Do You "Know" A Person Of Another Race?

Superhero Sam said:

Why is the term mulatto considered offensive if it only means a person who's mixed race, and most people dont even use it in a derogatory way?

Click to expand...

Most people do just say "mixed race" for the reasons given in the other post (I just saw it after I posted).

Hetta said:

One person doesn't want to know people of other races. How sad. I feel sorry for him/her.

Click to expand...

I think that was just TerranceL voting for every option, if I understood correctly.

Inkachu said:

Dancing is definitely required; however, dancing well is not.

You can eat ice cream before, after, or during the dance. However, trying to do John Travolta moves with a banana split might prove challenging for some.

Click to expand...

dancing is not a skill in my possession, im glad i didn't pick that option. i don't even know what a john Travolta move is.

Superhero Sam said:

There are already words to identify part white part asians-Eurasians. Whats so offensive about using words to describe people who are mixed race? As long as theres nothing hateful or demeaning about it-I dont see what the big deal is.

Click to expand...

It can be a bit annoying for me when regularly asked what I am from strangers.

Are you going to give me a discount on my coffee or overpriced glasses?

I am an American human. What more needs to be known?

Little boxes, little boxes. .. the theme song of Weeds goes through my head.

jacknife said:

dancing is not a skill in my possession, im glad i didn't pick that option. i don't even know what a john Travolta move is.

Click to expand...

Google Saturday Night Fever

catfood said:

from a person living in a multi racial country this is a weird thread.

Click to expand...

This is a weird country. There are concentrations of groups in city regions, but lacking in some suburban and rural areas. There are reasons for this.

bill5 said:

PS the OP missed the "I'm friends with whoever I happen to meet and get along with regardless of demographics" option.

Click to expand...

That is what got me jammed.

RDKirk said:

You clearly took it personally because your response was a personal anecdote instead of a contradictory study.

Click to expand...

Do you not GET the significance of "I don't trust studies very much"? I surely do not trust any surveys or studies of 'racism' in the United States for the reasons I mentioned previously?

RDKirk said:

Yes. There is a national raffle held every five years for black friendships. Tickets are available at participating KFCs and McDonalds. Many will enter, few will win.

Click to expand...

How many tickets must I buy in order to escape the 'racist' label? Does Al Sharpton get a cut of the gross?

Stop. That was offered in the same spirit as your comment.

RDKirk said:

The truth is, black people are not "evenly distributed" across the US. ..."sundown towns"...

Click to expand...

I'm familiar with the phenomenon. Never thought highly of the concept.

RDKirk said:

I was in that cohort of black youngsters in the 60s that first experienced integration.

Click to expand...

Interesting. When I went to grade school (in the 1950s, Portland, Oregon) all the public schools I attended were integrated. I confess I wondered about such a thing being an issue at the time.

We lived in a 'mixed' neighborhood. The east side of the street was mostly white, the west side of the same residential street (Cleveland Avenue) was mostly black. I don't remember any other ethnicities in that area.

I do remember a couple of black men were visiting their friends across the street. They drove up on two motorcycles. A (mixed) bunch of kids crowded around them to see the motorcycles. The two men didn't voice any concerns or displeasure that some of the kids were white. That seemed 'normal' to me. I was in third grade at the time.

RDKirk said:

Because I was a bookworm, a nerd, a geek even before those latter two terms were invented...

Click to expand...

Had we gone to school together, we would have probably been friends. I have the same sort of attitude.

RDKirk said:

I suck mightily at sports...

Click to expand...

Yeah, we'd have been friends.

RDKirk said:

That's my only point: A lot of white people in the US have not been around blacks to have befriended any, and it's not their fault.

Click to expand...

Fair enough. I've made black friends. People with whom I worked or served. My best friend in Marine Corps Basic Training was a black man. I think we ended up as friends as we were the only two people in the platoon with a degree. I had a High School diploma and he had a Master's. But I could pronounce, spell and understood the meaning of 'pedantic', AND I had read more classics than required in High School. He was several years older and I think he thought I had promise.

We met - in Marine Corps Reserve - several years later and resumed where we left off. Sad to say, we've lost touch since then. But I've lost touch with several other friends I should have been more careful about as well. I tend to focus on present situations.

However, part of the original discussion was 'a person of another race'. In the service and later in my career I was associated with a number of 'other races'.

I knew a couple of Native Americans. We worked together and had - I think - I measure of mutual respect for each other. But the ones with whom I worked tended to go to the Enlisted Club after work and get snockered. I didn't do that, so we never got to be 'friends' as such.

I knew some people of 'Asian' ancestry. The descriptor always made me laugh, as Asia is a land mass with many ethnic groups. Not all of them are 'yellow', either.

What I found was Christianity tended to bind as brothers and friends much quicker than ethnicity. Regardless of ethnicity.

At least in the United States isn't there so much racial and ethnic diversity that it would be hard to avoid people who aren't of the same race or ethnicity as yourself?

scraparcs said:

At least in the United States isn't there so much racial and ethnic diversity that it would be hard to avoid people who aren't of the same race or ethnicity as yourself?

Click to expand...

Completely, yes. On a daily basis and in meaningful ways, no, due to geographical segregation. My elementary/middle school class was 100% white.

Biological race is a myth.

Inkachu said:

Like, as a compulsion? lol

Click to expand...

It's like a scab! I just have to pick at it.

Cearbhall said:

I think that was just TerranceL voting for every option, if I understood correctly.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm a dork.

scraparcs said:

At least in the United States isn't there so much racial and ethnic diversity that it would be hard to avoid people who aren't of the same race or ethnicity as yourself?

Click to expand...

It depends upon the region of the country you live in.

LOVEthroughINTELLECT said:

Biological race is a myth.

Click to expand...

True, but the clanish nature of humans is real. Differences are often avoided, embraced, or attacked.

My wife and mother attended my black grandmother's funeral. Will my keen eyes, I saw how they were treated. By no means my imagination.

I have dozens of anecdotal stories.

Largely, people are attracted to other people and groups that are similar. It can be common skin pigmentation, or most complex similarities.

This can be seen in immigrant communities. Similar language and backgrounds. There is a sense of safety and ease in functioning.

There are people of many backgrounds that favor strong interactions with primary people like them. Safety of conversation, and a strong feelings of community, as self segregating as it may be.

We tend to view individuals as members of groups, rather than as individuals. This is a common shortcoming to identify personally.

I have many stories and observations, but they are anecdotal and won't change anything. I just can do my part in doing the right things for me.

I don't really think it matters much the pigmentation of my friends and close contacts. It may or may not broaden my horizons.