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Why do Americans classify "Latinos/Hispanics", "Jews" and "Arabs" as races?
Latinos/Hispanics: Nations in the Caribbean, South, Central America that have cultural ties with Spain, i.e. the Spanish language. It is an ethnicity not a race.
It's so bad that many Americans of Latino decent believe it themselves, especially in lower income areas.
Most Latinos in the USA are Mexican (Over 3/4's?). It makes sense, only impoverished country that shares a walkable border with the USA so many immigrants (both legal and illegal) come to USA for economic gain. Most of these immigrants are multiracial with strong Indigenous traits. As a result most Americans assume every person with these traits, or even similarities (Black hair, brown eyes, tan skin, short) is Mexican. However in Mexico you have people of all races and a variety of mixes.
This mindset has lead to the "minority" mentality among Latinos. I think it's a very negative thing. An outcast feeling, that they are doomed for failure and never will be accepted which makes them want to be different. Which is why many refuse assimilation. At least among the uneducated. The mindset has to go and the term is not helping. Especially when it is used on official paperwork in the racial categories. People like George Lopez are not helping the Mexican community by re-enforcing Stereotypes.
Arabs are not a race. Arabs are people who share the same language Arabic. There decent/culture originates from the Middle East and northern Africa. They are mostly a multiracial people and like "Hispanics/Latinos" have great variety. Again not a race.
Jews, a religion. Can be from anywhere in the world. Any race.
Why do Americans still feel these are races in 2010?
Because it's easy to do so and they feel they have their own distinct culture which does not fit mainstream America I'm assuming? I think people already are aware of the stuff you listed. It doesn't take a genius to realize it.
If you mean officially, they don't. Hispanics are considered an ethnicity by the government not a race, the only officially recognized ethnicity I think, but anyway, you can be Black or White and still be Hispanic.
Arabs and people of Middle Eastern and North African descent are actually considered White by government categorization.
And Jews are considered a religious group, but maybe an ethnicity too, I could see an argument for that but I don't think they're counted that way.
Unofficially, who knows the whole answer, but I'd say it's mostly due to culture and color.
I'd say our whole concept is wrong anyway, sure it's easy to classify as Black, White, Asian, or whatever, but then we screw it up by adding in smaller of more precise groups. It should be the same rules for everyone, or find a new type system. Hispanic includes so many different peoples, so does Arabs, but it's still more precise than Black and White, but why do some groups get more precision than others? I honestly don't like being called White, it groups tons of different people together that aren't at all the same, same with Blacks. I'd take Slavic as an ethnicity, which in my opinion it is, or Polish or Western Slav cause it's even more precise, but whatever, I don't get insulted being called White, what can I do? I do get insulted being called Anglo though, you don't hear that much on the East Coast, but when I encountered it I was pretty damn insulted, that's like calling all Spanish speaking people Spanish or Mexican, or like calling all Asians Chinese.
But anyway, it's obviously really complex and I doubt you'll get any satisfying answers. I'd say the overall reason for our classifications are based on historic and cultural attitudes and values. You're not really gonna get more than that.
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnicity. If you are a white hispanic from say Argentina it is fairly easy for you to classify yourself on the census. You would check white under race and Hispanic under ethnicity. It is also easy if you are a black hispanic. The problem arises when you are either amerindian, mestizo (half white, half amerindian), or just any part amerindian. This is due to the fact that Native American is the closest thing to amerindian but this term only refers to amerindian from the US. All other Amerindians aren't an option which is a huge mistake. Most hispanics are of some amerindian percent so because of this problem they just say they are hispanic or latino but it is not a race.
The idea there even is "races" is disputed in anthropology. Although there does seem to be genetic varieties among humans. If we deem those races than I would say that Semites, Arabs and most Jews collectively, are actually "a race." Or at least I seem to recall Semites share certain genetic markers. Of course that could lead to another question.
Why do Americans consider East Africans and West Africans to be of the same race? From what I can tell their haplogroups tend to be different and in appearance there are differences in factors like "lankiness" and head shape. For example Obama's father was of a Nilotic people, but African-Americans are primarily of Niger-Congo ancestry. Putting aside his white mom Obama is therefore of a "different race" even as an "African American" if race is about haplogroup. (I wanted to use a less political example, but I had trouble thinking of a good alternate Nilotic-American)
Although back to the main issue even if Semitic could count as a race, Latino/Hispanic wouldn't be a "race" because it's people of many ancestries and haplogroups. I think even the census counts it as an ethnicity and allows that Hispanic/Latinos can be of any race. Although I think most are "mixed race."
Where do you see, hear people referring to the Arab race, the Jewish race, Hispanic race?
Some may refer to others by the terms Arab, Jewish, Hispanic "people", which there are those groups of people.
And then you can't have the sense to be a little more specific with your thread but would rather group all Americans in that group you are saying refers to them that way.
"Why do Americans still feel these are races in 2010?"
Being those that have applied for citizenship and gotten it or have lived here all their lives would be considered American then you must think that Arabs, Hispanics and Jewish people that are American citizens are doing this also.
"Who is an Arab?" is a pretty controversial question in that part of the world. I think the Arab League said that you're Arab if you "share our culture, share our language, and consider yourself part of us" or some such. So Arab-speaking Sudanese are "Arabs" by some definitions even though ethnically they're largely Black/Nilo-Saharan.
Why do Americans classify "Latinos/Hispanics", "Jews" and "Arabs" as races?
Latinos/Hispanics: Nations in the Caribbean, South, Central America that have cultural ties with Spain, i.e. the Spanish language. It is an ethnicity not a race.
It's so bad that many Americans of Latino decent believe it themselves, especially in lower income areas.
Most Latinos in the USA are Mexican (Over 3/4's?). It makes sense, only impoverished country that shares a walkable border with the USA so many immigrants (both legal and illegal) come to USA for economic gain. Most of these immigrants are multiracial with strong Indigenous traits. As a result most Americans assume every person with these traits, or even similarities (Black hair, brown eyes, tan skin, short) is Mexican. However in Mexico you have people of all races and a variety of mixes.
This mindset has lead to the "minority" mentality among Latinos. I think it's a very negative thing. An outcast feeling, that they are doomed for failure and never will be accepted which makes them want to be different. Which is why many refuse assimilation. At least among the uneducated. The mindset has to go and the term is not helping. Especially when it is used on official paperwork in the racial categories. People like George Lopez are not helping the Mexican community by re-enforcing Stereotypes.
Arabs are not a race. Arabs are people who share the same language Arabic. There decent/culture originates from the Middle East and northern Africa. They are mostly a multiracial people and like "Hispanics/Latinos" have great variety. Again not a race.
Jews, a religion. Can be from anywhere in the world. Any race.
Why do Americans still feel these are races in 2010?
Who cares what Hispanics are on government forms, as if it has any relevance on their day-to-day life? Hispanics aren't seen as white people in the real world. Period. It's just the way it is. They look different from what we classify as "white", have a completely different culture than typical "white culture". We can sit here and argue for hours, but nothing will change that fact.
And while we're at it, why are blacks and Asians (or white) classified as races? It has been proven over and over again that biologically, there is no such thing as race.
Last edited by 10013; 10-17-2010 at 12:58 AM..
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