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I don't consider Lebanese people to be white even if they're not Muslim.
I don't think most people consider Ralph Nader, John Abizaid, Darrel Issa, Jamie Farr, Kathy Najimy, Paul Anka, or Tony Shalhoub to be people of color. They don't physically look any different than Jews, Italians, or Greeks. Some Lebanese people even look Northern European.
Lebanese Americans are probably a lot less prominent today than they were say 50 years ago though, because they've intermarried so much with European Americans.
I don't consider Lebanese people to be white even if they're not Muslim.
I'm pretty sure if you saw a Lebanese American in the street you wouldn't know that they were Lebanese. Europeans don't have the monopoly on "whiteness." Genetics and phenotypes go beyond socially constructed national borders. This is why people from north Africa are African but not "black."
I'm pretty sure if you saw a Lebanese American in the street you wouldn't know that they were Lebanese. Europeans don't have the monopoly on "whiteness." Genetics and phenotypes go beyond socially constructed national borders. This is why people from north Africa are African but not "black."
I don't think most people consider Ralph Nader, John Abizaid, Darrel Issa, Jamie Farr, Kathy Najimy, Paul Anka, or Tony Shalhoub to be people of color. They don't physically look any different than Jews, Italians, or Greeks. Some Lebanese people even look Northern European.
Lebanese Americans are probably a lot less prominent today than they were say 50 years ago though, because they've intermarried so much with European Americans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BadgerFilms
I'm pretty sure if you saw a Lebanese American in the street you wouldn't know that they were Lebanese. Europeans don't have the monopoly on "whiteness." Genetics and phenotypes go beyond socially constructed national borders. This is why people from north Africa are African but not "black."
Most Lebanese and Syrian people I've seen look blatantly Arab to me
Most Lebanese and Syrian people I've seen look blatantly Arab to me
Often it depends upon their background. Recent genetic studies have shown there really are genetic differences between people in Lebanon/Syria based upon religious faith. Muslims have more Arab ancestry, and relatively low levels (under 10%) of black ancestry from the trans-Saharan slave trade. Lebanese/Syrian Christians do not, they are for the most part direct descendants of the local population prior to the rise of Islam (the Crusaders didn't really mix that much with the local population).
Very few Christian Lebanese would even pass as Northern European, although some would. But in terms of phenotype they're not that different from Greeks, Italians, Jews, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by l1995
White =wholly European ancestry
As a whole, Arabs are not considered white even if some of the Levant Arabs are white looking
So you don't consider Jews to be white then? That's a pretty antiquated notion these days.
IMHO you are "white" if you pass for white, and don't make any effort to make yourself look culturally distinctive. Someone with dark brown hair, dark eyes, and pale skin which lightly tans is completely within the normal range for Europeans.
You won't be viewed as an immigrant, but likely out of place. It has nothing to do with being Italian though. It has to do with being from the northeast.
As someone from the northeast who has spent a couple weeks in a small town in the dirty south, I can tell you that I felt like I was in a different world. Seriously. Everything is at such a slow pace. There are these small churches on what seems like every other corner, and people were talking like so painfully slow. Everyone I encountered down there was friendly though.
I realize that it seems like I'm stereotyping, but I'm just telling you about my experience down there. It's probably very different from what I'm describing in the bigger cities.
Anyway, I can't be certain that I was viewed as out of place....but I definitely felt very out of place. This was the heart of the Bible Belt. It was a weird and interesting experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
Sounds as weird and interesting as my stay in a small town in Pennsylvania. Oh, and a small town in Delaware. Oh, and in Maine. And in Connecticut.
Small towns anywhere tend to feel a bit cloistered and insulated in my opinion. Throw in some cultural differences (RAMP FESTIVAL, ANYONE? WANT A MOXIE AND A FLUFFERBUTTER SANDWICH?) and you've got a real case of feeling like an outsider.
You make a good point about the small towns.
And I'm very familiar with Fluffernutters. It's just a PB&J with marshmallow fluff.
So there is a discussion on the Nj forum about a mayor's mom,(Joe Rotundo) rant about Koreans.
Joe Rotundo is Italian American,I believe 3rd generation.
One of the posters wrote" I would bet many NJ Italians if they traveled to Midland Texas, or Little Rock Arkansas would be seen as immigrants or tourists based on how they look and behave."
Now part of me is skeptical about this,and i really do not see how someone who is a fully assimilated American of Italian descent can look out of place in Texas(which is diverse anyway)
I don't think most people consider Ralph Nader, John Abizaid, Darrel Issa, Jamie Farr, Kathy Najimy, Paul Anka, or Tony Shalhoub to be people of color. They don't physically look any different than Jews, Italians, or Greeks. Some Lebanese people even look Northern European.
Lebanese Americans are probably a lot less prominent today than they were say 50 years ago though, because they've intermarried so much with European Americans.
I mean if I saw them on the street I'd say their all white, with Tonny Shalhoub being the only one I'd say "maybe he's not white, maybe he's something else"
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