At 02:09 PM 11/20/2003 -0500, Ryan Hoekstra wrote:
>This is a legit statement..at least here in the states.And your tone is very
>snarky and unnecessary!!!!
>If you were to fill out a questionaire form here especially for government
>work or something there would be a box to check for race. Hispanic is one of
>those boxes offered.
>A brief history lesson for our apparently Euro blue blood friend:
>A long time ago your ancestoral countrymen came here and many other colonies
>as well as Central and South America and mated with the local natives. Their
>offspring are considered hispanic. In some parts of Central America and
>Mexico they are called Mestizos.
>Even though you have no contact with these people we do. Just as seemingly
>all white people are called Caucasian and all dark skinned people are called
>Black all people of Spanish and South and Central American native descent
>are called Hispanic.
>Chances are that the girls to which he referred are of this origin.

You miss the point.  What Carolina was saying -- correctly -- is that
"Hispanic" isn't a racial designation, but a cultural one.  Here's the
definition from the US Census
(http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68188.htm), which I trust
you'll find definitive enough for these purposes.  Pay particular attention
to the last paragraph:

-----------------------------

Hispanics or Latinos are those people who classified themselves in one of
the specific Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino categories listed on the Census
2000 questionnaire -"Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano," "Puerto Rican", or
"Cuban" -as well as those who indicate that they are "other
Spanish/Hispanic/Latino." Persons who indicated that they are "other
Spanish/Hispanic/Latino" include those whose origins are from Spain, the
Spanish-speaking countries of Central or South America, the Dominican
Republic or people identifying themselves generally as Spanish,
Spanish-American, Hispanic, Hispano, Latino, and so on.

Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or
country of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before
their arrival in the United States.

People who identify their origin as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of
any race. Thus, the percent Hispanic should not be added to percentages for
racial categories. Tallies that show race categories for Hispanics and
nonHispanics separately are available.

------------------------------

So.  Cultural designation, not racial designation.  That's all Carolina was
saying, and since she's right and you're wrong, it seems that you're the
one whose tone is "snarky and unnecessary."

S