http://www.buzzfeed.com/video/micaela/16-things-you-should-never-say-to-mixed-race-people
A girl from my high school posted this on Facebook and said "welcome to my life". The video gives an insight into some of the things that mixed-race people have to deal with.
I wanted to post a blog on this video because I though it gave a perspective that really dived into the reality of someone that is mixed-race or a minority race. It scratches the surface of stupid questions, assumptions, and clueless remarks that people make about someones skin color or characteristics. I have personally experienced some of the scenarios acted out in the video, and I thought it was awesome to see someone find the video and voice out their opinion to a social setting.
In response to the post one person said "is there any way to ask someone about their ethnicity or race without being offensive?" Then another girl answered his questions by posting a link called, How to Ask Someone About Their Ethnicity Without Being an Asshole.
http://jezebel.com/how-to-ask-someone-about-their-ethnicity-without-being-758679070
The author of the article is very sarcastic and blunt, but she makes some good points on how to address a persons curiosity about another person's ethnicity or race. I personally feel that both links work well together because one presents the problem and the other presents a solution to the problem.
Let me know what you think!!
The first article posted is one of the most valid ones on this topic that I have read. I have friends of differing ethnicities that have faced exclusion due to their physical differences. The one that really irks my friend is the differentiation that is placed on her hair; she is black, and people often want to touch it. In response, she's found that makes the person reconsider is to say something like, "Wow, your hair's blond. Can I touch it?" and then she pets their hair like they are doing to her. She says it's the best way to put into perspective for them how ridiculous and inappropriate that behavior is.
ReplyDeleteAnother question that aggravates her that they mentioned in the article is "What are you?" She has a white mother and a black father, so her appearance is not necessarily common; she usually has some witty retort to throw back at them. In the end though, this sort of question only serves to alienate her and make her feel like the "other."
This is one way CRT can change the world: now that we know these questions, we know not to ever ask them under any circumstances. This will allow barriers to go down all over the place, as well as for us all to show greater respect to those both similar and different.
The video about what not to say to mixed race people is really interesting. Its crazy to think people say those things to mixed race people all the time. Just like in the black and white binary chapter, we are always trying to put people in a box. Mixed race people don't really have a box, which is why people always try to ask them what race they are and try to decide where to put them instead of just not having boxes at all. However, I feel a lot of people don't understand that it is wrong for them to ask where people are from. They may not see it as binary paradigm of race or even as micro aggression. However, to a lot of mixed race people it is. This video really just shows how rude it is to say some of those comments to people.
ReplyDeleteThis is 100% accurate. Being Mexican-American, I've heard all the comments/questions mentioned in the video. My hair is naturally straight though and it's an assumption that Mexican women have really curly hair. My sisters have curly hair and I'm the only one with straight so I always got asked if I was adopted as a kid. I still get asked that. Not as much though. I've also been asked if I'm Russian, Asian, White and Black. I guess I have a medium skin tone so people are constantly trying to figure out what race I am. It's really irritating, actually. When someone meets you and five minutes later asks "What are you?", it just sort of is really frustrating. That person just comes off as being extremely rude and culturally insensitive.
ReplyDeleteThis video I think is Hilarious because not only mixed people get this reaction from other people. Its alos for those people that dont look like typical Latino or black man or evenm asian. from experience all my life till this day people confuse me of being Samoan ,Tonagn, or Hawaiin. Im Latino so instead of asking what race or ethnicity we are we should to know the person and from there the truth will come out.
ReplyDeleteThis video made me laugh. I think that it portrays the frustration of people who are of mixed race, but at the same time is has a feeling of being light hearted. These kinds of videos are the best way to get points across in my opinion because they do not embarrass people in anyway, yet they spread awareness of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable to say. People are naive, and I have probably said some of these things to people in the past, so it is good to raise awareness through humor.
ReplyDelete