Which Race should I select?

C

chiks

Registered Users (C)
"Part 5" of the N400

E. Race (Select one or more.)

-White
-Asian
-Black or African
-American Indian or Alaskan Native
-Native Hawaiian or
-Other Pacific Islander

I am from North India.
Which race should I select?

technically, I am not Asian (Chinese, Japaneses ,etc)

I am thinking of selecting the two since my Aryan ancestors came from the German region (Caspian sea)

-White
-Asian

Am I right? no? what is the right choice?
 
chiks said:
"Part 5" of the N400

E. Race (Select one or more.)

-White
-Asian
-Black or African
-American Indian or Alaskan Native
-Native Hawaiian or
-Other Pacific Islander

I am from North India.
Which race should I select?

technically, I am not Asian (Chinese, Japaneses ,etc)

I am thinking of selecting the two since my Aryan ancestors came from the German region (Caspian sea)

-White
-Asian

Am I right? no? what is the right choice?
Click to expand...

There's no right or wrong choice. Perhaps the question should state " What race do you identify yourself with?" instead.
 
Then why is it a mandatory question?

If I select Asian, interview person can say "Hey, you are not with squinty eyes" how can you be asian?
If I select white, he might say you are from India and pretty brown. How can you be white?
 
It is unfortunate that race is a question on the N400 and is mandatory. Race is onot even a genteicaaly valid concept. it is based solely on phenotype. Since it is such a unscientific concept, it is only what one identifies oneself as. You have the option of chosing `other'.
 
? Form doesn't specify Northeast Asian. So as a South[east] Asian, i.e., still from the continent of Asia, you are Asian. If it makes you feel better, in the UK as opposed to US, "Asian" usually means Indians/Pakistanis. ("Other" is usually used for those of mixed race.)
 
People from the Indian Subcontinent are technically caucasian. However the common ignorance in the US assumes caucasian = white :) You should select other and pencil in "south east asian". That is what I did.


chiks said:
I am from North India.
Which race should I select?
Click to expand...
 
Triple Citizen said:
People from the Indian Subcontinent are technically caucasian. However the common ignorance in the US assumes caucasian = white :) You should select other and pencil in "south east asian". That is what I did.
Click to expand...

There is no "Other".

There is only "-Other Pacific Islander"
 
chiks said:
"Part 5" of the N400

E. Race (Select one or more.)

-White
-Asian
-Black or African
-American Indian or Alaskan Native
-Native Hawaiian or
-Other Pacific Islander

I am from North India.
Which race should I select?

technically, I am not Asian (Chinese, Japaneses ,etc)

I am thinking of selecting the two since my Aryan ancestors came from the German region (Caspian sea)

-White
-Asian

Am I right? no? what is the right choice?
Click to expand...


Couple of points:

- 'Asian' does mean just Chinese/Japanese. Remember, India too, is in Asia. We need to treat 'Asian' not the same as 'Oriental' (which would probably indicate Chinese/Japanese/Korean and so on). In the UK and Canada, Asians = Indian/Pakistanis/Bangladeshis.

- Indians are not pure Caucasians, even though many would like to think so.

I am sure you must have encountered this or a very similar questionnaire in the past. What did you indicate at that time?
 
TheRealist said:
Couple of points:

- 'Asian' does mean just Chinese/Japanese. Remember, India too, is in Asia. We need to treat 'Asian' not the same as 'Oriental' (which would probably indicate Chinese/Japanese/Korean and so on). In the UK and Canada, Asians = Indian/Pakistanis/Bangladeshis.

- Indians are not pure Caucasians, even though many would like to think so.

I am sure you must have encountered this or a very similar questionnaire in the past. What did you indicate at that time?
Click to expand...


why is there even more than one reply to this question?
india (country) is in ASIA (continent). done and done.

it's quite simple ...let's play where's india:
world-continents-map.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Race and geography are two separate things. India may be part of Asia, but that doesn't mean Indians are automatically Asian by race. The same goes for a black man living in Japan..he may live in Asia, but is still black by race.
 
Bobsmyth said:
Race and geography are two separate things. India may be part of Asia, but that doesn't mean Indians are automatically Asian by race. The same goes for a black man living in Japan..he may live in Asia, but is still black by race.
Click to expand...

i think it's safe to assume that on the application and general life- the question is posed based on how you look. i'm not here to argue/debate whether it's right/wrong i'm just answering the man's question.


i was born in england...on the form what do i write? i write asian since based on looks/race/ethnicity...it's what i am.
 
