Be Honest - Do folks (white and black) see biracial people as black/white/neither (please explain)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:kids of biracial couples are black. only because they have darker skin. races are dumb labels that have no basis in any science (not like we have different human breeds), but unfortunately minorities won't let the labels die in their neverending need to be victimized.

example - Obama is about as black as me: raised by white family and didnt really know his black dad, but everyone calls him "black".

OH! I didnt know we had white supremacists on this board!! Yay

hah. So thinking racial identification is silly and bizarre = white supremacy? good logic there. might as well label people by hair color or size of their feet ... has as much scientific relevance.

[Anonymous]

A bi-racial man is going to get the same treatment from a jerk cop as a black man would. A white man would be treated better.

I am white, my child is bi-racial. I think people will assume she is white when she's with me, and assume she is Arab when she's with her dad. Especially since she's all about Arab language and music and everything. I just hope that by the time she grows up, Americans will have gotten over their dumb assumptions about Arabs, but judging from the experience of my black friends, it's not a realistic hope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:kids of biracial couples are black. only because they have darker skin. races are dumb labels that have no basis in any science (not like we have different human breeds), but unfortunately minorities won't let the labels die in their neverending need to be victimized.

example - Obama is about as black as me: raised by white family and didnt really know his black dad, but everyone calls him "black".

white mom here. My son is as white as I am and has blue eyes. My daughter also has blue eyes and is very light brown. Their father is black. Not all biracial kids have darker skin. Most white people can tell that my daughter is mixed, but they don't spot it with my son very often.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:unfortunately minorities won't let the labels die in their neverending need to be victimized.

If it very easy to say things if you never walk in someone’s shoes. The sad thing is history has screwed everyone and until we can walk in each others shoes we will never understands the psychological impact slavery has had on everyone. I know a lot of people say slavery was soo long ago and they had nothing to do it with it. But you reap the benefits of it. Example a young black man steps onto an elevator. There is an older white lady on the elevator and she moves to the corner and grabs her purse. The young black man is thinking to himself why in the hell is she grabbing her purse. So he says to the lady I am not going to steal your purse in an angry manner. This confirms the older lady's believe that she needs to protect herself against young black man. The Young black man now has a chip on his shoulder, because people think the worst of him. So her thoughts are confirmed and his thoughts confirmed. AND THEY ARE BOTH WRONG.

[Anonymous]

Labeling races annoys me to no end. I can't wait until we get to the point where this country doesn't feel the need to find out your race on every test you take, when you get married etc. It mainly annoys me because it's completely inaccurate as it is based on what you identify as, and what you look like, not what you actually are. So what is the point?

To answer OP's question I would just think of the person as mixed or whatever it is they identify as. Just looking at people tells you nothing.

[Anonymous]

Some good friends have two kids (biracial) and I think of them more as black, mostly b/c I think society still perceives it that way. But the older they get, the whiter they look....so who knows. Mostly, though, I don't think about it at all.

i am white.

[Anonymous]

I'm white--I tend to think of biracial people I know as being black and/or biracial, but not so much white and/or biracial. I think that's generally an extension of how they see themselves or identify themselves. With people I don't know, I'm not always that good at picking up when someone is white/black biracial, and I might assume they are either white or black depending on their appearance. I didn't grow up here, either, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:unfortunately minorities won't let the labels die in their neverending need to be victimized.

If it very easy to say things if you never walk in someone’s shoes. The sad thing is history has screwed everyone and until we can walk in each others shoes we will never understands the psychological impact slavery has had on everyone. I know a lot of people say slavery was soo long ago and they had nothing to do it with it. But you reap the benefits of it. Example a young black man steps onto an elevator. There is an older white lady on the elevator and she moves to the corner and grabs her purse. The young black man is thinking to himself why in the hell is she grabbing her purse. So he says to the lady I am not going to steal your purse in an angry manner. This confirms the older lady's believe that she needs to protect herself against young black man. The Young black man now has a chip on his shoulder, because people think the worst of him. So her thoughts are confirmed and his thoughts confirmed. AND THEY ARE BOTH WRONG.

This man steps into a black helicopter. The pilot asks him if he is vaccinated. If he isn't and doesn't care, he gets dropped off in Utah. If he isn't and has valid reasons not to be, he gets taken back to the mothership. Another man steps into a white helicopter. No one asks him if he is vaccinated. He goes on to report on the traffic, then becomes a famous news anchor on a big cable network news show. If he is black, he works for CNN. If he is white, he works for Fox News. Either way, both men are being -- uh, what was I saying again? Sorry, my anal probe is buzzing.

