Dear People Who Make Up Alienating Census Categories,
Your website encouraged me to “explore the questions [you] ask,” and “why [you] ask them.” More than anything else, the form left me with plenty of questions of my own.
As your survey clearly indicates, it’s 2010. Isn’t it about time you add Intersex as an option, along with Male and Female? Come on, that’s so 19th Century of you! While you were at it, couldn’t you have mixed things up a bit and not have listed Male first, like you’ve done since at least 1880?
Also, Why did you decide to use “Argentinean” instead of “Argentine”? In this time of economic crisis, the shorter form would have saved you a great deal of ink. When spoken and/or read, the shorter, more elegant option would save your individual census workers and takers a good deal of time, when multiplied in the millions. Seriously, though.
Finally, why are Mexican, Mexican American and Chicano all considered the same? Did it not dawn upon you that someone could be Mexican American but not identify as Chicano? Or that someone of a different Latin American decent could identify as Chicano?
(Not holding my breath, but) Sincerely,
Aura Bogado
P.S. Don’t get me started on the fact that Black, African-American, and Negro (yes, Negro) are all considered the same. The good folks over at 99 Problems are already trying to tackle that one (h/t: Chris Nsiah-Buadi!).
27 January, 2010 at 7:53 am |
Oh, for fuck’s sake, shut up. People like you and your idiotic hairsplitting are the main reason our society can’t have nice things. I have only one piece of advice for you: grab a bottle of something alcoholic and drink until things like “OH MY GOD THEY USED THE WRONG HYPHENATION FOR MY ETHNICITY WHY DO YOU HATE AND OPPRESS US” no longer disturb you.
27 January, 2010 at 12:58 pm |
“but I’m also open to hearing you explain how tones of anger are allocated across race and gender lines.”
lol, idiot
28 January, 2010 at 6:46 pm |
You and your ilk are precisely what’s wrong with this country. You somehow think it’s okay to come to the US and not know the language. Have you ever looked at the Mexican laws? Can’t be a citizen of Mexico without knowing the language… Double standard maybe?
Quit with your “poor me I iz SO suppressed” bullshit. Grow up, grow a pair, and learn to live without whining about pretend oppression. If your life is so hard here, take your ass back to Mexico. Living in the U.S. is a PRIVILEGE, not a RIGHT. Learn the language, learn the culture, and stop trying to rock the boat, just like you’d have to to go ANYWHERE ELSE. You do NOT deserve preferential treatment just because you learned how to blog.
Moron.
28 January, 2010 at 7:55 pm |
Dear Lazlo: Our society does have nice things — it’s just that for some reason, white folks seem to be the ones that keep taking them.
Dear Anonymous: Like the people who posted before and after you here, you hide your idiocy behind an unknown identity.
Dear Javin: Um… who said I was from Mexico? I certainly didn’t, since I am not Mexican. I can only assume, therefore, that you are projecting and inscribing your limited and racist notions of who I am and could be onto me. Check yourself. Ironically, you also chide me for not learning the language, but I blog in English, so that should attest to the fact that I do speak it. Aside from that, I am certainly not here to defend Mexico’s — or any other nation’s — laws… but for being such a hater of Mexico, you sure do seem to uphold their law regarding language requirement. Last time I checked, the United States has language requirements for people seeking to naturalize as citizens as well, so I don’t find whatever double standard it is you are alluding to. Finally, if my rocking the boat is so disturbing to you, then just jump off — there’s a promising place waiting for you at the bottom of the ocean.
30 January, 2010 at 6:33 am |
‘As your survey clearly indicates, it’s 2010. Isn’t it about time you add Intersex as an option, along with Male and Female? Come on, that’s so 19th Century of you! While you were at it, couldn’t you have mixed things up a bit and not have listed Male first, like you’ve done since at least 1880?’
Why should there be an intersex option? The government is interested in physical gender, not in how any particular individual decides to define his or herself which is largely irrelevant for census data.
Also why should they change the order of the listings? If it aint broke, don’t fix it as they say. You can believe one of two things, either the placement of male ahead of female is significant, in which case swapping the order around is going to offend just as many as it pleases, or that the order is insignificant, in which case why do you care at all?
As to your comment about identifying an angry latina by her voice (which coincidentally lead me to your blog), I suspect it has something to do with the timbre of the voice. I can often tell whether a person is black or white just by their voice decent accuracy. This timbre diffence, coupled with accent differences which are common in different ethnic communities, whether they grew up in the host country or not, could well combine to produce a distinctive ‘angry latina’. No point getting all offended about it.
