in the U.S

 

[lxskllr]

I don't get why you just mentioned America out of the blues in your last post though.

Can you expand on that?


^^This was the post.

A black guy from Mississippi, and a white guy from Massachusetts will likely have different views of the world.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I don't get why you just mentioned America out of the blues in your last post though.

Can you expand on that?


^^This was the post.

Because you are an American, this an American forum and, the majority of posters here are American. There are lots of things to get upset about but, someone asking your ethnicity in the U.S. doesn't rank very high on the scale of obnoxious behavior. To give an over simplified southern version example , "where you from. boy" usually considered redneck versus ""who are your people?" usually intended as polite.

 

[kyrax12]

A black guy from Mississippi, and a white guy from Massachusetts will likely have different views of the world.

And somehow race/ethnicity can be a predictor of those views? 0.0 :hmm:

That's like a teacher in an American school giving a lecture about Asian history, and then asking Wu what he thinks about all this just because he is Asian...

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

And somehow race/ethnicity can be a predictor of those views? 0.0 :hmm:

That's like a teacher in an American school giving a lecture about Asian history, and then asking Wu what he thinks about all this just because he is Asian...

Now you're thinking of stereotypes. In the first example it would be entirely reasonable predictor. In your example the teacher is just confuzed probably because you all look alike. 😀

 

[lxskllr]

And somehow race/ethnicity can be a predictor of those views? 0.0 :hmm:

Yes

That's like a teacher in an American school giving a lecture about Asian history, and then asking Wu what he thinks about all this just because he is Asian...

That may be a perfectly valid question. Not so much history, but Wu may have insight into social studies if his parents came from the old world. It takes awhile to breed culture out of people. If Wu lived in the average suburb, I'd say his kids would have little insight into the old world.

 

[sandorski]

No.

 

[kyrax12]

Yes



That may be a perfectly valid question. Not so much history, but Wu may have insight into social studies if his parents came from the old world. It takes awhile to breed culture out of people. If Wu lived in the average suburb, I'd say his kids would have little insight into the old world.

Some of the problems with the teacher's questioning is that:

A. If Wu was born and raised in the U.S, he would really just be like any "American" in the class in terms of historical knowledge/insight so far.

B. Singling him out because of his race/ethnicity

C. Not the "Asian" that was being lectured about.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

The problem with the teacher's questioning is that:

A. If Wu was born in the U.S, he would really just be like any "American" in the class in terms of historical knowledge so far.

B. Singling him out because of his race/ethnicity

C. Not the "Asian" that was being lectured about.

You state all this after the fact. You're trying really hard to be offended.

 

[kyrax12]

Now you're thinking of stereotypes. In the first example it would be entirely reasonable predictor. In your example the teacher is just confuzed probably because you all look alike. 😀

Can you give me an example where race/ethnicity would be a reasonable predictor. 0.0

What you are trying to convey is how I am relating/comprehending it through my example.

 

[lxskllr]

The problem with the teacher's questioning is that:

A. If Wu was born in the U.S , he is really just like any "American" in the class in terms of historical knowledge so far.

B. Singling him out because of his race/ethnicity

C. Not the "Asian" that was being lectured about.

I changed your question because kids know fuck all about history. I wouldn't expect Wu to know anymore than other kids. Most dumbasses couldn't even put WWII into the correct decade. I specified social studies because the culture and world view of the parents will have transferred to him regardless of where he was born. His kids will likely be too diluted to be of value in that regard. Btw, that's also why I specified "average suburb". If they lived in a culturally isolated American area(some kind of Chinatown), they may retain the old world longer than usual.

 

[OverVolt]

Everyone has an ethnicity

 

[Mixolydian]

Everyone has an ethnicity

Everyone has a race, too.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Can you give me an example where race/ethnicity would be a reasonable predictor. 0.0

What you are trying to convey is how I am relating/comprehending it through my example.

A black guy from Mississippi, and a white guy from Massachusetts will likely have different views of the world.

That was a pretty good example. However, a white guy from Mississippi and a white guy from Mass. are also going to have differnt views of the world. Context is everything. I would have said, a black guy from Mississippi is likely to have a different view of the world than a white guy from Mississippi.

 

[kyrax12]

I changed your question because kids know fuck all about history. I wouldn't expect Wu to know anymore than other kids. Most dumbasses couldn't even put WWII into the correct decade. I specified social studies because the culture and world view of the parents will have transferred to him regardless of where he was born. His kids will likely be too diluted to be of value in that regard. Btw, that's also why I specified "average suburb". If they lived in a culturally isolated American area(some kind of Chinatown), they may retain the old world longer than usual.

