[Sca-cooks] odd

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Feb 20, 2011, at 2:45 PM, Ana Valdés wrote:

> Really weird, my cousins are tall, blond and have blue eyes, they have all
> Italian passports, should they be classified as Latino since they speak
> Italian and Spanish?
> Ana

It should be noted these designations are for both demographic purposes and an aid in identification, and to a great extent voluntary. I usually leave them blank, having been taught as a child that certain authorities are in fact barred by law from asking such questions (say, prospective employers).  Occasionally I write in the word "pink".

Your cousins would be considered Latino if they considered themselves Latino to the point where they voluntarily checked the little box next to the word Latino. The point is that various demographic studies are being done to monitor things like immigration, and sometimes they are more accurate when based on language group rather than race.

The other area which drives people like my wife crazy is the new affectation for avoiding terms like "Mongoloid" (the former racial designation), "Oriental" (which tends to designate a race or a type of rug) in favor of "Asian".

So ethnically speaking, my wife, whose ancestors are from China, but who was born in the U.S., is "Asian". The author P.G. Wodehouse, who was born in Hong Kong, was not.

Yes, it is very confusing. But really not that confusing unless you choose to play up the inconsistencies and ignore the reasons behind them. The bottom line is, don't expect logic, and you will never be disappointed. And I'm sure there are equally large gaps in the logic dictating the administrative behavior of almost any country's immigration authorities.


Adamantius





"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls, when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter