Why the Hispanic Classification?

[Mountaineer]

This is probably a really silly question, but why does the US government track "Hispanic" as a category of people?  Hispanics, to me, seem to be largely the same as "white" with perhaps a tad more black or American Indian thrown in to the mix that the rest of us mixed whites but basically the defintion the government uses is you are Hispanic if you say you are.  What is the purpose?

http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/05/28/whos-hispanic/

... Mountaineer

[Pointedstick]

It's all bullshit anyway. I had a Canadian co-worker who was Jewish and of European ancestry but whose skin was dark as your average Arab's. Was he white? Black? Caucasian? European? "Middle-eastern?" Is someone with one "white" parent and one "black" parent white or black? Half-black? Half-white? Mulatto? Is that even an acceptable word to say anymore?

It's all a bunch of divisive crap. I figure you can self-identify as whatever you want if it makes you feel better.

[Mountaineer]

It's all bullshit anyway. I had a Canadian co-worker who was Jewish and of European ancestry but whose skin was dark as your average Arab's. Was he white? Black? Caucasian? European? "Middle-eastern?" Is someone with one "white" parent and one "black" parent white or black? Half-black? Half-white? Mulatto? Is that even an acceptable word to say anymore?

It's all a bunch of divisive crap. I figure you can self-identify as whatever you want if it makes you feel better.

That is how it seems to me too.  Very divisive.  I do wonder why?  Divide and conquer so the "man", whoever that is, can stay in charge? 

... Mountaineer

[FarmerD]

This is probably a really silly question, but why does the US government track "Hispanic" as a category of people?  Hispanics, to me, seem to be largely the same as "white" with perhaps a tad more black or American Indian thrown in to the mix that the rest of us mixed whites but basically the defintion the government uses is you are Hispanic if you say you are.  What is the purpose?

http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/05/28/whos-hispanic/

... Mountaineer

Like you, I don't even know what is a "Hispanic." I guess some Hispanics are Caucasian, some are Black, some are Indian, some are Asian (Filipino?) and some are mixtures of any of these. 
I college I had a friend named Sam.  He told me he got all kinds of financial aid.  I thought this was bogus since his Dad was an attorney.  However Sam's Grandparents came from Spain so he was considered Hispanic.  Of course I got zero financial aid since my grandparents came from the wrong European country.

Racial preference for college admission, financial aid or employment is all I that comes to mind.
 
Make sense?

[Xan]

I was looking at the school district's web site the other day, to figure out what elementary school we're zoned for.  (It's a long way off, but may as well know.)

The overarching theme of the district's site is racial diversity.  As for why...  Who knows?  In any case, you can request a transfer from one school to another, and you can't be denied if your race is a minority race at the other school.

Here's what's REALLY goofy: the district divides the world into two races: one is black or Hispanic of any race, and the other is everything else.  It's pretty clear that they're thinking of Group A as some kind of "victim" group and Group B as the oppressors.

Since none of these things have any real definition, and if you're Hispanic exactly when you decide that you are, can I declare my boy to be Hispanic for purposes of attending school A but not for purposes of attending school B?  Why not?  Who is anybody at the district to tell my boy what group he identifies with and when?

[barrett]

Before this gets too serious, let's not forget this classic Seinfeld episode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGIgnscRz6Q

[Tortoise]

Race is an interesting and, I think, relevant concept in the sense that people tend to self-segregate along apparently racial lines in many cases. What makes it even more interesting is that efforts to prevent people from self-segregating along racial lines often seems to fail and lead to various unintended consequences like increased racial tension.

We can call race an illusory concept all we want, but at some point it must be acknowledged that race is sufficiently "real" that people tend to self-segregate themselves according to it.

[Pointedstick]

Race is an interesting and, I think, relevant concept in the sense that people tend to self-segregate along apparently racial lines in many cases. What makes it even more interesting is that efforts to prevent people from self-segregating along racial lines often seems to fail and lead to various unintended consequences like increased racial tension.

We can call race an illusory concept all we want, but at some point it must be acknowledged that race is sufficiently "real" that people tend to self-segregate themselves according to it.

I think race often (almost always) serves as a proxy for culture, and people self-segregate along cultural lines. The distinction may seem trivial, but I think it's important. For example, I have felt extremely comfortable living around and working with Indian and east asian engineers, but been made extremely uncomfortable by poor lower-class white people.

[dualstow]

Interesting thread and link.

I think first we have to ask, why does the Census Bureau collect data on race?