Racial Classification In 2000 Essay Research Paper

Racial Classification In 2000 Essay, Research Paper

Across every state in the Union the call to classify can be heard. From the 2000 census to the job application come requisitions to mark the box that most appropriately describes your racial background. Spokespersons for the under-privileged segments of our society clamor to even the score (Scalia J., qtd. Judicial Review ) , and our governments subsidize such divisive rhetoric with legislation that mandates racial quotas (Judicial Review ). Racial classification is wrong for three reasons: it is a negating experience for the individual; it inherently divides people; and it is unconstitutional in practice.

But classification has its advantages. Without the institutionalization of racial classification, much valuable demographic information would be lost. Demographer Linda Jacobsen notes that absence of such classification .provides less of a link to historical data on race and ethnicity, as well as providing a disadvantage, for example, to health researchers, who know that certain health conditions or health problems are linked to particular races, such as sickle cell anemia, for example (Not an Other. ). It is certain that some employment of classifications is for good.

Racial classification itself is not inherently evil, as Dr. Orlando Patterson from Harvard observes race is a social construct, something we invent, an identification, partly imposed on us, partly what we select and choose (Not an Other. ). It only exists in our minds. It is the use of such classifications that is devilish. Edward J. Spar, executive director of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics remarks “The politics are in the details and the devil is in the politics, not in the statistics (qtd. in Identity Crisis.).” Most application of demographic statistics is far from altruistic, political concerns use such data to advance their own cause frequently.

In addition to the devious uses of racial classification, the act of classifying one s self is a negating experience. What do you say to someone like Tiger Woods who does not identify with any one particular racial group. Just check the box that fits best. In the movie Wayne s World , Wayne Campbell played by Mike Meyers, inaccurately quotes (in Mandarin) the philosopher Kierkegaard by saying if you label me you negate me. But the point is not missed. Charles Byrd, the publisher of Interracial Voice, comments there s absolutely no consideration or understanding on the part of the government that a great many of us don t view these existing racial categories as valid in terms of identity or affiliation (Not an Other. ). It is far better to do away with categorizations at all levels. Due to the inflammatory nature of race-relations it becomes even more so.

At the fundamental level labeling causes humans to note differences, creating an us and they mentality. Such manner of thinking breeds a comparative mood between individuals and groups. It was once said, comparisons are odious things. For anyone that has worked with children will know this to be true from experience. It takes very little for children to form an exclusionary majority, usually on some trait that is perceived to be the commonality of the group. The first order of business of such committees is the torment of those children who do not fit the mold. If we as parents and future parents abstain from making racial classifications then there is a significant chance our children will follow suit, as children often do.

At one time, nationality and race were synonymous. However, the great American social experiment that began in 1776 challenged this notion. For the first time in history, one people, was pulled from many, not because of lineage but ideology. American founders explicitly and implicitly agreed to loosen their old ties and form new ones. None called themselves British-Americans. Recently, that ancient agreement has come under siege and we find ourselves facing a crisis of identity.

No longer are we one nation, indivisible but many little nations with little or no cohesion or united purpose. Collectively, we are suffering from multi-personality disorder. We are encouraged at an early age to discover our true roots and find that which makes us different. Now, like the children of divorcees, we are from one to many hyphenated amalgams of nationality: Italian-Americans, Irish Americans, Afro-Americans, Chinese-Americans, and Mexican-Americans to name a few.

Can a people remain one and still be segmented and tagged by labels that have formerly caused so much turmoil. History has shown that there are few things more divisive than labeling. The essayist Richard Rodriguez writes that the slipperiness of the label will seem more apparent to Americans and our government s practice of dividing our nation into five neat pieces will seem absurd (Cultural Identity.). To unite a nation, let the people prosper in their own culture but call the people by one name.

There are many manifestations of racial classification. Police often take part in racial profiling. The practice of making stops on the basis of a racial profile (Identity Crisis). Members of particular races often fill government jobs in order to satisfy a quota. In academia, college entrance and scholarship are often dictated by socio-economic background, as opposed to a uniform standard based on