Finally, I think you jump to use the term ‘racist’ far too easily. I wouldn’t describe anything in Javin’s post as racist. There are no racial slurs nor anything to suggest that he has a problem with people of other races. What his post does show is an anger at people who do not aspire to integrate themselves into a new host country. Shouting ‘racism’ is an all to easy, and frankly lazy defence in order to deter criticism of something which isn’t actually related at all.
14 May, 2011 at 10:57 pm |
“Why should there be an intersex option? The government is interested in physical gender, not in how any particular individual decides to define his or herself which is largely irrelevant for census data.”
That’s BLATANTLY, 100% FALSE. I’m trans, and I worked for the Census, and in training we were all told, multiple times and in no uncertain terms, to 1)ask a person’s sex/gender and race/ethnicity, not assume, and 2)to accept a person’s self-defined gender, name, and race/ethnicity/nationality, with no doubting or second guessing them. Repeat: the Census **only** cares about your self definition. The one person in training who tried to justify assigning another person a gender/sex rather than asking them *was kicked out for it*. A different Census worker had harassed a trans respondent (deliberately and knowingly marked “male” on a trans woman’s questionairre after she said female, and called her ‘sir’). He had already been fired for (apparently similar) issues before this was brought to light, but regional Census officials ensured he could never work for the Census again, on account of harassing a respondent and falsifying data. In short: the attitude you ascribe to the Census is not only the exact opposite of their official attitude, but something they fire people for. You know, they hold people like you accountable for their transphobia.
I’d also point out that “intersex” as a third option, mutually exclusive with “male” and “female” is offensive and ungendering to the majority of intersex people, who consider themselves either male or female. It would be good if they had a ‘check all that apply’ two-variable system (cis/trans/intersex, male/female/genderqueer/other), but TBH most trans and intersex people probably wouldn’t trust a random Census employee with their trans/intersex status.
16 May, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Wow, not trying to make friends there were you. Transphobia? I don’t see any indication of that whatsoever, is it that you’re trying to see discrimination where none exists? I think so…
What you’ve essentially said there is that even if there were additional options on the census, they would probably offend those people they applied to, and if they didn’t, those same people probably wouldn’t fill the details out as best applied to them because they wouldn’t trust random people with their trans/intersex status. Well, we do have a pickle on our hands don’t we…
In the recent UK census, there was a question asking about gender (straightforward male/female) and that was used to help population modelling. The UK Gov’t wasn’t allowed to ask questions on sexual preference or anything like that as it was deemed too personal. I suspect (and hope) that ‘Sandbag’ had meant that additional gender options were irrelevant for this purpose. An opinion with which I agree. I’m sorry though H, I simply can’t see any transphobia though.
30 January, 2010 at 7:07 pm |
It’s hilarious watching the angry racebaiter have fun on his little blog.
Maybe he was supposedly passed up on that promotion because he isn’t white.
Maybe he just wants something for free like all the other welfare cases.
Whatever the case, this kind aren’t going away any time soon. They are only getting more aggressive in their thinking/actions. All we have to do is ignore their increasing hostility until they get more organized and form some group that is federally funded by the Government. Then let them implode only to have to start from scratch and continue the cycle. That is until they get educated, stop whining, and make it on their own without handouts. Then they will assimilate just like the millions of “legal” immigrants coming here have for the past three hundred years.
Aura, maybe you can form some sort of ACORN style organization for non-white illegal immigrants who don’t speak English. You know to get some tax payers to fork over some handouts, get easily obtained loans they will default on, whatever it takes to keep you from claiming racism. Welfare is not enough….you need more help!
8 March, 2010 at 8:06 pm |
When did all the fascists start reading your blog? well, its good to see they are looking to sources outside of rush and that gold dealing pimp beck. Still, its kind of a drag, especially when most (read all) of their points are always based on bullshit and made up numbers. The largest welfare group is made up of whites, close to 40 percent, and well, I mean, we could have an entire history lesson on dispelling their own mythical interpretation of history in the US, but yeah, no point in that, and I will say it all in one sentence, which they will not understand, but still stands true, no matter how many rabinous comments they make from their foaming minds; all the land you stand on is stolen, your are the biggest welfare case in the history of mankind, you rant about following your (400 year) way of life on land that knew another for thousands of years; shut the the fuck up cracker.
3 April, 2010 at 5:48 pm |
If you had the chance to make a change in your local community, what position of power and influence would you assume?