The point is that what you said – “generalizing race as white people, black people, Mexicans, asians, Mexicans, latinos” (what’s your obsession with Mexicans? 
) – is in fact how a lot of people think, but in truth it’s much more nuanced than that, as Yuli pointed out. That’s all.
I grew up around blacks and Mexicans. I dunno, what is the PC term for someone with a Mexican background? And please don’t say latino. I have NEVER heard any of them refer to themselves as a “latino”.
I don’t quite understand what yuli was saying.
But just so I’m clear, we’re in agreement that we/society generalizes race as white black asian mexican etc, right?
My obsession comment is because you wrote Mexicans in your list twice, in addition to Latinos. That’s disproportionate representation! 
Yeah, Americans generalize race. I think most societies do, possibly because of ignorance. Just like all white and black people in Taiwan “are American.”
[quote=“Hokwongwei”]My obsession comment is because you wrote Mexicans in your list twice, in addition to Latinos. That’s disproportionate representation!
Yeah, Americans generalize race. I think most societies do, possibly because of ignorance. Just like all white and black people in Taiwan “are American.”[/quote]
Oh haha I didn’t notice that.
No particular obsession toward Mexicans. I was equally harassed by them and blacks growing up.
Whats so wrong about generalizing by race though?
Am I offended if someone refers to me as an Asian? It would sound strange (considering my neighborhood consisted mostly of different kinds of Asians), but no I would not be offended by it. Id imagine many foreigners would also generally describe us simply as Asians just because you wouldn’t be able to tell which Asian country of decent we are from. Many cant tell the difference between someone who is Japanese or Korean or Chinese. The same applies to when we just say “White” because we don’t know if one is American, British, Australian, French, German, etc. Same applies to blacks. Although it is easier to tell if one is African American and one who is not. So whats the big deal?
And all white and black people are “American” because they’re not educated enough to know that there are other white and black people from other countries…
What she’s trying to say is that race is not as black and white (pun intended) as you make it out to be. The human brain is hardwired to notice physical and behavioral differences. We spent most of our history in small groups, generally no larger than 150 people, mostly family members, competing for resources against other small groups. The ability to recognize one’s tribe, and to be cautious or fearful of those from different tribes, conveyed an evolutionary advantage. At the same time, the ability to work with other tribes for mutual benefit was also advantageous (e.g., to fight a common enemy, respond to a natural disaster, etc.). These clusters are called identity groups. The rise of agriculture, organized religion, and nation-states dramatically expanded the scope and width of human identity groups.
Race is a fluid concept. Consider the “black” race. Is race defined by physical appearance, or ancestry? Virtually all black Americans have white ancestors, because female slaves were routinely raped. So are black Americans part of the “black” race, or are they all “mixed race”. Maybe ancestry doesn’t really matter, and it’s all about physical appearance. Does that mean someone with lighter skin is “less” black, and someone with darker skin is “more” black? How about someone whose ancestors are 50% African and 50% European? If ancestry doesn’t matter, that person is fully black. Or maybe culture should also play a factor. If a black kid grows up in a rich white neighborhood, plays classical piano, attends a white church, and spends her free time showing her champion English Springer Spaniels, is she white or black? If a white kid grows up in a black neighborhood, speaks Ebonics, listens to rap, etc., is he white or black? What if he gets a tan? 
.
We humans went from spending a million years living in tiny groups to, in just the last 10,000 years, forging vast empires that span continents. I for one would love to see us go that final step and create a global nation. I hope one day our descendants will sit around and laugh at the many ways human beings used to splinter into identity groups.
On that fluidity, Slate’s Vault recently posted a 1903 map (direct link to zoomable map here) titled “Race and Occupation of Immigrants By Destination”. The six races it analyzes? Teutonic, Keltic, Slavic, Iberic, Mongolic, and All Others. Spanish are classed as Iberic; Spanish-American are “Others”. “African (Black)” and Cuban are also Others. French are Keltic, as are North Italians and Irish, whereas South Italians and Syrians are Iberic; English, German, and Scandinavian are Teutonic.
So, yeah, the way we think about race keeps changing. In North America we don’t particularly “see” Italians or Irish people as different races anymore, but it sure seems like we used to. (It’s interesting to re-watch The Godfather while keeping this in mind.)
