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As I understand it, this is a throwback to the Southern Slave days. If one was born half black, that made that child black and was therefore a slave. In the Caribbean Islands, there was a social order on how black a mixed race person was. The lighter skinned blacks were higher up in the social order and the black-blacks were at the bottem of the social order. Apparently the whites in the d'RAT party have not outgrown their Southern Slave bigotry about mixed races. They still think a mixed black/white is all black, and are still their slaves, and they are still trying to make them their slaves, -to the d'RAT Party. We Republican's just call a mixed black/white person as 'mixed', if we even mention 'race'.
The only case studies that Obama represents were first, supporters of Hillary Clinton attempting to undermine his connection with African American voters and second and most recently, right wing conservatives attempting to do the same.
Really? Where and how did Hillary Clinton supporters advance these theories? Lots of unfounded "racist" accusations were first launched by Obama against both Hillary AND BILL!! Clinton in the primaries as a way to ingratiate himself to the black community.
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Originally Posted by ovcatto
Quite frankly, your premise boils down to nothing more and nothing less than the old time brown paper bag test. In each of your examples you presented "bi-racial" children who look more "white" than "black." It is interesting that you didn't post pictures of "bi-racial" children, like my daughter who can pass as anything other than an African American.
Wrong. MY premise is that people should be free to identify how they want. I also stated it's not unreasonable for people to identify mostly with what society perceives them as. Then, I stated that this will probably change as people recognize mixed people as truly mixed, rather than just labelling them whatever the non-white half of their makeup is.
I also haven't posted any pictures or posited any examples of biracial people, other than to discuss Wentworth Miller, a picture of whom was posted by the OP. In my opinion, if you have to be TOLD someone is mixed with "that something else," then it's probably OK to not identify that person as that "something else."
As far as the "paper bag test," I'm sure black people would just completely accept the decision of someone who is 1/8th white running around calling themselves "White!" They'd be up in arms, accusing, as you say, this person from denying their blackness!
"Black" is not a race, it's a color. Same for "white".
"African American" is not a race, it's an ethnic group.
Caucasoid (or Caucasian or Europoid) and Negroid are the races in question. From a forensic anthropologist's viewpoint, all the people listed (including our President), are "mixed". Their bone structure and genetics would bear multiple markers of multiple races.
The people in question should be also considered bi-racial or mixed culturally.
But in the United States, primarily because of the history of the "one drop rule", it's usually one or the other. Darker-skinned people are usually labeled as "black" and lighter skinned people are labeled as "white". Actions also play into it. Obama has darker skin and has a black wife, so he is considered black.
My daughter is mixed. She is half white 1/4 Asian and 1/4 Hawaiian. She is usually called Asian. She has had teachers, strangers, employers, etc refuse to acknowledge her mixed race status and only labeled her as Asian. So No, mixed children are not always acknowledged as such.
In Hawaiʻi, folks would probably consider your daughter to be "Hawaiian."
Instead of using a broad, catch-all, "Asian" category, folks in Hawaiʻi tend to distinguish among different Asian nationalities (e.g. "Chinese", "Japanese", "Korean", "Pilipino", "Vietnamese", "Thai", "Indonesian", etc.). Thus, we'd usually refer to someone as being "1/4 Chinese" or "1/4 Pilipino", instead of "1/4 Asian."
For various reasons, some folks tend to jumble "race", "nationality", and "ethnicity" together.
People tend to refer to other people by whatever they look like. So if you are biracial with recognizably African features (like Barak Obama) people will call you black. However if you are biracial and people can't see the "black" at first glance then it won't get mentioned much (like Mariah Carey or Wentworth Miller). I really think a lot of this gets dictated by how the world reacts to you. I think people often come to identify with whatever group they are frequently placed into, because they may share experiences with that group.
That said, I hear terms like "biracial" and "mixed" used A LOT, so I'm not sure this phenomenon is as widely practiced as the OP states. A persons mixed-race status does get acknowledged frequently.
At this point in time I would say there is a huge majority of people who are mixed. If your mother was Irish and your father Italian - that's being mixed.
I myself am a fruit cocktail with all the crossing over my ancestors did.
That's a mixed ethnicity.... THAT is super common. Italian/Irish is not a mixed race couple! I have NINE (known) nationalities that make up my background, of various percentages of the whole... I don't consider myself mixed!
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Originally Posted by softblueyz
I need to correct you on the Mexican issue. Just recently the illegal Mexicans protested being referred to as illegals as they thought it was disrepectful so Obama has declared illegals as "undocumented Americans". But if we go with your "American" first then an illegal would be an "American undocumented".
They aren't "Americans." You're not an American until you are naturalized as a citizen, or you are born here.
Even LEGAL immigrants are not Americans until they take the steps to become American. I have an immigrant father who has lived in America for over 40 years without "becoming American." I don't refer to him as an American, as he is not, and he has not chosen that designation for himself.
Americans are Discusting! We went to war against Hitler cause Any Human Not White was Killed! Yet Decades later WE are Guilty of using the Race or how a person looks to condem them! Yet 99% of Americans are MIXED some way shape or form! I call my self when asked an American Mutt! I NEVER put Race/color on ANy application! Has Nothing to do with Job Abilities! Try it... Make You feel better & hopfully will Drop this nonsence!
I think labels are stupid, inmature, and lame. Start seeing people for people, no labels, Everyone knows there is good and there is bad.
Judge people from their inside, their essence, their good. I have friends of every kind, and they each are special to me, i don't judge them on their looks, or how much money they have or don't have, but who they are inside. Good in people reins out. I love people who can find humor in the negative, and even laugh at themselves.
Yes even me, have friends from each party, and no i don't judge them on our disagreements, or we would not be friends.
I love people, who can make me laugh, and that we have some of the same interests.
I love the different foods, from my differnt friends, and love sharing receipes. I learned a couple of yrs ago, that life can almost be taken from you, just like that? in a bink of an eye, and those you love so deeply, can be gone, just like that!
So enjoy life to the fullest, and it's people.
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