Text 32792, 74 rader
Skriven 2016-04-22 00:18:56 av Lee Lofaso (2:203/2)
Ärende: Hispanics & Race
========================
Hello Everybody,

Such a strange subject.  Hispanics & Race.
How do Hispanics go about identifying themselves?
In the USA, even the Bureau of the Census seems
not to have a clue.  Not a clue at all.

 >>> Language defines a culture, not a geography.  Hispanics identify
 >>> themselves not by race, but by language.

That is what I wrote, in a previous message.

 >> Although language may well play a major part for some Hispanics, it is more
 >> a matter of cultural heritage.  I'd wager that many Hispanics do not speak
 >> Spanish at all, even if it was the native language of a recent ancestor.

Language defines a culture, not the other way around.
Even though a majority of Cajuns no longer speak the
Cajun language, Cajuns continue to define themselves
as Cajuns.  The same is true of Hispanics and the
Spanish language.  It is not a matter of race, but
of language.

 EC> True. And a fair-sized chunk of people that Lee clusters together under
the
 EC> label "Hispanic" are not overly fond of being categorized as "Hispanic" or
 EC> "Latino/a." Puerto Ricans often like to be called Puerto Rican, and Cubans
 EC> Cuban, if they are to be given a big collective label at all. Sweeping
 EC> labels like "Hispanic" gloss over all sorts of diversity within the group.

Every 10 years, the US Bureau of the Census sends out
a form that has several questions on it.  Most telling
are Question 8 and Question 9 (Census 2010) -

NOTE: Please answer BOTH Question 8 about Hispanic
origin and Question 9 about race.  For this census,
Hispani origins are not races.

8. Is Persn 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?
* No, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin
* Yes, Mexican, Mexican Am, Chicano
* Yes, Puerto Rican
* Yes, Cuban
* Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin -
 Print origin, for eample, Argentinean, Colombian,
 Dominican, Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, Spaniard, and
 so on

9. What is Person 1's race?  Mark X one or more boxes.
* White
* Black, AFrican Am, or Negro
* American Indian or Alaska Native - Print name of
 enrolled principal tribe
* Some other race - Print race

The word "race" has not always been used on the Census.
For example, the word "race" was not included in the 1960
Census or the 1980 Census.  Instead, the forms were much
more human and asked, "Is this person -" followed by a
listing of the racial categories.

I can think of a much better way of doing things.
For the 2020 Census, there should be only two racial
categories listed -

* Mutts
* Pure Breeds

And then, everybody will be happy.

--Lee

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
 * Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)