Are Middle Easterners considered to be 'white'?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are white and caucasian the same?

Are people from the Middle East, like Iran, Iraq, Syria, etc considered to be 'white' by the general world population?

Most were not considered white when the DMV wrote its residential racial restrictive covenants. . For example, our house has a non- enforceable racial covenant in its chain of title that says the house cannot be occupied by those of the Negro, Syrian, Persian, or Jewish race unless they are domestic servants. The irony is that Persians are of the Aryan race.

[Anonymous]

If they are from the Middle East, than they are consider to be Middle Eastern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Except in certain parts of the country. There are places in the U.S. where Italians are not considered white.

Hello 1935.

This is so stupid. There is no place in the U.S. where Italians are not considered white.

Yes, there are. Fewer than there were when Italians first began immigrating to the States, when there were many such places. But they’re still out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it all quite weird. I have colleagues from the Middle East who definitely describe themselves as people of color. Many have and do experience discrimination on the basis of their ethnic/cultural/religious identity. And yet for the purposes of our diversity statistics (which our organization tracks closely) they are considered white.

They definitely could have faced discrimination based on their culture, but they are still white. Think about how many people living in Appalachia until recently, faced discrimination based on their accents and cultural differences. They were still white.

LOL NOT comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arabs are considered white by the government. That said, I see the middle east as very similar, racially, to Latin America, in that they are all races. I spent 2 years in the middle east and saw blonde/blue arabs, black arabs, and stereotypical swarthy arabs. I don't think they are a single race.

Race is not real. What you saw was what happens when people of all complexions intermarry freely. I am Middle Eastern and in my extended family there is a huge range of colors and complexion- some people look like a light-skinned African American, while others have fair skin and red hair, or blue eyes and fair skin and dark hair, and everything in between.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Except in certain parts of the country. There are places in the U.S. where Italians are not considered white.

Hello 1935.

This is so stupid. There is no place in the U.S. where Italians are not considered white.

Yes, there are. Fewer than there were when Italians first began immigrating to the States, when there were many such places. But they’re still out there.

Yes, probably not so much today, but in the not so recent past. In the 1960s and 1970s it was not that uncommon. And let’s face it, people love to make fun of Italian people from New Jersey even today.

[Anonymous]

I struggle with this. I am an Arab -- mother/family born in Syria, father/family born in Iraq. Both families Muslim. I check off the "white" or "caucasian" box and was always told I should do so by my parents who do the same (and indeed the census does consider us white). I look white in terms of skin color, though I have Arab features. My brother could pass for black, and I have cousins with blonde hair and blue eyes.

I do struggle with it now, given the political climate. Does half of America consider me white? I highly doubt it. Should I consider myself white? I think I am starting to identify more as "brown" but more than anything it's because I feel society views me as such.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arabs are considered white by the government. That said, I see the middle east as very similar, racially, to Latin America, in that they are all races. I spent 2 years in the middle east and saw blonde/blue arabs, black arabs, and stereotypical swarthy arabs. I don't think they are a single race.

Race is not real. What you saw was what happens when people of all complexions intermarry freely. I am Middle Eastern and in my extended family there is a huge range of colors and complexion- some people look like a light-skinned African American, while others have fair skin and red hair, or blue eyes and fair skin and dark hair, and everything in between.

Exactly. Race is largely a social construct, people. There is continuous variation in “race.” This obsession with categorizing people based on skin/eye/hair color is insane. I know it isn’t limited to the US, either. The culture, religion, etc in which people grow up is relevant, but why should skin color be relevant? (I know, because humans decide it is & treat people differently.) But it makes no sense biologically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes they are.
And despite what an earlier PP said, religion is irrelevant

according to anthropologists, yes, they are.
But then, there is no such race as Hispanic, which is a mix of black and white, or Red (Indian American) and white.

The Middle Easterners are underrepresented minorities who will never be considered white by the masses in the USA but neither belong in the minority category -- unless they are are very white with European features.

[Anonymous]

Not on college applications

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arabs are considered white by the government. That said, I see the middle east as very similar, racially, to Latin America, in that they are all races. I spent 2 years in the middle east and saw blonde/blue arabs, black arabs, and stereotypical swarthy arabs. I don't think they are a single race.

Race is not real. What you saw was what happens when people of all complexions intermarry freely. I am Middle Eastern and in my extended family there is a huge range of colors and complexion- some people look like a light-skinned African American, while others have fair skin and red hair, or blue eyes and fair skin and dark hair, and everything in between.

Exactly. Race is largely a social construct, people. There is continuous variation in “race.” This obsession with categorizing people based on skin/eye/hair color is insane. I know it isn’t limited to the US, either. The culture, religion, etc in which people grow up is relevant, but why should skin color be relevant? (I know, because humans decide it is & treat people differently.) But it makes no sense biologically.

Of course. In fact it’s completely a social construct. That’s why it’s so insane, especially here in the U.S., and why we’re debating whether or not Middle Easterners are “considered” to be “white.” Back in the day the Irish were not considered white, although they were still treated better than African Americans. Many immigrant groups, including immigrants from Europe, were initially not considered white, and the vast majority “became” white. The one group that “white” people have steadfastly refused to allow into their ranks is AA’s, because we always need one consistent group to abuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arabs are considered white by the government. That said, I see the middle east as very similar, racially, to Latin America, in that they are all races. I spent 2 years in the middle east and saw blonde/blue arabs, black arabs, and stereotypical swarthy arabs. I don't think they are a single race.

Race is not real. What you saw was what happens when people of all complexions intermarry freely. I am Middle Eastern and in my extended family there is a huge range of colors and complexion- some people look like a light-skinned African American, while others have fair skin and red hair, or blue eyes and fair skin and dark hair, and everything in between.

Exactly. Race is largely a social construct, people. There is continuous variation in “race.” This obsession with categorizing people based on skin/eye/hair color is insane. I know it isn’t limited to the US, either. The culture, religion, etc in which people grow up is relevant, but why should skin color be relevant? (I know, because humans decide it is & treat people differently.) But it makes no sense biologically.

Of course. In fact it’s completely a social construct. That’s why it’s so insane, especially here in the U.S., and why we’re debating whether or not Middle Easterners are “considered” to be “white.” Back in the day the Irish were not considered white, although they were still treated better than African Americans. Many immigrant groups, including immigrants from Europe, were initially not considered white, and the vast majority “became” white. The one group that “white” people have steadfastly refused to allow into their ranks is AA’s, because we always need one consistent group to abuse.

Unless you use DNA evidence

[Anonymous]

I have a Polish-American coworker (Gen Z, born here) who insists that she is not white. She's as white as they come.
I asked her who exactly she considers white and it boiled down to Caucasian people in America who only speak English because "they don't have a culture." If you're born here but speak another language you count as "diverse". Under that criteria I'm the only white person in the workplace ...though my skin is darker than hers due to some Middle Eastern ancestry!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on their religion. If Muslim, no. If Christian, yes (unless Palestinian). If Jewish, yes except by white supremacists.

-Christian Middle Easterner who is always read as white

this is bullshit. It doesn't go by religion.
Iranians for example are Muslim but are considered white.

+100
Middle easterners are Caucasian

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Except in certain parts of the country. There are places in the U.S. where Italians are not considered white.

Hello 1935.

This is so stupid. There is no place in the U.S. where Italians are not considered white.

Not any more, but at one time they were considered black. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/12/opinion/columbus-day-italian-american-racism.html