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1. Mixed Media Watch - tracking media representations of mixed people on 11 May 2006 at 9:55 am

   […] Oh and by the way, Star himself is mixed black/white. Just another example of how no, mixed people will not erase racism simply by existing because they themselves can be hella racist too. […]

Comments

1. Unlisted wrote:

   I can see why people would think these things. To me, more people mixing is a sign that racial barriers are being broken.

   The hope is that if a biracial child is raised with both parents, they will see beauty in both background while having complete allegiance to neither. It would also seem that they are less likely to be racist against one or the other (although I know it happens at times)

   Posted 24 Apr 2006 at 12:39 pm ¶

2. Lyonside wrote:

   BUT…

   just because you’re mixed doesn’t mean that you 1) develop a biracial/multiethnic/mixed identity, and 2) are surrounded by those who accept that identity.

   Racism is so entrenched (institutional as well as everyday) that it is EVERYONE’s responsibility to fight it where they can. It’s like relying on new technology that hasn’t been developed yet to reduce oil usage and greenhouse gases, but doing NOTHING now - if you don’t do anything now, those new techs may never happen… If you dont’ support the rights and inherent equality of all ethnic groups now, being mixed won’t mean a thing.

   Posted 24 Apr 2006 at 1:27 pm ¶

3. Daniel wrote:

   This is an interesting question, though one with many possible connotations. If the question is simply, “Will biracial children eliminate racism?” The answer would be no. People who maintain racist beliefs will, unfortunately, not be swayed by the existence of biracial couples and their children. In fact, many racist people will claim that the existence of inter-racial children and couples is a threat to the survival of individual race and something to be feared and fought against. It is a sad fact, but true nonetheless.
   It is also true, however, that with more people living outside traditional racial boundaries, issues such as racial discrimination, unfairness and privilege get pushed to the forefront of cultural-political discussion. This is a good thing and causes many people to question the prejudice of others. There will always be those people who are against mixing of any kind and then there will also be those people, like me, who see nothing special about having a friend, lover or spouse from a different race.
   One of the most important things we can all do to move away from ignorance is to be ourselves and get involved where we can. This can be as small as smiling at a fellow passenger on a train or as complex as teaching a child how to discern truth. There is something that all of us can do and it does not have to be big.
   We all need to remind ourselves of the reality of the human condition. Despite the fact that science can now show us that all humans on earth share 99.9 % of their DNA and that the differences within a certain race are greater than that between races, we must realize that racial divisions are emotional and cultural with little regard to physical reality. We all have only one planet, and ultimately, one future. What that future will become depends largely on the individual acts of each one of us. It sounds simple, but doing the right thing has never been the easiest thing. One person can make a difference and that person just might be you!

   Posted 24 Apr 2006 at 3:15 pm ¶

4. Unlisted wrote:

   Hines Ward is a proof that bi-racial people CAN indeed potentially be instrumental in solving problems.

   Posted 24 Apr 2006 at 6:27 pm ¶

5. jb wrote:

   I agree with Unlisted. What he has done by just living his life and doing what it is he does, HAS changed beliefs and ideas about race. That is all of our hopes, right?

   Whether you want to admit it or not, bi-racial individuals ARE bridges between races. Good or bad, it is necessary to bridge those worlds internally in order to function. That internal work has nowhere else to go except out. If you are comfortable with who you are, others will see it and act accordingly.

   Besides, aren’t we the mixed people they are talking about? We are the future right now. The babies coming after us will be better off because of the work we are doing right now.

   Posted 24 Apr 2006 at 7:29 pm ¶

6. merq wrote:

   You’re kidding me, right? You really think all this hoopla around Hines is 100% genuine? If so, I’ve got a bridge I’d love to sell you.

   Sure, there may be a percentage truly moved by his accomplishment (and chances are, that percentage was already somewhat uncomfortable with systematic racism in Korea), but do you really believe the sporting accomplishments of one half-Korean individual can, presto change-O, change the long-held prejudices of staunch Korean nationalists?

   It’s about success, and being linked to success. Definitely, the hope is that a great deal of change for the better will come of all this, but let’s not be naive.

   Posted 24 Apr 2006 at 11:25 pm ¶

7. Unlisted wrote:

   Merq:

   Noone is saying that things will change overnight, noone is saying that it is ALL 100% genuine, and noone is saying that he can do it alone.

   We are not disagreeing here. But there is no doubt Hines Ward has brought attention to a problem with his combination of star power and being from bi-racial background where common people (even those of mixed ancestry) would not be able to and where a person not of Korean descent would not be able.

   Posted 25 Apr 2006 at 8:17 am ¶

8. Merq wrote:

   Unlisted:

   I hear what you’re saying, but my comment was mostly geared at jb’s wide-eyed, optimistic “What he has done by just living his life and doing what it is he does, HAS changed beliefs and ideas about race.”

   A “half-black” person excelling at sports. Wow… way to change people’s stereotypical beliefs!

   Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of what he’s done, and impressed with the steps being taken in Korea, but I refuse to accept the notion that his MVP title has “changed beliefs and ideas about race.”

   Posted 25 Apr 2006 at 9:58 am ¶

9. K-Pow wrote:

   And lets not forget that some people enter inter-racial marriages and have multiethnic children because they harbor racists beliefs. I remeber watching a Oprah a few years back where this African-Amercian woman said she purposely had a child with a white man b/c she thought African-Amercian children were unattractive. More than likely her daughter will harbor her same sentiment and the cycle will continue. This is not to say that biracial kids can’t, if raised to resepct all people, help to dismantal the racists rhetoric we hear today, but they are not “the solution.”

   Posted 25 Apr 2006 at 5:54 pm ¶

10. jb wrote:

    My word choice was elementary, and I apologize. I agree with you all that we have a long way to go before things truly change, I guess I am just excited to see a person with a mixed background bringing so much attention to a particular social ill. I got excited, hence my use of CAPS.

    I just get frustrated with the critique of parent’s hoping their children will be some sort of catalyst for change. I think secretly we all would like to believe that it could be true. But Merq’s response under the Hines Ward article about the cop out theory helped shine some light on how/why this could be detrimental. Thanks for that.

    Oh, and about that bridge. I’m mixed…I already have one:)

    Posted 25 Apr 2006 at 6:17 pm ¶

11. Jeremy Pierce wrote:

    I think one of the main thoughts behind this hope in multi-racial children is that it will chip away at the racial categorization system that racism relies on. It couldn’t do this completely, because very likely there will just be new categories based on more complex data, but I think that’s the idea. I don’t think it’s the sense that multi-racial people are somehow themselves going to do anything different.

    Posted 29 Apr 2006 at 7:34 am ¶

12. amalia wrote:

    I totally agree that the mere existence of mixed people is not going to eliminate racism. I do not see mixed people as a bridge. I do not see myself as a bridge between the different peoples who together form my ancestry. Most likely, most of them do not see me that way, either.

    If you look at the history of people in the Americas, there already HAS been a large amount of admixture, so I have no clue why mixed people are today seen as some kind of new phenomenon. Nobody has mentioned, for example, all of the children born to white men and black women over the centuries in the US, when were they ever a uniting force between the races of their two parents? Their white ancestry was instead, dismissed and denied by white people, so obsessed with their notion of “racial purity”. Any “bridges” will start to be built when people start seeing each other as equals instead of distant caricatures. This starts with friendships and frank discussions, not babymaking.

    Posted 22 May 2006 at 3:44 pm ¶

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