Mixed Race.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone, I don't mean to if so.

But, I was just wondering what everyones views were on mixed race couples are.

I know that I don't see the harm in it.
What harm is it to anyone?

But then my grandmother has brought up some good argumentative point with mixed race couples when we've talked about them, such as:
-The way that other kids treat them, like that they don't fit in with any certain race.
-They have to pick what race they are to fit it, prove who they are or make their ID.

But then again I say, why do they need to fit into a race, if we are all equal?
And that all kids of all races get treated poor by someone.
And they don't have to fit into a race.

Then again, I see some kids that are mixed race who claim that they are only black or only white or something, and I have to wonder why that is, if my grandmother is right.

But then again, how can people say that they aren't racest and go off and say that these mixed race couples are wrong, and that their kids have to suffer beacuse of it.
I don't know, but I think that it would be a good disscusion topic, and is really thought provoking...

So, go at it! :]

My ex best friend was a mix of African American and Irish and she would say how it's hard and stuff, but it was total bullshit because no one ever said anything about her skin colour or treated her differently. People would ask her what's her background that's all. I don't have a problem with mixed races at all and I've never come across them being treated different than anyone else.

So like, you think it's more in their head?
'Cause I feel like that's how it is sometimes.

i mean for her situation, yes i think she just does a "poor me" kinda thing. that's just the person she is though, but i've never even witnessed someone getting made fun of for being 'mixed'

Yeah me either.
But that seem's like one thing my grandma always brings up.
i think it's to push me away from ever dating anyone who is a different race.

Mixed races don't mean as much these days as they did 40-50 years ago. People don't care about what race you're from. I mean, look at my ancestry, I'm French and English, those countries used to hate each other. xD

I think it's a self esteem thing. I know lots of people who are mixed race and feel that they'd rather be white or black, not because they are judged, but rather because they don't feel confident in their own skin colour. Feeling a sense of belonging is a human need and I guess a lot of people believes that their skin colour prevents this.

Where mixed race couples are concerned, and mixed race children too, I don't understand why in this age there even needs to be a discussion over it. As a society, we are so much more broad minded now and I can't imagine many people being completely opposed to the idea or their reasons for being opposed.

I agree with what you said.

And, yeah, I know that in this day and age it shouldn't be a problem.
But for some reason, there are still those people it seems.

I think views on this matter depend on which environment you grew in.
For example, I go to international school, where you see people of all races and all cultural and ethnic backgrounds. It seems rather odd to me that you may see that being mixed could be some sort of a problem, I mean I know a lot of mixed people and I really don't care because actually it doesn't really make a difference to anyone.
And I see no problem in being so, as I believe we have evolved from the stage where we make fun of people based on their nationality. Also, IDs? That's based on what country you belong to. You don't have to 'pick a race'!

It seems rather silly to me.

i don't think that it has passed because i grew up in a city where it's extremely diverse and there still are people who would not want to date someone of a different race.

I think I live in what is *actually* the most racially diverse city in North America, and there's still people who have issues. I mean, most people won't come right out and SAY "I won't date a ____" but it happens.

Squid.:

And they don't have to fit into a race.

Then again, I see some kids that are mixed race who claim that they are only black or only white or something, and I have to wonder why that is, if my grandmother is right.

Society promulgates the existence of binary structures. Good/evil, male/female, black/white. Of course, this is a very limited perspective; there are mid-points in all of these binaries that are often overlooked, because they complicate the way in which society works. For example, with the male/female divide - what about transgenders/transsexuals? How do they fill in forms and details which request one of two genders? Which toilets do they use?

Obviously the mixed-race situation is very different to this, because whilst there's still a clear stigma of 'weird' attached to transsexuality and the like on account of their relative novelty, mixed-race couples are far more commonplace. But because society still sets up a divide between white and black (take the whole 'black president' thing when Obama was elected - the media coverage didn't have negative racial connotations, but it still - by virtue of drawing attention to Obama's race - inherently divided people into white and black, almost as competitors), I would imagine that some mixed-race people may feel some sort of identity crisis about not being able to fit into one or the other. It's all to do with societal constructs, really...

^ Also while talking of Obama, there was of course a lot of hype about him being the first black president (Which I think is fantastic). Then there were people, republicans mostly I would think who were trying to take away from the hype, were saying that no, it doesn't count, because he's only HALF black.

This is bullshit, of course yes his father is black and his mother white, but I think that still puts him fully in both communities. To claim that he is not really the first black president is ridiculous.

He is still a middle age man (but that us beside the point)

There is only one race the human race and we all belong to the same race, there is only a difference in skin color.
I guess it depends where you live and grow up if people treat you different. I couldn't care less what color a person is or if they are "mixed race".
I have a friend who is half black half white but that doesn't change my friendship with here, i don't really see the difference.

