Lynda M Meléndez
Prof. Sarah Brock
ENGL 3007
January 23, 2014
The Race should not Matter
South Americans, Central Americans, Mexicans and Caribbean’s, they all share the Spanish language but, do they share the same culture? According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the White House, from 1997 they do. From that time, these practice has been in controversy because, is difficult to categorize a race based on community.
For these, I share the same opinion author Bahrani, imply in her essay “Why Does My Race Matter?” That race doesn't matter, and that government census should not force people into racial categories (167). First, this practice can lead to confusion to the people that are concern they belong to one or more races. Second, there is no such racial category definition in the scientific world, and third, it can lead to discrimination because these are being made on community perceptions.
I remembered that my first encounter with racial categories was at school in 1990, taking the Puerto Rican Tests of Academic Achievement (PPAA in Spanish). At that time, I needed to choose between: Black, White, or Asian; and that situation brought confusion between the students, because we were taught in history class that Puerto Ricans are a mix of three races: the white (Spaniards), the black (Africans), the natives (Tainos). I was so confused that I needed to ask my teacher for advice, and after arguing about what answer should I choose, I decide to categorize myself as Asian, because I saw my skin color as yellow and I considered my eye small and elongated, like a Chinese person. I was a kid and my decision was not one different from the one of the government, my decision was based on perception.
Years has pass and still at my 32 years, I am facing this racial category problem in job applications, were I still stop for a minute to read and opt to choose the “Other” category if available, because I still don’t feel it is not correct to...