Putting the census right
Mark Krikorian, writing in National Review Online , plans on answering the intrusive--and most likely illegal--census questions about race/ethnicity the way I usually do. Rejecting the tempting idea of messing up the census by lying, he suggests answering the question about the person's race
by checking the last option - "Some other race" - and writing in "American." It's a truthful answer but at the same time is a way for ordinary citizens to express their rejection of unconstitutional racial classification schemes. In fact, "American" was the plurality ancestry selection for respondents to the 2000 census in four states and several hundred counties.
So remember: Question 9 - "Some other race" - "American". Pass it on.
An alternative answer used since high school: the sappy, but accurate, human (race).
Mark Krikorian, writing in National Review Online , plans on answering the intrusive--and most likely illegal--census questions about race/ethnicity the way I usually do. Rejecting the tempting idea of messing up the census by lying, he suggests answering the question about the person's race
by checking the last option - "Some other race" - and writing in "American." It's a truthful answer but at the same time is a way for ordinary citizens to express their rejection of unconstitutional racial classification schemes. In fact, "American" was the plurality ancestry selection for respondents to the 2000 census in four states and several hundred counties.
So remember: Question 9 - "Some other race" - "American". Pass it on.
An alternative answer used since high school: the sappy, but accurate, human (race).