I think the piont you gran makes is valid in the sense that society should change and not the mixed races relationships.

I think it's important to know your roots and where you come from, be it Africa, Asia, Europe or Antarctica. Also your culture and language, but at the same time acknowledging the fact that other people have roots, culture and languages too, that may not be the same as yours. Personally, I'm Caucasian, but I get offended when black people are offended by the word nigger or negro. It's not offensive. The word is stating the fact that they have black skin. So what? We'll never get past this if they continue to be offended by their own skin color. Furthermore, if they can be offended at being called black, I might be offended at being called white. It's just ridiculous. People should get the duck over such superficial things or the conflict will never end.
Also the slavery bit. I get it.
But get this, the culture I'm from, my people or group of people or what not, have been pretty much enslaved for 600-700 years since the crusaders decided to venture here in 1200-something. So them whining about being mistreated and stuff for a measly 400 years is understandable, but we've put up with it for much longer. So in addition to asking us to acknowledge their past, they could understand that they are not the first or most important case of this.
Thus concludes my rant.

PaNcAkEs:

I think it's important to know your roots and where you come from, be it Africa, Asia, Europe or Antarctica. Also your culture and language, but at the same time acknowledging the fact that other people have roots, culture and languages too, that may not be the same as yours. Personally, I'm Caucasian, but I get offended when black people are offended by the word nigger or negro. It's not offensive. The word is stating the fact that they have black skin. So what? We'll never get past this if they continue to be offended by their own skin color. Furthermore, if they can be offended at being called black, I might be offended at being called white. It's just ridiculous. People should get the duck over such superficial things or the conflict will never end.
Also the slavery bit. I get it.
But get this, the culture I'm from, my people or group of people or what not, have been pretty much enslaved for 600-700 years since the crusaders decided to venture here in 1200-something. So them whining about being mistreated and stuff for a measly 400 years is understandable, but we've put up with it for much longer. So in addition to asking us to acknowledge their past, they could understand that they are not the first or most important case of this.
Thus concludes my rant.

Could you be any more racist?
I seriously hope you are trolling because being this ignorant is fucking preposterous.

Also:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nigger - Please educate yourself before you speak.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/07/15/884649/-Why-there-s-no-such-thing-as-Reverse-Racism- (Seriously, please read the part about racism, it basically explains everything wrong with your argument)

I was just getting the point across, that people of African descent are not the only ones that have been or are victims to racism.
I'll just go ahead and let you know where I'm coming from. Literally. Tiny country, northern Europe. Estonia, right under Finland. There are unfounded prejudices about people from here in Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, also Russia. And yes, we have prejudices against Russians, strong ones. Historically founded.
I don't personally give a damn about the descent of someone I'm friends with or talk to beyond my obvious and long-term interest in cultures other than the one I've been brought up in. I have total respect for diversity and I can't stand it when people treat others as less important. Discrimination isn't just about what one looks like, you can find homemade discrimination right in your classroom, and trust me, I've dealt with it, so I think I'd be the last person to be described as racist.
There was racism between the Japanese and Chinese, there was racism from the Germans and Russians against the Polish.
The entire point of my little piece up there was that we should get over the past and make a new future. One can't move on when one is still holding a deathgrip on all that was done wrong.

as with offensive words...
There is this belief around here that I share with pretty good measure..you may call me whatever you want, but you can't shake the truth in this:
words are like a spell, a mantra, if you will. If you say it, you sure as hell should know what it means. I don't refer to deeper or hidden meanings but the true, bare naked, honest meaning of a word as if it was just created. That is what the word means, truly and deeply.
Negro is derived from the Latin word which translates to "black", a colour.
Obviously, if you don't know anything about something, you describe it by what strikes you first. Just like when you meet someone you don't know and can't recall their name, you describe them for instance as "the girl with the big boobs" or "the guy with the beard" or something similar.
Nigger, nowadays an offensive word, sounds lazy and nasty.. And the offensiveness of it, I think, is not so much the word itself, but the historical context in which it was used.
So I think we should stop using words as scapegoats for inhuman actions.
But calling me ignorant and racist is your fundamental right if you so choose.

Racism refers to discrimination of certain races. For example germans can't be racist against the polish, i think a better word is xenophobia. The slavery part: yeah slavery was common in the past, but here we are talking about black people being enslaved by white people just because of their skin color. That is the problem, thus one race being considered inferior to the other and that is a very serious issue, so i found your comment about them "whining" about this extremely offensive and insesitive.
Also in the english language nigger doesn't mean black. Black means black. Nigger is a derogatory term and a very serious insult to a person of color.