Checking the "Race" Box
 

What keeps a person from claiming to be any race on an application for school/work/etc?

Do you have to be a certain percentage to claim to be a minority? And what would an authority use to challenge your claim? Is there some document? I would think most people in reality are somewhat mixed, yes?

If we all claimed to be minorities, would it end affirmative action?

Just sayin

Clearly, if you appear to be caucasion, and have a penis(size doesn't matter here), you are not a minority......YET!

Years ago, I put "American Indian" on a state job app. They wanted proof of tribal affiliation, basically something just short of a hand-written note from Sitting Bull himself.

You should have shown them that bad-arse tribal tattoo the goes 'round your bicep. ;)

We've been checking the box for "hispanic" on our kids. I'm not, wife is, even if she does have red hair and blue eyes and freckles... but she tans. Her sister is about half way in between, and her brother is traditional olive skin and black hair. Her father was puerto rican, her mom was canadian, she grew up in PR.

Just reference the single drop theory.

Hey, if they can use it we can too :)

I am of German ancestry. My wife is from Mexico. I will tell my kids when they are older to check the box that says "other" and write Germican next to it.

I know a completely white guy who was born in south africa. he's "african-american" when he checks boxes. he's certainly more african-american then most who normally check that box.

I refuse to check those boxes, but I'm thinking of getting creative the next time.

i always check "NEGRO" in case a computer runs the lay-off.

In HS my friends and I were always jealous of a friend who got to check off the "Native American Indian" box because of some remote ancestor. OK, maybe like 1/16th or something like that. Practically speaking, the kid was as Asian as the rest of us.

LOL! So true.
I have to tell that to my South African friend. Hope he hasn't heard it before.

I have a South African friend who tried that - didn't work lol.

LOL how about Meximan??


I don't think we have any forms that require checking a race box.
Over here it would be considered... well... racist...

Urban Dictionary: hickspanic
Does this count?

Blasian

Same here. He checked the African American box when applying for school aid when he entered college. It created a big uproar. The school said it was intenede for him.

I always thought it a bit strange the first box on the 4473 is "American Indian or Alaska Native". It also offers "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" as a choice.
Jim

I'am first generation born in America. Mom and Dad, naturalized citizens born in mexico. My grandfather immigrated from china to mexico in 1927. My birth certificate says I'm white. (back then you only had a choice of black or white) In the past I have marked "other", "hispanic" (I have yet to meet someone from hispania), "asian", "latino", and "mexican". I even checked the "other" box one time and wrote in "mexinese". :D

I was hoping this was about wanting to RACE someone or something.

This is real issue for me. My wife is 50% Hispanic so our son is 25%. He's whiter than me though and I'm pretty white. It seems perfectly legitimate for him to check the Hispanic box and a financially bad decision not to.

I've yet to see "drunken German Irishman", so I just check "other".

Here it is reverse racism..... It has been used to provide advantage to folks solely based on their race for years in this country where supposedly all men are equal in the govt's eyes. It has been used for hiring quotas, school enrollment, loans, grants etc.

So long as it continues in this country racism will persist.

My Mother is English and my Father is mostly ethnically German.

I've always told people that made me French...

My wife was born in Mexico, but is 3/4 Spanish (father actually born in Spain) and 1/4 French. What should be check?

Cool, I think LA is now 51% hispanic! I'm now the minority. I want my entitlement and I want it NOW!