What Determines Someones Race?

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='salterrae' post='1608571' date='Jul 25 2008, 07:26 PM']JM + JT

I think when they ask this question on standardized tests, such as Florida's FCAT, they want to know what cultural upbringing you had, something which [i]might[/i] have an influence on how well/poor you do, not what color your skin is, which has no effect.[/quote]
So, what cultural upbringing is "Caucasian"?

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1608828' date='Jul 25 2008, 10:51 PM']Pittsburghers talk normal, everybody ELSE has an accent. Yunz is the ones with the problem [/quote]

No way, it's you bygolly who talks funny dontchaknow...

[Galloglasses]

There are various things that determine one's Race. Not solely just culture nor just Skin colour. Skin colour is just one aspect of physical difference between races. Culture is often created when members of the same race band together in unity and the culture is created from the social interaction of these members of the same race over the centuries, so Culture is both a consequence of Race and the glue that keeps it identifiable and whole. For example, culturally I'm Irish, Racially, I'm Celtic. Mostly. With the possibility of some Scandavian and Norman blood somewhere in the family from centuries back that has either been washed over in the intermingling of Celt.

Everything affects your race, from the climate your race is mostly used to and is raised in for centuries. This can affect the facial features, height, and other minute physical attributes. For example, Slavs, overall, tend to have high cheekbones and hooded eyes, (Most, not all, and it always differs from Slav to Slav), sometimes the features may not be physical, maybe even lingual. For example, the climate may affect the race's vocal cords or other sensitive apparatus in their bodies. So that if say, a member of a different race was adopted as a baby by a group of other races, and grows to speak their language, it is a very fair bet that they will be able to speak and understand his adopted society's language perfectly, but his accent will always sound removed from the general accent of the society.

Skin colour more or less seperates groups of Races from other groups of Races. For example, White Skinned people are Different from Black Skinned people, yet within White Skinned people there are different Races. It is the same in Black Skinned people. For example, Rwanda. That is an example of racial hatred between Africans.

I persoanlly, love all this diversity, I despise multiculturalism though. (If you are confused by this, you can PM me to ask me how I reconcile both these veiws), I simply refuse to ignore these differences. For it is these differences that give us Identity, character, and something tangible with which to relate to others. Ignoring these differences will belittle the cultures associated with them, ignore the history, and treat 'what' a person is as unimportant, when 'what' a person is, is often instrumental with that person's Identity. Nowhere near as important as the 'Who' a person is, but important enough that ignoring the 'what' is, in actuality, belittling the person.

Hopefully this did not come off too derogatory, i'm terrible with my wording.

My two Cents.

Edited July 27, 2008 by Galloglasses

[salterrae]

JM + JT

[quote name='USAirwaysIHS' post='1608703' date='Jul 25 2008, 09:41 PM']Had to drag the FCAT into this, didn't you?
This is a Christian website! Why would you bring that filth here?[/quote]


[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1609819' date='Jul 27 2008, 09:40 AM']So, what cultural upbringing is "Caucasian"?
No way, it's you bygolly who talks funny dontchaknow...[/quote]
Exactly. It's pretty stupid.

Edited July 27, 2008 by salterrae

[Balthazor]

[quote name='Autumn Dusk' post='1609815' date='Jul 27 2008, 09:24 AM']I'm not saying they are completely standoffish...they are just very firm and directed. They are loving people, I know, but like my brother they can be very unappealing to outsiders. My brother calms a bit after he gets to know someone. But there is an external defence factor that seems common.[/quote]

Understandable.

I am in Germany right now.....
Germans are goofy.

Have you ever been to Karnival in Koln? Or on the Isle of Ibiza or Mallorca? It may change your opinion of Germans being standoffish, firm and directed. Besides how serious can you take people that voluntarily wear lederhosen? I mean come on......

