4 ms·

It isn't like it is there to incite racism so it is much more likely that the racebox is in place because that is what a census is for, tracking information.

by wwortiz 16y ago

abstractbill 16y ago
But why does that information need to be tracked? Is there any real utility to having it? (I'm asking seriously - I really have no idea what it might be used for).
- MichaelSalib 16y ago
  From the Census FAQ ( http://2010.census.gov/partners/pdf/ConstituentFAQ.pdf http://2010.census.gov/partners/pdf/ConstituentFAQ.pdf ): "Information on race is required for many federal programs and is critical in making policy decisions, particularly for civil rights. States use these data to meet legislative redistricting principles. Race data also are used to promote equal employment opportunities and to assess racial disparities in health and environmental risks."
  - yummyfajitas 16y ago
    Legislative redistricting? The original purpose of the race box was to skew the distribution of congress critters in a certain way (unfair) way. From what the Census says, it sounds as if they are still doing that.
    - MichaelSalib 16y ago
      I don't think this is true. As I understand the history, some states deliberately crafted legislative districts to reduce the voting power of particular racial groups. This lead to law suits and as part of court mandated settlements, the aforementioned states have to monitor racial composition of their districts to demonstrate that they are in compliance with the court rulings. In other words, some racists tried to screw over minority groups, the courts slapped them down, and race data is needed to verify ongoing compliance.
      - yummyfajitas 16y ago
        Here is how it is used in practice: Say you have a region predominantly party X, but party Y is in power at the time of gerrymandering. The redistricting process will split the region amongst several districts, so that instead of getting 4 Y districts and 1 X district, you get 5 districts which are 60% Y and 40% X. This process is completely legal, except when the region is also significantly represented by some politically favored racial groups. I.e., we give some races special legal protection from gerrymandering, but not others.
- Jd 16y ago
  Public health among other things. Various related issues break down best according to racial/ethnic lines and you wouldn't know that w/o the data.
  - tokenadult 16y ago
    [citation needed] http://genomebiology.com/2008/9/7/404 http://genomebiology.com/2008/9/7/404 "Overemphasizing the genetic contribution to complex human disease or behavioral traits can promote not only racism, but also a naive genetic essentialism - the notion that genes determine health status or behavior [28-30]. Such essentialism is particularly dangerous in clinical translation, where a focus should be maintained on the individual rather than the group [31]."

It isn't like it is there to incite racism so it is much more likely that the racebox is in place because that is what a census is for, tracking information.

by wwortiz 16y ago

It isn't like it is there to incite racism so it is much more likely that the racebox is in place because that is what a census is for, tracking information.

abstractbill 16y ago

But why does that information need to be tracked? Is there any real utility to having it? (I'm asking seriously - I really have no idea what it might be used for).

MichaelSalib 16y ago
From the Census FAQ ( http://2010.census.gov/partners/pdf/ConstituentFAQ.pdf http://2010.census.gov/partners/pdf/ConstituentFAQ.pdf ): "Information on race is required for many federal programs and is critical in making policy decisions, particularly for civil rights. States use these data to meet legislative redistricting principles. Race data also are used to promote equal employment opportunities and to assess racial disparities in health and environmental risks."
- yummyfajitas 16y ago
  Legislative redistricting? The original purpose of the race box was to skew the distribution of congress critters in a certain way (unfair) way. From what the Census says, it sounds as if they are still doing that.
  - MichaelSalib 16y ago
    I don't think this is true. As I understand the history, some states deliberately crafted legislative districts to reduce the voting power of particular racial groups. This lead to law suits and as part of court mandated settlements, the aforementioned states have to monitor racial composition of their districts to demonstrate that they are in compliance with the court rulings. In other words, some racists tried to screw over minority groups, the courts slapped them down, and race data is needed to verify ongoing compliance.
    - yummyfajitas 16y ago
      Here is how it is used in practice: Say you have a region predominantly party X, but party Y is in power at the time of gerrymandering. The redistricting process will split the region amongst several districts, so that instead of getting 4 Y districts and 1 X district, you get 5 districts which are 60% Y and 40% X. This process is completely legal, except when the region is also significantly represented by some politically favored racial groups. I.e., we give some races special legal protection from gerrymandering, but not others.
Jd 16y ago
Public health among other things. Various related issues break down best according to racial/ethnic lines and you wouldn't know that w/o the data.
- tokenadult 16y ago
  [citation needed] http://genomebiology.com/2008/9/7/404 http://genomebiology.com/2008/9/7/404 "Overemphasizing the genetic contribution to complex human disease or behavioral traits can promote not only racism, but also a naive genetic essentialism - the notion that genes determine health status or behavior [28-30]. Such essentialism is particularly dangerous in clinical translation, where a focus should be maintained on the individual rather than the group [31]."