Triple Citizen said:
There are three major racial groups, Caucasoid, Negroid and Mongoloid. If Indians are not pure Caucasoid then please educate me where they fall?
Click to expand...

This sort of racial typology has long been discredited, and disproven by DNA testing. There is no such thing as a "pure" Caucasian, whether Indian or European. Every person is a racial hybrid to some degree.

At any rate, Caucasian never meant the same thing as "white" so I don't think it's relevant to the question on the N-400.

These sorts of questions are imperfect by their very nature, and designed just so they can report statistics in standardly used categories. If I had to guess, the people that designed the form, oblivious to the sense of ethnic difference a Desi person might feel from a Chinese person, would commonly regard someone of Indian or Pakistani descent as "Asian." But as Bobsmyth points out, in the end it's the applicant's call who they identify with.
 
camp12 said:
i think it's safe to assume that on the application and general life- the question is posed based on how you look. i'm not here to argue/debate whether it's right/wrong i'm just answering the man's question.


i was born in england...on the form what do i write? i write asian since based on looks/race/ethnicity...it's what i am.
Click to expand...

My point is race goes beyond geographical boundaries and therefore the map analogy is misleading.
Race comes down to what you identify yourself based on your features, cultural and geographical background. Some people identify themselves with more than one race, since they have multiple race traits and therefore select more than one box. Again, there's no right or wrong here.
 
Triple Citizen said:
There are three major racial groups, Caucasoid, Negroid and Mongoloid. If Indians are not pure Caucasoid then please educate me where they fall?
Click to expand...

Indians are a combination of all the above 3 types in various proportions. The same holds for Pakistanis, though for them the Caucasian component is probably more. There has been intermixing of races over the ages. That's a fact. No debate there.
 
To me Race questions are not asked to put you in certain category but simply for some statistical representations. Again, it is important to me to know my race since it tells me who I am and it is same as my last name which is given to my father and fore fathers. These things represents my language, my culture, and my references. In addition, some interesting thing about Race:
-Race is a modern idea.
-Race has no genetic basis.
-Slavery predates Race.
-Race and freedom were born together.
-Race justified social inequalities as natural.
-human subspecies don't exist.
-Skin color is only skin deep ( my fav!).
-Most variation is within, not betweeb "Races".
-Race is not biological, but racism is still real.
-Colorblindness will not end Racism.

Source: http://www.pbs.org/race/001_WhatIsRace/001_00-home.htm
 
camp12 said:
why is there even more than one reply to this question?
india (country) is in ASIA (continent). done and done.

it's quite simple ...let's play where's india:
world-continents-map.jpg
Click to expand...

But if that is the case ... I am from South Africa (country) which is in Africa (continent). Let's play find the blue eyed, blond girl in Africa :D

Just messing with ya mate. that form and it's rigid 4 categories - How to box people into categories in the country that prides itself on its diversity ... what should trans-gender people put in for instance ... Male or Female or pencil in "other" ?

and what should a black person born in Germany put in ? by this logic that person is fully caucation since Germany is in Europe and predominantly caucasion.

I should step out before I get yelled at today
:D
 
Totally agree. That is why on my form I crossed out the Other..... and penciled in South Asian. After all, the form is asking me which race I think I belong to.

nyc_naturalizer said:
If I had to guess, the people that designed the form, oblivious to the sense of ethnic difference a Desi person might feel from a Chinese person, would commonly regard someone of Indian or Pakistani descent as "Asian."
Click to expand...
 
simple. black guy from germany= 'afro american'

do i agree that it's correct? no
is that what the uscis is aiming for? yes.

why is there a debate about this? we all know what uscis is going for ....:confused:

didn't realize i was on the board to discuss geography/socialogy/race relations etc...i thought this was a board for immigration? if it is, then the simple cut and dry answer is what i alluded to above.

for the most part, it's quite simple and you can use my geography lesson above. as with all generalized statements you can find holes here and there, but for the MAJORITY, my statement is correct



Feb08Filer said:
But if that is the case ... I am from South Africa (country) which is in Africa (continent). Let's play find the blue eyed, blond girl in Africa :D

Just messing with ya mate. that form and it's rigid 4 categories - How to box people into categories in the country that prides itself on its diversity ... what should trans-gender people put in for instance ... Male or Female or pencil in "other" ?

and what should a black person born in Germany put in ? by this logic that person is fully caucation since Germany is in Europe and predominantly caucasion.

I should step out before I get yelled at today
:D
Click to expand...
 
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