The Kolsch (important note: there is no lederhosen in Koln) in particular are known for being very open, joking and goofy. Most of it is due to the fact that it was a heavy industry area, and also a very Catholic Area, lots of Blue-collar humor and attitude toward life.

After being in Europe a few years I woul have to say the French (south france excluded) ar much harder to approach, much more protective and defensive of their culture than Germans. This is also true of Czechs in Prague,...... not Moravians. I mean Pragers will not even look you in the eye and if you smile at them on the street they give you a scared look like they think you are crazy. Country Czechs are not like this though, they tend to be pretty Chill.

There are always exceptions though.

I mean I am from a small redneck town where gun deer hunting surpasses Christamas in popularity and I hold a Bachelors and a Master's degree in economics and politics, speak three languages and have lived and studied in several countries.... Not exactly what you would expect from a dairy farmer's daughter who is a member of the teamster's union huh? So much for redneck American Culture....

So I don't know.... I mean generalization is a dangerous thing on all levels. This is why race is a dangerous thing.... because you risk only seeing what you want to see in people and not what is actually there.



All of this is just based on observation though.

[Groo the Wanderer]

Call me silly (or strange or a nerd or whatever)....but I always thought your parents determined your race. LORF!!!



Personally, I think the whole race issue itself is rather stoopid. I challenge anyone to step forward with proof they are of a pure racial strain of any type. When presented with a choice, I usually check all of the boxes. Who knows, after all?

The ancestry I know of includes English (which could be germanic, frankish, or norse), Scot (which is just plain cool), French (which unfortunately includes coagulated milk eating surrender monkeys), and Puerto Rican (which could be indian [feathers, not dots], spanish, polynesian, or black). I also trace back to a certain Mesopotamian ark-builder somewhere waaaay back, and a nice couple with a fondness for apples who likely lived somewhere in the fertile crescent area.

Race? bah! Race will only stop being an issue when peeps stop making it an issue.

[desertwoman]

What about ethinic groups instead of race.

[Galloglasses]

Ethnic is essentially a more PC way of saying race. Cept Ethnicity is usually used in countries such as America where there is a range of different races, and the word 'Race' itself could set off a powder Keg.

However, I couldn't give two feths about Political Correctness so, well, yeah.

[Era Might]

[quote name='Galloglasses' post='1610747' date='Jul 28 2008, 03:41 PM']Ethnic is essentially a more PC way of saying race. Cept Ethnicity is usually used in countries such as America where there is a range of different races, and the word 'Race' itself could set off a powder Keg.[/quote]
In the United States, I don't think "ethnicity" and "race" are necessarily equivalent words. For example, someone might refer to "ethnic" parishes, which can be Polish, Italian, Irish, etc. However, when someone uses the word "race," they usually mean skin color and general physical attributes, and not necessarily culture. In the common American usage of the word "race," I would say that everyone is grouped into a short list of races: white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and perhaps Native American. It's not an exact definition of where you come from or what you look like, just a general categorization. If you are Asian, you may be from Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, etc. But you will be categorized into the general Asian "race" because you have the general characteristics of an Asian person. If you are white, you will be categorized as white, even though white people can be from different continents (North America, Europe, Australia).

"Ethnicity" refers more to culture than to general physical characteristics. Irish and Italian would be seen as different ethnicities, but not necessarily different races.

[Autumn Dusk]

see its hard to tell what I "look" like racially. I could be a northern native american, a fair-skinned hispanic, a not-pale irish girl. If you were to say who i look like most out of the pure races it'd be hispanic...but I'm not even one ion hispanic.

[cmotherofpirl]

So are you saying race is a color and ethnicity is a culture?
What about people who are multiple rolors and background?
Are we back to what ever you happen to identify yourself as?

