Finance, Forex and Investments - Does race still matter to you, honestly?

Does race still matter to you, honestly?

The internet is anonymous, so be completely honest. I myself am of Indian ancestry. The most Indian I get, however, is struggling with my language when trying to speak to my grandmother or eating my mom's Indian food. I was born and raised for the last 23 years in Canada and have no reason to think of myself as anything other than Canadian. I'm not asking you to feel sorry for me. I've gotten that reaction and I've never understood it. I'm proud of who I am. I've never been to India and my parents were born in East Africa. I stopped going to my temple all together when I was around 12. I'm close to my immediate family, but not unusually. My dad's entire side of the family lives in Canada but I'm not close to them since they're much older than me. It's the same with my mom's side, though they live all over the world. I grew up in a suburb of Toronto that was dominated by Chinese. They mostly stuck together, and so most of my friends were in the "other" group that consisted of those of white, black, and Middle Eastern ancestry. Last year I lived in Europe. Sure I would like to see India someday, but I want to see the whole world: I have no family there so I would stay at a hotel and have the tourist experience. I wouldn't just be "accepted" there as one of them. I never made it a priority to stick to my own kind. I've come to like everyone for whatever it is that they represent. I didn't choose the conventional Indian-geared degrees. I chose to study politics over business and science. I'm not driven by money and I don't want to be a doctor. I don't even want to be a lawyer anymore. I want to help as many people as I can by fighting injustices that I encounter in the world. I wouldn't be surprised if you told me that you didn't know many Indians like me, because I myself don't. The reason I'm posting this is because people still label me, whether it's spoken of or not. The majority of couples on campus are of the same race. Indians are rarely seen with other races. As much of an individual identity I try to project, when people see my face, they assume that I'm a certain way. How can I make this stop? I went on Chatroulette for the first time and got called an Arab, Paki, terrorist, and ugly a few times (see photo). People are surprised when they heard me playing The Rolling Stones or Pearl Jam. Why does a second-generation European almost immediately assume the Canadian identity, while I can't? Is it just because my skin is a different colour? I doubt it, because a black person would be labelled a Canadian much more often than I would. Racist people, or those that still judge, please tell me why this is. I hope it has nothing to do with why I don't have a girlfriend and why the small town girl I'm into at the moment seems reluctant. This is me- 1) http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad77/thejarperson/General/4-Animated.gif 2) http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad77/thejarperson/General/4269_670263510117_72615568_39889773.jpg 3) http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad77/thejarperson/General/n1657350459_30916976_404275-1-1.jpg 4) http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad77/thejarperson/General/n713898558_1501509_644145-1-1.jpg 5) http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad77/thejarperson/General/n72604436_37115209_4558-2.jpg LOOK AT THE COMMENTS for this guy: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AoFvASfoYgcoxMLMofRGOZPsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20091006235817AAPZwS8 KEEP IN MIND this when answering: http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/2009/10/05/your-race-affects-whether-people-write-you-back/ Be honest! I seriously doubt that everyone that replies to this question will weigh blacks, whites, Latinos, Indigenous, South Pacific, Asian, Indian, and Middle Easterners alike and will rely solely on personality. I want to find out why racism persists when we all know better.

Public Comments

i really don't care about race
i don't judge on the color or your skin or anything like that i will judge on how are truly are inside not outside
I dont mind,
To be honest, I do not prefer any race more than the other. I'm asian and honestly, I read your whole question (unlike most others that won't) and understood and actually related to some of the pain that occurred to you just because of your race. I've been told to "go back to Asia!" or "get your eyes fixed" and I actually took it personally! (Keep in mind that these experiences occurred all throughout my life. (I'm a Sophomore in High School now) As hard as it may seem, I learned that you should take your race as a blessing! Be proud of your heritage. And brush off the hatred, and hurt that others give you! People tend to to a thing called "generalizing" which is one of the most stupidest things I've ever heard. A select few people tend to generalize that ALL people of a particular race are this, or that. When they don't know the truth, in every race there are racist people. In every race there are smart people! In every race there are ignorant people! In every single damn race there are criminals! And people just don't realize that all of these assumptions need to stop! So all in all, my point? Prove to those people that assume that you are something (as posted in your question) prove them wrong! So they can realize. "Oh! how stupid was I to think that he was like that?" Sorry for the long response. Best of luck. (:
No.It doesn't matter to me. That's my honest opinion. It's just a color.
i just see everyone as humans no matter wat they are everyone could be cool!
