Mixed race and the "One Drop Rule"

[RootsBooster]

Hmmmm...what gets me is, we now call people of mixed race....erm, well mixed race...whereas it always used to be half caste, now all of a sudden half caste deems to be racist and offensive, it never used to like that, well, it was never used by me that way... when did it become offensive.?

 

I can understand how it can be offensive if you look into the literal meaning.

If you accept the word "caste" comes from the Latin "castus" meaning "pure", more than it comes from the Portugese/Spanish "casta" meaning "race", then half-caste would mean half-pure.

[RootsBooster]

Martin Luther King had a white Icelandic father, but is always referred to as "black"..

 

No he didn't.

[Harleyman]

It depends on which of the races they most look like

[RootsBooster]

It depends on which of the races they most look like

 

So should we call some Japanese folk Chinese?

[Suffragette1]

Hmmmm...what gets me is, we now call people of mixed race....erm, well mixed race...whereas it always used to be half caste, now all of a sudden half caste deems to be racist and offensive, it never used to like that, well, it was never used by me that way... when did it become offensive.?

 

The term 'half-caste' is on a par with 'half breed' as far as I'm concerned. I don't even think that 'mixed-race' is considered acceptable anymore in the States and has been replaced with interracial, dual heritage or some such.

[melthebell]

Im certainly not having an argument with every brown person I see that they are not actually black.

awwwwww go on

[Sierra]

Put simply, they look black.

 

That's correct.

 

It's unique to the United States and originated in the South, historically rooted in slavery and was used, I think for the purposes of racial segregation. I suppose that ultimately, it is up to the individual concerned to identify with whichever race of their heritage, they see fit, if at all.

 

Correct again.

 

On official forms, and when the census takers come around, they ask what race you identify with. It's not like the old days when the census taker or whoever put down what they thought you were. It's really up to the individual, and there are boxes for bi-racial, etc.

 

Some years ago, there was a middle aged white (looking) woman in Florida (I think) who got a copy of her birth certificate and was shocked to learn that she was listed as black. I don't remember what happened, but she was upset and tried to 'fix' it. I can't recall if she was successful.

 

And it goes the other way, too.

 

There are so many 'rules' concerning race, I can't remember them all. The 1/8 rule, 1/32 and 1/64 rule? We in the US are schizophrenic about race. My own mother listed all of us kids as white on our birth certificates, despite her being hispanic because she thought it would help us. If she only knew that my daughter used to fill out forms identifying as hispanic.

 

The Human Stain is a perfect example, if a little extreme. Disown your whole family? And let me tell you, people of color can be just as bad if not more racist than white people.

[cressida]

Hmmmm...what gets me is, we now call people of mixed race....erm, well mixed race...whereas it always used to be half caste, now all of a sudden half caste deems to be racist and offensive, it never used to like that, well, it was never used by me that way... when did it become offensive.?

 

I was going to ask about caste, did it originate in India, only last week a woman trying to describe a driver mentioned half-caste - she seemed to be searching for a word - not heard the word caste for years

[Suffragette1]

That's correct.

 

 

 

Correct again.

 

On official forms, and when the census takers come around, they ask what race you identify with. It's not like the old days when the census taker or whoever put down what they thought you were. It's really up to the individual, and there are boxes for bi-racial, etc.

 

Some years ago, there was a middle aged white (looking) woman in Florida (I think) who got a copy of her birth certificate and was shocked to learn that she was listed as black. I don't remember what happened, but she was upset and tried to 'fix' it. I can't recall if she was successful.

 

And it goes the other way, too.

 

There are so many 'rules' concerning race, I can't remember them all. The 1/8 rule, 1/32 and 1/64 rule? We in the US are schizophrenic about race. My own mother listed all of us kids as white on our birth certificates, despite her being hispanic because she thought it would help us. If she only knew that my daughter used to fill out forms identifying as hispanic.

 

The Human Stain is a perfect example, if a little extreme. Disown your whole family? And let me tell you, people of color can be just as bad if not more racist than white people.

 

Isn't it bizarre that a country who was torn apart because of race, should still be so obsessed by it? We don't record race on birth certificates here.

[WeX]

I'm no geneticist but surely if one parent is of one race and the other is black, the offspring can only be half-black?

 

No, but I fear I'm about to make it more confusing for you. With dominant and recessive genes coupled with the creation (per parent) of 4 genetically different gametes combined with the same from the other parent, this gives 16 possible genetic outcomes.

 

I hope this didnt just happen: http://thecrashthimbles.com/images/mindblowing.gif