[Anonymous]

omg 17:27, that was the funniest thing I've read in a long, long time (I hope you have a blog somewhere).

I'm pasty white, and I tend to think this specific word when I see people who appear to have parents of difference races: "multi-racial." That's true for black/white, and also true of Asian+ black or white and other combos.

That's just the word that pops into my head, silently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This man steps into a black helicopter. The pilot asks him if he is vaccinated. If he isn't and doesn't care, he gets dropped off in Utah. If he isn't and has valid reasons not to be, he gets taken back to the mothership. Another man steps into a white helicopter. No one asks him if he is vaccinated. He goes on to report on the traffic, then becomes a famous news anchor on a big cable network news show. If he is black, he works for CNN. If he is white, he works for Fox News. Either way, both men are being -- uh, what was I saying again? Sorry, my anal probe is buzzing.

The poster was trying to make a point. You are just an asshole!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:unfortunately minorities won't let the labels die in their neverending need to be victimized.

If it very easy to say things if you never walk in someone’s shoes. The sad thing is history has screwed everyone and until we can walk in each others shoes we will never understands the psychological impact slavery has had on everyone. I know a lot of people say slavery was soo long ago and they had nothing to do it with it. But you reap the benefits of it. Example a young black man steps onto an elevator. There is an older white lady on the elevator and she moves to the corner and grabs her purse. The young black man is thinking to himself why in the hell is she grabbing her purse. So he says to the lady I am not going to steal your purse in an angry manner. This confirms the older lady's believe that she needs to protect herself against young black man. The Young black man now has a chip on his shoulder, because people think the worst of him. So her thoughts are confirmed and his thoughts confirmed. AND THEY ARE BOTH WRONG.

This man steps into a black helicopter. The pilot asks him if he is vaccinated. If he isn't and doesn't care, he gets dropped off in Utah. If he isn't and has valid reasons not to be, he gets taken back to the mothership. Another man steps into a white helicopter. No one asks him if he is vaccinated. He goes on to report on the traffic, then becomes a famous news anchor on a big cable network news show. If he is black, he works for CNN. If he is white, he works for Fox News. Either way, both men are being -- uh, what was I saying again? Sorry, my anal probe is buzzing.

that was awesome. need more dudes on these boards, so much funnier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I generally see biracial kids as black. I'm 42. I think younger people (20s) are much more apt to say biracial. I don't mean anything bad by it.

I think your seeing biracial black/white as black is indeed a generational thing. Being 15 years your junior, I think there has been a large shift in understanding biracial individuals. Perhaps people in their 40s and 50s would consider a person that does not display all physical characteristics of the dominent culture to be a minority (so a biracial person is black). For me, it's a lot more natural to identify biracial people as biracial, not one or the other. My hope is that my children will recognize that people who are two or more races/ethnicities are not restricted to being "one or the other" or reduced to percentages, but rather have the freedom to identify 100% with either or all of their racial and entnic backgrounds if they choose. As a mother of a hispanic/white son, I also hope that he knows that his personal racial and ethnic identity can change, develop, fluctuate, increase, decrease, or whatever as he grows. I want him to know about, explore, and identify with what feels relevant to him at whatever stage of life he is in.

[Anonymous]

I'm black. Honestly, the way I view biracial people tends to be the way they see themselves. I've known biracial people who've hated white people. And I've known biracial people who made hateful comments about black people. It's hard for me to see someone as "mixed" when they completey reject one of their cultures.

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are both "biracial," as some people like to call it. We both consider ourselves black. Our kids definitely look racially "ambiguous" but we describe our family as black. This does not bother our non-white parents one bit. We don't have any angst or confusion about the issue (much like Obama, come to think of it), and it is who we are culturally. My kids are told by other kids all the time that they're "not really black." We teach them that this is not a compliment, that we define ourselves by who we are culturally, not by what others call us. Tiger Woods can call himself whatever the hell he wants, but if he wasn't a famous golfer he'd have the same trouble hailing a cab as any other brother. Actually, I find it amusing how whenever someone of mixed race becomes famous (for a good reason, like golf or being the President) white people rush to point out that they're not "fully black." Strange how I don't see them doing that with "biracial" brothers on the street. Bottom line: you can consider me and mine to be whatever you want; as far as we're concerned, we're black.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:kids of biracial couples are black. only because they have darker skin. races are dumb labels that have no basis in any science (not like we have different human breeds), but unfortunately minorities won't let the labels die in their neverending need to be victimized.

example - Obama is about as black as me: raised by white family and didnt really know his black dad, but everyone calls him "black".

Pretty much any time you find yourself about to take a group of people and make some broad sweeping generalization about that group, please stop yourself.