Unfortunately the shorthand notation took on a life of its own, and many seem to think they understand the basic reality of an individual when they trot out the notation, but they do not. The addition of but one attribute to the already astronomically sized set of all attributes makes the notation less useful by one increment. As for caring what you're called, it could make a very big difference. Say you're "very mulatto", that is, your racial description could go either way in a mixed society. But that society has social status strata such that it is, on average, more advantageous for an individual to be "white" than "black". What color would you call yourself, or put on your official documents?
As another example along these lines, I'm reminded of the SNL skits on "Pat": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_(Saturday_Night_Live)
I can see we need another teachable moment on the subject. I will provide two examples. Example 1: 911 operator - Hello, what's your emergency? Caller - There's a guy shooting people here. Edit through all the time and place particulars 911 operator - Can you give us a description of the shooter? Caller - He's a tall black guy. Example 2: 911 operator - Hello, what is your emergency? Caller - There's a guy shooting people here. 911 operator - Can you give us a description of the shooter. Caller - It's that crazy fuckin' nigger we caught stealing beer last week. Black bastards always stealing something. Why did we ever hire that no good spook? Now for those of you that are about to fall off the PC cliff, the racist call would be example number 2. Quite clear, isn't it? I'm only here to educate. Someone's gotta' do it!
Funny you never hear Ric and company whine and throw fits like this when someone calls white people white. He only seems to be worried about the "misrepresentation" of non whites errrr non beiges, sorry...
The caller show racial (disparity) when she say; "He is like the only black guy that work here" , no when she say; "He is a tall black man". So maybe she try to tell police it can be easy to find him because only one black person in this building? (racial disparity) is the same as the racism?
That's all well and true, but discrimination abounds in every walk of life. Not just racial. Age, sexual orientation, illness, disability, income, job experience, language, immigration status. It never ends. And not everyone who defines individuals according to, in part, their racial attributes, does so with the intent of conflating that person with the stereotype attached to it. I draw lines in the sand by culture. Not race. But every race broadly shares cultural norms and values - either functional or dysfunctional - so there's a danger to express it through short-hand. And I try my best not to. To me, the white guy living in a trailer, cooking meth, fucking his sister and collecting welfare, is the same as a black guy with three strikes, gang-banging, selling crack. It's a culture of degeneracy and criminality. There are right ways of doing things. And there are wrong ways. History is replete with entire civilizations - from all races - who did it right for hundreds of years, then became decadent, evil and fell into their own shit. Even now, societies that are inherently corrupt are predictably backward and impoverished. China was gifted our wealth by virtue of free trade. Had the West not exported their jobs, most Chinese would still be living in mud huts. The root of the problem is morality, uprightness, a willingness to educate and better oneself, and the desire for honest work. Cultures that encourage that - with the right conditions instituted through Government - prosper. Cultures that don't, fail. Obama could wipe the floor with most white guys, yet he's worse than Bush. The only difference between the two is skin color. I empathize because I know racism is more derisive in the US. But at the end of day, it's up to the individual and family to do the right thing. To impart the right values that build, not destroy. Blacks of the 1950's were incredibly upright and moral despite being terrorized, murdered and wildly discriminated against etc. Today, I see North American Black culture as extremely dysfunctional. And that's not to say whites are doing much better. We've got an entire society - entire nations - that are totally ignorant, uninformed, brainwashed zombies that want everything now, don't give a damn where it comes from, or the state of their freedoms generations of veterans fought and died for. That scares the shit out of me. Because the real problem isn't hillbilly's donning white robes or black dudes sporting balaclavas. It's these motherfuckers in Washington - from all walks - that are literally raping the country and driving us off a cliff. Can you imagine the kind of shit Bush would have done if the Constitution ever got suspended? That's the kind of stuff that troubles me. Not the lunatic fringe that's perpetually hyped by media to keep us all at each others throats. Divide and conquer. That's what all this race-baiting is about. One gigantic distraction to keep our prejudices inflamed while Congress burns the Constitution and flushes the Treasury. My 2 cents.
Before I reply to your excellent post, much of which I agree with, I have to ask you one thing... is the sister hot? : ) Seriously, good post.