Well most Asian-American kids I know can't even speak their parent's language. Some can speak it.. (really terribly), some can only understand it and can't really vocalize, and some really only know a few phrases. From what I have experienced, most Asian-Americans are essentially are just your average every day American minus the inherently physical differences. Their parents might be from the "old world", but living in America have influenced them so much that many of them tend to forget a lot about it, based on my personal observation.


That is besides the point though. However, the teacher is making A LOT of assumptions and that is generally not good. The teacher won't be able to know if Wu have lived in a Chinatown, or if his parents are born in the Old world. Unless specify, the teacher is most obviously making assumptions up the wazoo.

 

[tcG]

Some of the problems with the teacher's questioning is that:

A. If Wu was born and raised in the U.S, he would really just be like any "American" in the class in terms of historical knowledge/insight so far.

B. Singling him out because of his race/ethnicity

C. Not the "Asian" that was being lectured about.

You're right, and I can confirm that, having grown up in one of the most diverse areas of the U.S., environment certainly seems to play a bigger role in personality/culture than does race.

So, asking an Asian American for some "Asian" perspective is as you say, futile. However, for people not born in America with whom race corresponds to a foreign nationality, race can be a much better indicator of cultural difference, not because race causes the cultural difference (although I'm sure it causes SOME, even for American citizens in the same environment), but because it is strongly correlated with being of a different nationality, the nationality difference being what brings the different culture. So in the case of foreign nationals, you CAN ask about race with a reasonable expectation that the underlying culture will be different.

Regardless, race is interesting to me even of people of the same nationality, where the cultural differences aren't so obvious. Yes, you are correct that there is a beautiful similarity between ALL humans, but there is also a beautiful and interesting (and quite pronounced) physical difference between all the different races of humans. Isn't it interesting that people look so different? Asians, Arabs (this is not a derogatory term), Caucasians, Africans, South Americans, Indians... it's just interesting to notice, like trying a wide variety of food or something.

Why does the physical difference between races matter, if your personality is "inside", you ask? Well, I'm not so sure that the personality is actually inside. This cannot be proven empirically, but personality might show on the face, so to speak. Even though the dominant paradigm is that the physical appearance of somebody doesn't in anyway correspond to their personality, this may not be true, and we certainly don't go through life as though it is. We are always making judgments about people based on their looks, even amongst physical variations among a single race. By extension, we also do this for different races.

 

[lxskllr]

That is besides the point though. However, the teacher is making A LOT of assumptions and that is generally not good. The teacher won't be able to know if Wu have lived in a Chinatown, or if his parents are born in the Old world. Unless specify, the teacher is most obviously making assumptions up the wazoo.

You're rigging the game. I made logical assumptions based on the slimmest outline you gave. A teacher will know he's from Chinatown because he goes to school in Chinatown. I don't think we do bussing anymore. I would also expect the teacher to know something about the kids being taught. That was gone over the first day or so, and they've likely met the parents if the parents are worth a shit

 

[IGBT]

ethnic isolation is fundamental to liberalism. How else can they play the race card which is also fundamental to the liberal agenda.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Regardless, race is interesting to me even of people of the same nationality, where the cultural differences aren't so obvious. Yes, you are correct that there is a beautiful similarity between ALL humans, but there is also a beautiful and interesting (and quite pronounced) physical difference between all the different races of humans.

The biggest differences aren't physical, they're the different ways of thinking. People often watch shows like National Geographic about isolated groups of native peoples around the world and their customs. They often think to themselves, how bizarre. ALL customs, all ways of living, all ways of thinking by different races and cultural groups within the same race, come about because that's what worked best in that community.

 

[kyrax12]

You're rigging the game. I made logical assumptions based on the slimmest outline you gave. A teacher will know he's from Chinatown because he goes to school in Chinatown. I don't think we do bussing anymore. I would also expect the teacher to know something about the kids being taught. That was gone over the first day or so, and they've likely met the parents if the parents are worth a shit

You said lived in a Chinatown, so it was implied that you meant that Wu must have lived in the Chinatown in the past and then moved to a town/School that have a less Asian demographic.

I don't know about where you are from, but parents aren't called in unless the kid got into trouble or of something to that extent. Heck the only thing I remember about teachers meeting parents was in Elementary school, where there were parent-teacher conferences.