I wonder if fans of the show “24” on Fox would
classify Dina Araz, mother of the suburban family terrorist cell,
as “white.”
Somehow I doubt it.
To be perfectly honest, I worry about beginning with such a
statement. It highlights differences instead of similarities, and
almost encourages a type of “profiling” that inevitably
leads to stereotyping and other negative connotations of the
word.
At the same time, I am wholly uncomfortable with being
classified as “white.” However, on surveys, I usually
have no option, as the option “white” is followed by
“(including Middle Eastern).”
The problem begins with awkward definitions. The choices on
surveys combine physical features with geographical lineage
(white/Caucasian, black/African American), or ethnicity with race
(Chicano/Mexican American), and some categories are purely
geographical.
Not only are surveys inconsistent in their categories, but so
are the students who answer them. Out of the nine students I
interviewed, each had his or her own idea of what the survey was
asking, and correspondingly, what its purpose was.
Some understood it to concern physical features, as directly
consequential of racial and genetic heritage. Some considered it a
question of geographical origin. Others considered it in terms of
cultural or socio-cultural affinity.
With so many factors to consider, even I often sit and ponder
the question, though it should really take less than a few seconds
to mark.
I am a Middle Easterner with fair-colored features. Though my
features aren’t exactly Nordic or Anglican in structure,
before I wore the scarf people assumed I was white.
The same applies to Sarkis Oganesyan, the third-year vice
president of the Armenian Student Association. He felt proud of the
fact. He emphasized “the fact that Armenians were one of the
original eight Aryan nations; we used to be exactly like white
people.” For him, it wasn’t an issue of superiority, he
said, but one of fundamental lineage.
That definition is loaded with issues, however. For example, in
the old world, the Middle East was the crossroads of trade. As a
result, Middle Easterners are a mix of different influences and
racial heritages. Race, after all, is in part a social construction
““ and like most social constructions, ambiguous in
nature.
Basing a racial survey on geographical considerations involves
the same limitations, to a higher degree. Where are the boundaries
of the Middle East? Even WorldAtlas.com, the CIA Factbook and
classic scholarly thought disagree. Which distinction is correct,
and who should be the authority on the subject?
And how fair would it be for an Egyptian to declare himself
“African” even though his historical disadvantage in
the U.S. is not comparable to that of blacks?
Second-year Middle Eastern/North African studies student Dina
Abdel-Chehata, an Egyptian, says she feels declaring herself
“African” is deceiving and untrue to her own heritage.
She says she dislikes categorizing herself to begin with, as
“it robs you of your identity.”
I wholeheartedly agree, but the issue is still complex.
“White” is in the U.S. what the biggest drawer in my
desk has become ““ a place to haphazardly throw things in that
are difficult to be categorized. As the Armenian Student
Association’s Oganesyan realized, “in itself, if you
put down “˜white’ … it’s too broad; that’s
why so many nationalities fit under its umbrella.”
Still, if white is the default category, what is the purpose of
the “other” category? Why does it not say “white
(including other)” instead of “white (including Middle
Eastern)”? The practice on the U.S. Census is to consider any
written entries claiming Middle Eastern heritage as
“white”. This causes inflation of the white
category.
For example, consider Orange County. It has a large white
population and a large Middle Eastern population. The diversity is
easily overlooked, however, as both are considered white on the
Census.
Some of those I interviewed feared being labeled as Middle
Eastern because of the stigma now attached to the categorization.
They equate it with racial profiling attempts, and I am sympathetic
to that worry. At some level, however, you cannot escape the human
drive to compartmentalize.
Moreover, we need better categorization for the simple reason
that I would like to know the progress we have made in the United
States. In our post-Sept. 11, 2001 world, I would like to know the
effects on income, population distribution, education and the
choices of profession that people from the Middle East have
encountered.
That is impossible to do as long as we are forced to be
something we are not ““ white. When we are covered by the
media as the norm instead of the foreign, when scholars study us as
a natural U.S. phenomenon instead of a new topic, I might consider
coming to terms with not being racially distinct.
But for now, I want to be recognized. I want statistics that
reflect reality, not politics.
Feel lost or cozy in the big default drawer? E-mail Hashem
at nhashem@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.