What she’s trying to say is that race is not as black and white (pun intended) as you make it out to be. The human brain is hardwired to notice physical and behavioral differences. We spent most of our history in small groups, generally no larger than 150 people, mostly family members, competing for resources against other small groups. The ability to recognize one’s tribe, and to be cautious or fearful of those from different tribes, conveyed an evolutionary advantage. At the same time, the ability to work with other tribes for mutual benefit was also advantageous (e.g., to fight a common enemy, respond to a natural disaster, etc.). These clusters are called identity groups. The rise of agriculture, organized religion, and nation-states dramatically expanded the scope and width of human identity groups.
Race is a fluid concept. Consider the “black” race. Is race defined by physical appearance, or ancestry? Virtually all black Americans have white ancestors, because female slaves were routinely raped. So are black Americans part of the “black” race, or are they all “mixed race”. Maybe ancestry doesn’t really matter, and it’s all about physical appearance. Does that mean someone with lighter skin is “less” black, and someone with darker skin is “more” black? How about someone whose ancestors are 50% African and 50% European? If ancestry doesn’t matter, that person is fully black. Or maybe culture should also play a factor. If a black kid grows up in a rich white neighborhood, plays classical piano, attends a white church, and spends her free time showing her champion English Springer Spaniels, is she white or black? If a white kid grows up in a black neighborhood, speaks Ebonics, listens to rap, etc., is he white or black? What if he gets a tan? .
We humans went from spending a million years living in tiny groups to, in just the last 10,000 years, forging vast empires that span continents. I for one would love to see us go that final step and create a global nation. I hope one day our descendants will sit around and laugh at the many ways human beings used to splinter into identity groups.[/quote]
Race is almost like a stereotype. Calling someone “White” basically refers to one’s skin color. Calling someone “Black” does not necessarily refer to one’s country of origin, but rather the color of his skin. Would you refer to a South African as Black or White? It depends on the color of their skin. You mentioned a black kid growing up in a rich white neighborhood and asked if he would still be considered white or black. And the same for a white kid growing up in a black neighborhood. The black kid would still be black and the white kid would still be white. What if they moved? Would they all of a sudden change “colors”??? Your social status, your neighborhood, the way you speak or act does not dictate the color of your skin–your genes. Of course there are exceptions when parents of an individual are of different races and one is considered mixed. Some look mixed. Others do not. The mixed often times won’t have to explain that he is mixed and the ones that don’t look mixed will often times have to explain that they are mixed. I have a friend who is half black and half vietnamese. He looks 100% black, but he will say that he’s half Asian.
I understand your point. And I understand that there are of course identity groups with clearly distinguishable physical features. “Race” just becomes a kind of convenient shorthand. Still, I maintain that people are people. Of course there are differences in culture, religion, language, physical appearance, etc. But I believe that our differences are relatively unimportant. Once we all realize that, there will be less self-segregation, more inter-marriages, and less differences to obsesses over.
Yes I also understand your point. You prefer a more simple way of life. One where there are no different nations and different countries. In your perfect world, there would no longer be the color red or blue or green. Everything would be ONE color. If I’m not mistaken, it sounds like you would promote the idea of taking a step BACK in evolution. Maybe we shouldn’t identify men and women as M and W but simply as “human” right? How far back do you want to go?
What is the connection between “color” and “race”? (Are you talking about eye colour? Or about hair colour, skin colour - at which part of the body?)
Here in Okinawa we have “white” people (for example, workers at city hall) and “black” people (for, example, farmers and fishers), and often a few of both can be found in one and the same family. Should i nevertheless assume that farmers and civil servants belong to different races?
Looks like the ChiComms’ government broadcaster CCTV missed the memo…
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Of course they will do black face while saying they love China and Chinese people.
Television on the CCTV channels are all pretty racist and like cringy propaganda stuff in China. A lot of war movies on how the mighty communist party beat the oppressive japs and stuff like that.
“Xue Lixia, 20, said she trusted CCTV’s judgment in assessing whether the skit was racist.” Lol the level of brainwashing they get there is shocking.
I watched this, i was like WTF is this, altough the blackface and fake ass went under my radar. My excuse is the flu
Further discussion:
so, is this cultural appropriation, the PC version of blackface, stupidity, seeking fame and downfall…