Ich schon wieder. I filled out the national census form this past weekend. It's the first time I've ever done that in my life, and I thought I'd share my thoughts. It's very disappointing. Almost worthless. Here's why.  
THE CENSUS IS FLAWED As most people hopefully know by now, the census asks a series of ten very simple questions regarding one's age, ethnicity, and basic contact information. The data gathered is used to calculate a state's representation in congress and is taken into account whenever federal funds are allocated to hospitals, schools, and emergency services. The census takes only a few minutes to do but, while all sociological studies will necessarily be incomplete, I believe its flaws are very damaging and will undermine whatever noble potential it could have had. Like many Americans, I was mildly taken aback by the bluntness of question #8, which reads: Is person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin? Underneath the question the census provides a series of answer bubbles. One is given the option of selecting... 1.) No, not of Hispanic origin 2.) Yes, Mexican, Mexican American or Chicano 3.) Yes, Puerto Rican 4.) Yes, Cuban 5.) Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish Origin (please specify) It's important to note that this is the one and ONLY question the census asks regarding one's ETHNICITY. The question that follows deals exclusively with race. What is person 1's race? 1.) White 2.) Black 3.) American Indian or Alaskan Native (please print name of tribe) {The list goes on, enumerating various Asian nationalities, ending "Some Other Race"} As a Venezuelan-American whose grandparents are all from Spain, I reluctantly selected "Other Hispanic" as my ethnicity and "White" as my race. It left a nasty taste in my mouth. Harmless, right? Unfortunately not. All across the nation, Latinos are the only Americans being identified by a specific ethnic group. They are then forced to choose their race, literally, between "Black and White". My problem with this is that it will lead to data being gathered that is inaccurate and unfaithful to the nuances of how Latinos view themselves as part of the broader American population. It will lead to millions of Latinos self-selecting "White", when such an answer does not reflect reality at all. Phrasing the census like this ignores the complex history and diverse racial makeup of Latin America, oversimplifying to the extreme and reducing a whole population to a single "color". Most Latinos are not "White". Nor are they "Black" or full-blooded American Indian. With the notable exceptions of Argentina and Uruguay, the people of Latin America are of mixed "mestizo" race and view themselves as such! They have a rich history and identity and DO consider themselves a seperate and distinct race. True white Latinos are the descendants of Spaniards, Italians, Germans and other European peoples who immigrated to the continent generations ago. They occupy the wealthiest socio-economic classes of their countries of origin and, when they immigrate to the United States, continue to excel in education and business. Being physically indistinguishable from the Anglo majority, they suffer less racism and tend to assimilate faster and more painlessly into the general American society. We have it easy like that, I'm afraid. The life experience and social reality of true white Latinos is NOT the same as that of the millions of mestizo Latinos who will self-identify as "White" on the census. Mestizo Hispanics continue to suffer from racism and a variety of social ills disprportionate to their numbers, and will largely be ignored by future public policy considerations upon being rendered uniformly "White" by the census which claims to want to count them fairly. Considering that we, Latinos, now constitute 1 in 4 American one-year-olds, I believe it is ignorant and foolish in the extreme not to have a distinct racial category of "Mestizo" added to the census. The future of America is not monochromatic. | 
