No more race categorization in the modern society!

Categorizations of race and ethnicity are commonly seen every day, causing stereotypes that may worsen the quality of life for many. Created personas are labeled onto each individual that determine how people of other races view them. One-way society divides itself is by splitting into groups based on skin color alone. The created idea that someone is a different race is a social construct driven by politics and does more harm than good. Grouping race can cause social division, violence and, economic inequality. Race was manufactured to divide society into social classes and place some higher than others, because of a fear of equality. The system of dividing a population by race, which is commonly identified by skin color is completely random and has produced isolation as people tend to stick with their “ race.” The color of one’s skin is determined by the amount of melanin in their skin, which does not change anything except one’s appearance. Labeling someone as different because of what they look like is exactly what children are taught not to do in school. I believe one of the greatest flaws of racial grouping is the idea that mixing with other races is wrong. Growing up in a family mixed with old school Sicilians on my mother’s side, and Russian/Polish from my fathers’ side I was exposed to biracial relationships early on. My parents’ families did not mesh well and to this day they rarely speak. Because they were separated “ officially” by the government, they believe that they are different from one another, when in reality there’s nothing except the social construct of race.

Times are changing and so are people’s opinion on interracial marriage. According to research, American’s view on race is changing, in fact the word race is beginning to have little meaning at all. ” Americans today also are less likely to oppose a close relative marrying someone of a different race or ethnicity. Now, 10% say they would oppose such a marriage in their family, down from 31% in 2000. The biggest decline has occurred among non-blacks: Today, 14% of non-blacks say they would oppose a close relative marrying a black person, down from 63% in 1990”. The trend shows Americans marrying outside of their socially constructed race at an increasing rate. This conflicts with the idea of different races entirely, and combines the categories together. The reason that may be behind the change of the words meaning, in today’s society is that American’s are more connected than ever to each other through the internet, allowing for all groups of races to interact. Being born into this world and labeled an ethnicity for many can be dangerous. People are born with a target on their back just because they come from a certain heritage. Someone should not fear other’s because of appearance. A large part of why society fears specific races more than others is the way they are portrayed in movies and the media, which is usually related to crime. A very divisive topic which relates to the categorization of race is the police killings of unarmed black men. Because black men have a society created label that associates them with crime, police are typically more likely to use force against them. Fear has instilled itself into many of certain backgrounds often because of religion and those who conflict with their beliefs.

“ Many of the harshest conflicts in the world today are between people who are physically indistinguishable”. Olson is saying that there is conflict between people who when you remove the social construct of race are nearly identical. There are many examples of this around the world such as the Palestinian and Israeli conflict over the land which has been very violent. Most people probably could not tell one apart from each other without context like clothing or language. An alarming fact about the economic opportunity division between races is “ In 2016, the most recent year for which all of these data are available, the median black worker earned 75 percent of what the median white worker earned in an hour; the median black household earned 61 percent of the income the median white household earned in a year; and the value of net worth for the median black family was just 10 percent of the value for the median white family”. This is showing on black workers and households on average earn less than if they were white. Because of a label someone was born with they may earn significantly less money than a person of a more favorable race. This is a direct consequence of categorizing people into racial categories.

The discussion on what makes a person qualify as a certain race has not been an easy thing to agree on. “ Past legislation has waffled on this issue… these distinctions are highly contentious for political and economic as well as cultural reasons”. How can one person say with certainty whether or not someone is of certain heritage. Whether someone agrees on the qualifications for a race or not is very subjective to one’s beliefs. I may think I have enough ancestral background to be called Hispanic, which is zero, while a true Hispanic according to the US Office of Management may be different. This decisiveness is exactly why assigning races to an individual is not a reliable way to group people. Steve Olson, author of “ The end of Race: Hawaii and the Mixing of Peoples” believes that choosing one’s race should be entirely free will and based on more on social aspects of life instead of physical. Olson’s view is seen in examples such as a teen wanting to fit in with friends at school so they identify as the same ethnicity to fit in. Olson claims “ Genetically, this view of ethnicity makes perfect sense”. Assimilating to others because of a want to fit in is something I, and probably the majority of people do. Humans are generally very social and would rather be liked then not, causing the need to fit in.

I understand his view and think while focusing on the social aspects when choosing a race would be an improvement, but it would be better off to remove the grouping system all together. This could allow for more people to feel comfortable with themselves knowing everyone is the same Racial grouping is not a reliable way to separate society. Giving people labels based on their skin color is often wrong and can be insulting to those whose personal identify differs from their societal identity. Facts show America is becoming more diverse and the grouping of race is becoming obsolete. Removing the concept of race would diversify communities, benefitting all who suffer the consequences of being a minority. Racial categorization benefits very few and usually at the expense of others.