I'm in high school and I know that if you're racist, then you get made fun of way more than minorities. Honestly, kids don't care anymore what you are. The only time anyone talks about race is when they're describing some one. Like "Who is Will Li?" "he's the Asian guy that shoots milk out of his nose at lunch." "oh. okay."
no it doesn't, because i am of mixed ancestry. half japanese, quarter mexican/quarter white. im in high school though, so i now there's a lot of racist people but usually it makes them look dumb becase if they something racist to me about race, it usually backfires on them.
Unfortunately, it's your racial clothing. When people see you, they automatically come to some conclusions about you based off the way you look, the way you dress, the way you walk, and the color of your skin, and how symmetrical your face is. It's wrong, shallow, and does nothing to tell you anything about a persons personality...and it's never going to stop. So, just keep in mind that you shouldn't decide that you need people in your life, when you are only an option in theirs. I know I don't want to bother with someone who makes shallow assumptions about me because of my race.
hey i'm half east Indian and russian, screw the haters
First I applaud your post. It was very..., well, I can't even give it a suitable word. Moving, perhaps? It just really spoke to me, and I'm honestly glad I ran across it and decided to read it. Thanks for taking the time to put it out here for everyone to read and reply to. I suppose, at some time, even the "majority" race in a given country experiences some sort of racial discrimination at some point. I find it oddly ironic how many times I have been bullied over being "super white" due to my Irish relatives (I am, as of yet, the only child from my mother's lineage who is actually born & raised in Canada, all others are Irish-born (and, yes, have the characteristic super pale skin to match). My father's ancestry is English, and actually have many rather pale individuals in his family, also. So even I have had many people say stuff like "vampire", "get some sun" or just "you're too white to be Canadian, go back to Ireland, freak." It's really kinda sad. I have had people say it of my own race, and other races----as if somehow my presence embarasses them. You may even think yourself, just go get a tan. But I don't tan----I burn like crazy in 10mins of sunlight without sunblock. And then I peel, and I'm still my natural "ghostly-white." I actually got a rather brutal lecture about my nationality and skin color from my Brazilian boyfriend's grandmother. I do not know her racial distinction, however she is a rather darkly skinned individual. Not 1 hr after I arrived to her house in Brazil, she was saying things like "you're not welcome in my house---you come here a Canadian, do not speak fluent portuguese (I'm about 1/2 through learning the language), and as white as paint. How dare you even have the rude attitude to think you can enter my house. Get out, now. I do not want my grandson hanging around with such white Canadian trash (I do dress well, and I had made an extra effort to look presentable)." That was the first time I met her, needless to say, I don't think I made a good impression. I got a similar lecture the second time I was in Brazil with my boyfriend, and we went to visit her again. And here I was thinking that, out of other countries, Canada was one of the least prejudiced by other countries? That, at best, Canadians were thought to be well-to-do people, and at second best, we would just be ignored because Canadians dont generally travel planning to be rude, disrespectful, or cause chaos and unhappiness. His grandmother wouldn't even LOOK at me after that. I couldn't believe that I, simply becasuse of my language, nationality, and color of my skin, was so disliked so immediately. Anyway, I wish I had a reason for you why people act this way, but I don't. I suppose there are many many reasons, and it would certainly be a complicated problem to fix in its entirety. The best I can say is, to look on the bright side of every situation, and find reason to love who you are even when others clearly do not even want to give you a chance. I know I may not be perfect, but because of my studies in culture at university, and my own experiences, I do my best to never judge a book by its cover, and never think negatively of someone based on the language they speak, their nationality, their culture, or other variables. I know what it's like, and I try to help racial situations whenever I can, so that I can make some small impact in making racial problems disapear.
