The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

by **LOLtron** » Fri May 18, 2012 1:25 pm

It's official! The number of white births in America has fallen below fifty percent, with the Latino population continuing to make large gains in US demographics. As a Canadian, I have to ask, aren't Latinos white people too? America is the only country in world where Latin Americans are sectioned off into their own little 'racial' group instead of being considered another European ethnicity. Historically, there is some precedence. My father's family came from Ireland. Even though the Irish are a nation so pale that many risk bursting into flame whenever they go into direct sunlight, it is only in the last century that Americans included them amongst the white races. The problem was religion. The US has always been proud of its religious diversity, but the reality is that the diversity was one of Reformation churches. If you weren't Protestant, you weren't welcome. Now you might reply that it is silly to consider religion in determining race, but that's because of the success non-Protestants have had in gaining acceptance. It is silly to include religion in defining race now, it wasn't then. The definition of race has changed.

Following the Irish, many others have found acceptance, particularly the 'Latin' and Meditarrean nations. The Italians, the Greeks. But not the Spanish. Maybe the proximity of Latin America weighs on the discussion, making Latinos an Other that is right here, rather than way over there in the 'Old Country'? I don't know, but I do know that when faced with the rise of 'non-white' groups in the past, America has reacted, not by embracing multi-culturalism, but by redefining what it means to be white. I predict it'll happen again. Yes, there are some Latinos that are black, there are even some that are Asian, but most are white. America will simply be recognizing something that every other nation already sees.

Originally Pubished at: David Bird

http://www.theouthousers.com/index.php/blogs/david-birds-blog/19476-count-down-to-official-white-status.html/

by **Victorian Squid** » Fri May 18, 2012 1:38 pm

Not one of your strongest blog offerings IMO, and doesn't even bother do ask the question as to whether most Latinos in America would want to be considered "white". Or if that is even truly a definition of "multi-culturalism" anyone would even want. Very biased by the authors usual nationalism and narrow perspective.

by **AaronW** » Fri May 18, 2012 1:39 pm

Bummer. Better keep stocking up on ammo.

by **Cat-Scratch** » Fri May 18, 2012 1:42 pm

Whites are a minority now.

:smt102

by **achilles** » Fri May 18, 2012 1:47 pm

When can I get my affirmative action preferences? :wink:

by **Cat-Scratch** » Fri May 18, 2012 1:49 pm

achilles wrote:When can I get my affirmative action preferences?

Never. Now stfu gringo!

by **e_galston** » Fri May 18, 2012 1:52 pm

achilles wrote:When can I get my affirmative action preferences?

go back to school (or go to school if you are that age) and go to a predominately black school and you'll get special treatment and minority scholarships.. i know someone who's currently doing that

by **GOSD** » Fri May 18, 2012 1:57 pm

I'll be dead before they take over so who gives a shit.

by **achilles** » Fri May 18, 2012 1:59 pm

GOSD wrote:I'll be dead before they take over so who gives a shit.

You're dying today?!? :shock:

by **GOSD** » Fri May 18, 2012 2:29 pm

achilles wrote:
You're dying today?!?

They haven't taken over yet. :wink:

by **Timbales** » Fri May 18, 2012 2:39 pm

In the US, Spanish people from Spain are white. Hispanic people from the Americas are not.

by **David Bird** » Fri May 18, 2012 2:48 pm

McDarkseid wrote:Not one of your strongest blog offerings IMO, and doesn't even bother do ask the question as to whether most Latinos in America would want to be considered "white". Or if that is even truly a definition of "multi-culturalism" anyone would even want. Very biased by the authors usual nationalism and narrow perspective.

What I suspect will happen is that the inclusion of Latinos will reshape the American mainstream. Just as the Irish broke the Protestant based religious barrier, I think Latinos will break the English language barrier.

As for nationalism and narrow perspective, whatever that refers to, there are almost 200 countries in the world and only one of them thinks of Latinos as being anything but white.

by **AaronW** » Fri May 18, 2012 2:50 pm

I need to move north.

by **Keb** » Fri May 18, 2012 2:51 pm

McDarkseid wrote:Not one of your strongest blog offerings IMO, and doesn't even bother do ask the question as to whether most Latinos in America would want to be considered "white". Or if that is even truly a definition of "multi-culturalism" anyone would even want..

I agree. I will say that I think we define multiculturalism by the mix of races and it's fairly vague. Recently I was writing a case for my clients dealing with a fairly new inner-city University, who claimed to have a culturally diverse student body, even though it was 80-odd% black and 15-odd% "latin american". It's not really diverse, IMO, if there is one predominant culture that outnumbers all other cultures.

On the flip side, my high school was like 60% "South Asian" and 25% "East Asian", but in that ethnic grouping, there were a number of cultures because South and East Asia have a whole bunch of languages and countries and cultures vary. To call a Viet dude "Chinese" is insulting because they are very different even if they both eat rice (so to speak).

I think calling Latin Americans "white" kind of lumps them into a category where they don't belong. Yes, they speak Spanish (and Portuguese) but the Spanish culture is VERY different from the Latino culture. I saw it first-hand when I took beginners Spanish in university and had a Spanish professor fill in for my Dominican professor.

It would be akin to lumping Dragavon (a Pakistani guy) and nerdyman (a Japanese guy) together simply because they are both of "Asian" descent. Two completely different cultures.

by **achilles** » Fri May 18, 2012 6:09 pm

David Bird wrote:
What I suspect will happen is that the inclusion of Latinos will reshape the American mainstream. Just as the Irish broke the Protestant based religious barrier, I think Latinos will break the English language barrier.

As for nationalism and narrow perspective, whatever that refers to, there are almost 200 countries in the world and only one of them thinks of Latinos as being anything but white.

Will break the language barrier? Shop at most stores in SoCal and the signs are in English and Spanish. You can vote in like 28 languages. The automatic tellers here have the option of English, Spanish, Vietnamese, (there's a large local population), Chinese, Japanese, and for some reason I can't figure out, Russian.

Many jobs require that you be bilingual in Spanish and English.

In other words, that ship has sailed.