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RockerChick14's avatar

Why should I be bothered by being called mixed race?

Asked by RockerChick14 (951points) January 18th, 2014 from iPhone

Someone said I’m more mixed race than white because my Abuelita( mom’s mom) is from Mexico and has some Aztec in her. think my mom’s dad has some German but I’m not sure because I never met him ( he left when my mom was four). I have African heritage on my mom’s side but it goes way back. I have Irish, German, and Native American heritage on my dad’s side. Someone else said I should be bothered by that person saying I was mixed race but I didn’t see why.

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21 Answers

gailcalled's avatar

You shouldn’t. That “someone from school” should mind his or her own business. Did you ask him/her why?

Your ancestors are your ancestors.

ibstubro's avatar

At this point, we’re all mixed race.

My guess is that ‘someone at school’ mentioned “mixed race” because the were trying to get your goat. Piss you off. Without reason. You are, “Mixed Race.”

ETpro's avatar

@ibstubro Is right, and so is @gailcalled. None of us decides our ancestors, so why should we have to be ashamed of the mixture of heritages they give us? Besides, a whole bevy of the most talented and good looking celebrities around are mixed race. We are what we are. We didn’t choose our racial background, but we can wear it with pride.

whitenoise's avatar

I have ancestors from one village and yet again some more from another one.

It is even rumored that somewhere in my lineage, one of my ancestors may have been German.

I’ve learned to live with it and not care. You should do the same. :-)

RocketGuy's avatar

Sounds like a cool mix to me. I’m all for mixing races – usually healthier and better looking.

kritiper's avatar

You shouldn’t. Be proud of the difference!

Pandora's avatar

Go back far enough and you will find that no one is pure anything these days. But there is no reason why it should upset you to be called mixed race when it is a fact. Tell your friends that modern man today all evolved from Africa, so what does it matter.
Actually, I think you are a perfect example of being an american through and through.

antimatter's avatar

Don’t let it bother you, I am from a mix race and I am very proud of who I am.
I the near future things will change when we start raising the question whether we are human or not.

LostInParadise's avatar

Among anthropologists there is disagreement over whether race even exists.

I am jealous that you can trace your ancestry so far back. Just tell people that you have the best traits of each race.

ragingloli's avatar

All humans of european descent have Neanderthal genes in their genome, so tell him to fuck off.

SecondHandStoke's avatar

^^Trumps EVERYTHING.

There was never anything to discuss.

No particular “race” was ever enslaved, just similar seeming individuals.

Science- 1

Sharpton- 0

Can humanity FINALLY move past this and advance?

Coloma's avatar

You shouldn’t, we are all mixed race, some may just be more obvious than others.
I am a mix of Welsh, Scottish, German and a wee bit o’ the Irish, packaged in your run o’ the mill blue eyed blonde. Personally I have always wanted to be some dark, exotic beauty.
Who cares what others think, be yourself, that is all that matters and don;t waste your energy on ignorant fucks trying to enlighten them.

JLeslie's avatar

I don’t think you should be. Did the person mean you should be bothered by the term mixed race, or bothered that you are mixed race? Some people hate dividing people into race altogether, you probably have seen jellies write there is only the human race.

I personally say embrace it! I think where we and our family come from is interesting and makes us our own unique selves. America is all about mixing in my opinion, we are the melting pot and most of us have our ancestors from various places and countries.

If you ever become interested try to research some of your background, I think you would find it interesting. Maybe your abuela has some information about her parents or grandparents. It might be interesting to know when your family immigrated from Germany and Ireland and if it was during a significant time in history.

I guess maybe they just didn’t like race being mentioned, politically incorrect or something? Not sure. You could say you have a multicultural background if you orefer to use a different term, but it sounds like you don’t care either way.

DWW25921's avatar

I think choosing not to be offended by simple and harmless things makes you a better person. I think we live in a “victim” culture where everything and anything has to be offensive to someone. I don’t like walking on eggshells. I have a mixture too, mostly Northern European… We’re all mixed up. That’s what makes America so interesting!

juanitafi's avatar

The most beautiful people that I met in my life are of mixed heritages so I think you should only be proud of it

RocketGuy's avatar

@juanitafi – that has been my experience too. I went to an international school, so there were quite a few mixed race kids.

JLeslie's avatar

@RocketGuy See on this Q how some people get bent of shape by any statement of the beauty of mixed race children or people.

RocketGuy's avatar

@JLeslie – right, there I made a list of mixed race celebrities who I find quite attractive. At my school, the Peters sisters were legendary. They are half German, half Thai.

ragingloli's avatar

german is not a race

RocketGuy's avatar

Half European, half Asian

JLeslie's avatar

European is not a race. Caucasian and Asian is what you are looking for. But, race is tricky. People look at race in different ways. My husband is Caucasian, but if you look at him and look me, you can easily tell we are from different parts of the world, yet I am caucasian too, under current definitions.

My great uncle in a letter he wrote his sister while stationed in Europe during WWII referred to the Germans as a race. That was a different time though.

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