Who's White?

Today in the NYT a new book is reviewed: "The History of White People". I have been faced with this issue twice recently. A little context.

Since I came to the US in 1973 I was faced with the odd American hung up of forcing one to choose a "race", whatever that means. In Mexico, you know, the government never asks you, are you white, green, or yellow. Scientifically it has been hard to identify these traits, it is only skin deep, as far as the genetics I am aware of, is concerned. Maybe some groups, by circumstance, have been chosen, like the Ashkenazi Jews, that seem to have been bred to count somebody else's money; but besides that , all members of the Human Species, can breed among themselves, so this race thing is a bit odd.

Let us accept race then. After all I have been in the US, on and off, for the past 37 years. This time I went to Mexico I discovered in my mom's apartment a book that gives our genealogy. To my surprise I found out that I am white. In the small town where she grew up, they took the land four hundred years ago from Indians, Amerindians. They were not going to marry Indians and give the land back. So we are white; but last time I was asked in the US, I proudly answered Mestizo. Now I know that is not true. So when I answered the Census sheet this year, I identified myself as Hispanic, and when I went to renew my green card, they asked me again, and now I wrote White. I didn't notice fast enough though, that I had the option of writing Hispanic, whatever that means. We have white, black, yellow, green, whatever color of Hispanic down there, or as the article linked about has it: white, yellow, copper, tawny, and tawny-black to jet-black.

So if somebody starts a fuss, I will say: I was born in Mexico City, a little shade of dark, then when I went to California and got less sunshine, I turned pale. Now that I am in Chicago, I am planning to get lighter: Whatever.

I guess what the US government wants to know is if I support Mexican Immigration. To that question I answer: Yes.