[Galloglasses]

[quote name='Era Might' post='1610819' date='Jul 28 2008, 05:01 PM']In the United States, I don't think "ethnicity" and "race" are necessarily equivalent words. For example, someone might refer to "ethnic" parishes, which can be Polish, Italian, Irish, etc. However, when someone uses the word "race," they usually mean skin color and general physical attributes, and not necessarily culture. In the common American usage of the word "race," I would say that everyone is grouped into a short list of races: white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and perhaps Native American. It's not an exact definition of where you come from or what you look like, just a general categorization. If you are Asian, you may be from Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, etc. But you will be categorized into the general Asian "race" because you have the general characteristics of an Asian person. If you are white, you will be categorized as white, even though white people can be from different continents (North America, Europe, Australia).

"Ethnicity" refers more to culture than to general physical characteristics. Irish and Italian would be seen as different ethnicities, but not necessarily different races.[/quote]
I already touched upon racial groups in my first post in this thread, i'm aware of it. And In American that is true, but as I stated before there are racial differences within these racial Groups, so ethnicity can be considered interchangeable with the word Race. So, argueably, an Irish and an Italian Parish can be considered racially as well as culturally different. Its just that Ethnicity is a safer word to use.

[Era Might]

[quote name='Galloglasses' post='1610878' date='Jul 28 2008, 05:26 PM']I already touched upon racial groups in my first post in this thread, i'm aware of it. And In American that is true, but as I stated before there are racial differences within these racial Groups, so ethnicity can be considered interchangeable with the word Race. So, argueably, an Irish and an Italian Parish can be considered racially as well as culturally different. Its just that Ethnicity is a safer word to use.[/quote]
I was addressing the two words specifically in common American usage. I don't think "ethnicity" is just another way to say "race." They have different meanings. Race refers to general physical characteristics, while ethnicity refers more to culture.

Irish and Italian may or may not be racially different, but in America they will both be seen as the same race: white. However, they are seen as different ethnicities. This is reflected in the old ethnic parishes in the United States. There are Polish parishes, Italian parishes, German parishes, etc. But there are no "white" parishes, because "white" is not seen as an ethnicity, but rather as a race.

Interestingly, some American communities (mostly Protestant) did (and do) identify as "black churches." I think that is because black Americans were historically seen by race, not by ethnicity, so race has become a major part of their American identity. A white American (particularly immigrants) would more likely identify by ethnicity, not by race. In the past, there was some discrimination against white immigrants by white Americans, not because the immigrants were white, but because of their foreign ethnicity.

I'm not arguing whether or not the common American usage of the words "race" and "ethnicity" are accurate. I'm just pointing out that the two words do not necessarily mean the same thing in America.

[Era Might]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1610847' date='Jul 28 2008, 05:14 PM']So are you saying race is a color and ethnicity is a culture?[/quote]
In the common usage of those two words, then I think that is an accurate distinction. Although I would say that race is not just used to refer to skin color, but rather to general physical characteristics, which can include skin color. A black American and a person from Latin America with dark skin might have similar skin colors, but I think most people would recognize one as black and the other as Hispanic.

I think we have to distinguish between the common usage of the word "race," and its technical or scientific meaning. The common usage does not try to be too technical, it is just a general categorization based on general physical characteristics.

[VeniteAdoremus]

If I'm filling out a Dutch questionnaire/form and ethnicity comes up, it's always done like
"Where were you born?" (The Netherlands/Western Europe/Other)
"Where was your mother born?" (same options)
"Where was your father born?" (same options)

Often the options are a bit more diverse (up to a complete list of countries), this is the bare minimum.

But still, you can be born somewhere else, and your parents too, but assimilate so thoroughly that you'd be considered Dutch anyway. Most people have trouble identifying my foster dad as Swiss, and he beat me at the Dutch Dictionary game (okay, it was eight years ago, but I can't let it go just yet) - yet he only moved here after college and still almost exclusively speaks Swiss German with his wife.

I don't think it means so much. And according to PP I'm a minority in this country (100% ethnic Dutch tracing back to 1652), so I'm allowed to say that, aren't I?

[Balthazor]

In the race box I usually write in "Cheesehead".