Viewing Race

Many weeks ago, I promised a post on race but never delivered. To those of you who asked for it, thanks for actually expecting me to live up to my word.




It's my experience that race has a lot to do with the face.

People usually think of skin color, but if you just looked at someone's hands or neck, you'd have a hard time distinguishing between a black person with a light complexion and a white person with a serious, well-worn tan. OK, maybe that wouldn't be too difficult for someone who pays attention to this stuff, but you get the idea. Color obviously plays a part, but not as big a part as it's made out to be.

So, how do people make snap judgments about race? Well, considering that I'm pretty slow on these things, I'm guessing it has something to do with facial features. It's the first thing that most people see, and it's the last thing I see.

Luckily, I'm rarely in a position where I have to tell the difference, but it can be difficult for me when I do. I do a lot of work with kids, and most kids (like most adults) imitate the voices of their peers. Accents can be very misleading. And, as I said, color only takes you so far. SO when somebody asks me where"you know, that short Hispanic kid" is,, after I'm done being offended, I actually have trouble telling who they mean. Most people don't seem to have that problem. They probably see patterns that I don't.

Really, it seems like a weird way to categorize people. The concept that because my face looks different from yours, I should give you a different classification, doesn't really ring true. As a white person living in a diverse city, it's very rare that anyone identifies me racially -- unless I'm working in a place where I'm in the vast minority. But, then again, as a "disabled person," I have my own minority to identify me. People also identify me by my face, although it's more specific to my eyes and where they're looking.

I just wonder where this comes from. Are we so tribally minded that, despite our vast similarities, we need to create distinctions based on such subtle characteristics as the shape of a nose? I wish I could say that I don't -- in the case of the nose, I physically can't -- but I do find myself trying to peg the race of the person next to me on the subway or on the sidewalk. I don't even know why.

I hear stories from black friends about women clutching their purses when they pass by, and it makes me angry, of course. But I think there's something more subtle and insidious about how comfortable we've become with labels, single words that are supposed to sum up the ethnic and cultural background of a human being. It seems so much more interesting and honest to think of a person in terms of their rich ancestry, coming from many parts of the world.

But that's not likely to catch on. After all, you can't discover a rich cultural ancestry by taking a quick glance at a face. At least, I can't. Can you?

By the way, if this topic interests you, you must check out this episode of Radiolab. They ask some startling questions about race and get unexpected answers. It's also one of the best podcasts available. Seriously. What, you don't believe me? Fine, be that way: don't be shocked and amazed. It's not my problem.