Can We Stop Counting Now?
Studies show that last year, 15% of all marriages in the US were inter-racial. Currently 34% of the United States population consists of "non-white" races. So this means, that roughly in a generation, the US will be about 50% of people from "non-white" races. And this assumes no immigration and the fact that some races produce more children than others. I'd say within 25 years that the US will be about 50/50.
So I have a question: can we stop counting races now? Let's face it - our country is a mix, and it has always been that way. Even most whites do not see themselves as simply "white." They see themselves as Irish, or Italian, Greek or of Russian decent, even though these cultures are completely different from one another. The only reason they're lumped together as white is because the government forces us to.
Why must we pencil in something in the race category every time we apply for a job or apply to university? We typically don't fill in height and weight, or hair or eye color, and these characteristics are just as random.
I say this because I believe most Americans couldn't care less about someone's race. Want proof? Oprah Winfrey has had the top afternoon show in America over the past 25 years. Tiger Woods was the most popular athlete (up until 2 years ago) and before him it was Michael Jordan. It's why people love Jeremy Lin (except guys like Jason Whitlock). And it's why Barack Obama was elected as President.
Does the USA really seem like a country that has horrific racial problems? Are people really disadvantaged by their race in America? We can all find a few outlier examples I'm sure and just last week we have sports writers make race-related comments. But by and large, most Americans (not counting Barack Obama and Eric Holder) simply don't care.
To me, the government counts race because they seem to believe two things: 1. That people of different races are disadvantaged by their race, and/or 2. That people of different races think differently from one another. If you disagree with these two notions, then it's time to stop counting these ridiculous numbers.
So I have a question: can we stop counting races now? Let's face it - our country is a mix, and it has always been that way. Even most whites do not see themselves as simply "white." They see themselves as Irish, or Italian, Greek or of Russian decent, even though these cultures are completely different from one another. The only reason they're lumped together as white is because the government forces us to.
Why must we pencil in something in the race category every time we apply for a job or apply to university? We typically don't fill in height and weight, or hair or eye color, and these characteristics are just as random.
I say this because I believe most Americans couldn't care less about someone's race. Want proof? Oprah Winfrey has had the top afternoon show in America over the past 25 years. Tiger Woods was the most popular athlete (up until 2 years ago) and before him it was Michael Jordan. It's why people love Jeremy Lin (except guys like Jason Whitlock). And it's why Barack Obama was elected as President.
Does the USA really seem like a country that has horrific racial problems? Are people really disadvantaged by their race in America? We can all find a few outlier examples I'm sure and just last week we have sports writers make race-related comments. But by and large, most Americans (not counting Barack Obama and Eric Holder) simply don't care.
To me, the government counts race because they seem to believe two things: 1. That people of different races are disadvantaged by their race, and/or 2. That people of different races think differently from one another. If you disagree with these two notions, then it's time to stop counting these ridiculous numbers.
posted by pistolpete | 3:33 AM
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