I'm not going to address every question and statement, I'll only generally answer honestly based on personal experience. I normally don't answer questions, and couldn't care less about being chosen for best answer, but I felt that if I could help you gain some insight, then I might as well answer your question to the best of my ability. I would like to think I am not racist; I would like to think that I have no racial prejudices. This is true as far as friendship goes, I find. I am extremely non-judgemental towards the general public and friends. However, something I would hate to, and normally would never admit to, is that as far as relationships that go beyond friendship are concerned... well that's kind of another deal. Background: I also live in Canada. Raised in the states. I have lived in North America the vast majority of my life, so I have a western mentality as far as I'm aware of. I, too, am of a minority, 100% pure arab genetically speaking, listing all the way back to my ancestors' ancestors, but you would never believe it. Since you don't know me, I won't even try to act remotely modestly and will get to the point: I am quite attractive, very intelligent and have a very high IQ. Also, I am an exceedingly well-liked, well-adjusted, "white"-looking, 20-something year old woman. I have an abundance of guys to choose from, so technically speaking, I don't feel the need to settle for a guy. That being said, I most definitely would be your friend without having the slightest fleeting problem with it, and to be honest, I know of no one that I could point a finger at and say that they wouldn't be your friend just based on your background. I'm sure they exist, but they are not apparent to me, take this with a grain of salt, though, because as I mentioned earlier, I've never experienced racial discrimination first hand since I am not a "visible" minority. So I may be naive in my disinclination to accept unblushing racism in daily, personal, interactions in the multicultural youth of my city. Just like anonymity gave me the ability to appear like a spoiled, ego-maniac, this same factor gave those strangers the balls to take out all their hatred out on you since there is no fear of consequences. As the intelligent person that I'm sure you are, you understand how dire consequences and repercussions are in order for norms to be valid. Hatred will always exist. Humans are pack animals, this does not necessarily mean that we want to get along with everyone as a pack, it's the contrary to that as a matter of fact - The only way we innately know how to survive is by creating smaller groups and protecting our group against any foreigners, the hatred/protection creates a stronger bond within these pack members. Guess how animals differentiate their pack from others? Yeah, by the way they look. Well there's a lot of pretentious, poorly-explained, ill-resourced and worded crap for you, all of which I just vaguely pulled out of random excerpts of years of education which almost nullifies the support I was trying to give my following statement; There will never be pure world peace, love, and acceptance. There will always be those that hate. I'm not saying this in effort to give the appearance of your attempts to fight injustices as nothing more than pyrrhic victories. All I mean to say is that you can't win them all, and you can't beat ignorance out of people. Anyways, I went on a tangent. The point is, I would befriend you, and you know what? If you were just that awesome of a person and personality, I would date you! I wouldn't even have a problem expecting a future. The only problem I've ever had in terms of background, and this is an often shared sentiment, is in terms of a person's tradition and culture, and the way they go about living their lives, that of which clashes with how I choose to live mine. When it comes down to it, it makes no difference if someone rejected you because of aesthetic, racial, cultural... etc reasons. That filters out for you those that are not worth your time and worries. Dr. Suess said it best “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
The sad thing is that racism has been around for so long and yet people are still ignorant and still racist. I hope that racism will come to an end althought it's doubtful. Some people refuse to be open minded and are uneducated about other races. Colour does not entirely make up a person. No matter the colour, no matter the race, we all suffer from the same things in life, we all have criminals and we all have things we love. I personally love cultural diversity. I live in New Zealand and we have people from many cultures that live/visit here. I'm Maori/Samoan with a bit of French and Welsh and I'm proud of it. I feel for people who aren't so confident abou their race due to the arrogance of racists but I encourage them to ignore them and be proud of who you are and where you come from.
yes it does. i would trade my 1st born child if i can marry and do coitus with either a exotic middle eastern or indian girl.
well where i live in chicago its very diverse you have italians on one side polish on another chinese/jap w.e the fuck they are on another white in the upper class neighborhoods which is pretty much everywhere blacks in the hood/poor places some live in upper class neighborhoods but thats only because they have more than 1 family crammed in a house to afford it im white and live in a largely dominant black neighborhood aka the projectss i didnt feel like reading all of that but wanna know why im racist? its because all the people that live here are pieces of shit they dont have jobs, they get their money from the government thank you welfare dont take care of their kids shit if you want to go find a 8 year old dealing drugs its not that hard eat mcdonalds and popeyes all day long with taxpayer money and drink all day to then have b-b-q's where it leads into a giant brawl because they act like animals nd wtf these people take eachothers lives over nothing they hurt eachother, steal, lie, kill people even if they dont know them burn houses down, commit robberies its whatever hell last weak 2 kids they werent even adults KIDS. got beat almost to death with an unloaded pistol for a damn bike hell we dont even have a damn police force they all quit because they werent getting paid enough at 12 bucks an hour to deal with this shit we gotta rely on freaking state police and they never come and when they do it takes forever but yeah thats why mostly every race hate black people because 99% of them are ignorant as fuck no matter where you go white people nobody hates us chinese people hate them because they look funny indians or whatever idk i dont really care i love everybody but black people because they act like monkies doing the stanky leg and whatever else