What is "other"? When you fill out an application, do you pick that?

Question

There are boxes to check and the list is usually white, black, or "other".... A lot of places have changed the listing to be politically correct, but that is basically the "list". Sometimes there is a place to check for "asian", but not often. I'd like to know why they even ask this question. Is it a matter of whites having control issues? Why is anything other than "white" considered a minority? Isn't that an insult? I think it is. It's not fair for white people to say that if you aren't white then you are a minority because minority is a negative word. That just goes to show you that whites are still in a supremacy state of mind.

Answer 1

Many are still in a supremacy state of mind, but technically speaking, and all negative connotations aside, white is still the largest singular ethnic group in america. I dont know about job applications and whatnot, but on almost all standardized tests now there are opions of "white, african american, native american, native alaskan, pacific islander, latin american, asain, multiracial, and other." So at least somewhere there are steps being taken to even the playing field of ethnicity. I still dont see the need for racial specifications on anything except for filing/identification purposes, because i dont think race should have any weight on selection or rejection.

Answer 2

I hear you, I have no time for them and just put "see resume". I write a resume for a reason and it is not so I can rewrite it a thousand times. If they need documents signed I will do that in person, if they need references I will give them in person, I'm not about to go giving other peoples contact details out over the internet! If a company wants "their" application filled out perhaps they should instead work on better parsing algorithms so that the import of a resume to application actually works! That makes them look like a lazy company that doesn't care to me which isn't a company I would want to work for ie one where you have to do all the work while everyone else gets drunk. I'm sure this doesnt really apply to fast food from what I remember many years ago (everyone there usually is already drunk lol)

Answer 3

"Other" probably originally meant the person appearing on the census form belonged to two or more racial groups. In 1850, the US Census listed white, black, and mulatto categories. In 1880, the US Cenusus listed white, black, mulatto, Chinese, and Indian racial classifications, although Native Americans weren't granted citizenship until 1924. The term "mulatto", used at the discretion of the census taker, could mean either an individual of mixed African-American and European heritage or an individual of mixed Native-American and European heritage.

By way of contrast, the 2000 US Census listed racial classifications as follows:

White (of European, Middle Eastern, North African origin)
Black or African-American
American Indian or Alaskan Native (write tribe)
Asian Indian
Chinese
Filipino
Japanese
Korean
Vietnamese
Native Hawaiian
Guamanian or Charnorro
Other Pacific Islander (write race)
Other race

The last US Census also asked individuals whether they were of Hispanic origin (a sub-category under "white") and whether they spoke Spanish. In 1997, federal law mandated the following racial categories (when applicable):
American Indian or Alaskan Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Some other race
At this point, individuals were allowed to check two or more racial categories.

Government agencies, school districts, and hospitals most likely ask the racial question to receive federal funding. The Texas Education Agency, for example, requires that not only do a certain percentage of all students pass a standardized test, but that students from all racial classifications--white (and Asian) lumped together, African American, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged pass a standardized test for individual schools as well as districts to be accredited. My local school district doesn't list Native Americans or Hawaiians because they don't make up a large enough population to judge their academic accomplishments.

Possibly, a more logical classification system would ask only for income brackets, although most people would refuse to supply this data. Although "whites" are still a "majority" in most of the United States, in California, there is currently no single dominant racial or ethnic group if Hispanics are counted separately. In Texas, "Anglos" will be a minority by 2025. Some marketers, of course, ask for racial classification because they want to target their products to specific broad ethnic groups.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race.(UnitedStates_Census

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Answer 4

mi·nor·i·ty (mə-nôr'ĭ-tē, -nŏr'-, mī-) pronunciation
n., pl. -ties.

1.
1. The smaller in number of two groups forming a whole.
2. A group or party having fewer than a controlling number of votes.
.
Minority is a concept that can be taken in a negative sense, if YOU choose to. In many places in the world, caucasions are the minority, not as a negative, but a simple numerical fact. In adding this question on certain applications, the intent is to study patterns, not necessarily in a judgemental manner, but many times to INSURE that "minority" groups are represented. If a certain town has 100 persons, 70 percent are of one race, and 30 percent the other... it is just a simple numerical and statistical fact. Fairness has nothing to do with it. I am probably in the minority in the neighborhood where I live. I don't have a problem with that.
I have no supremacy state of mind. I don't like stereotypical statements against persons of any race. I prefer thinking with logic (and openminded).

Answer 5

If it is a job application, they aren't supposed to be asking that question at all. I don't think its a necessary question unless its for something like a police report where someone would need an accurate physical description of a person.

As for the word minority, I don't believe its being used in a negative context. I interpret it to mean fewer persons of colour in a particular area rather than an inferior person.

I'm a white person who doesn't consider herself to be superior to anyone based on skin colour or culture.

Answer 6

I know when I processed insurance application that was not a question on the application.

Now some place like hospitals apparently have reports they are required to do.

Answer 7

If several choices are given and one of them is "other" it means that if the choice you are looking for is not on the list, you check that box.

When preparing a multiple choice response on a form, it is not posible to include every imagianable response.

Answer 8

This is genealogy, have you got a question to do with your family history.

Answer 9

While you're here, is there a genealogy question we may try to help with?

Answer 10

Black, Caucasin, Latino or Hispanic, Pacific islander or "Samoan, Hawaian, Phillipino", etc., Native American, Asian, Inuit , and in Canada First Nation rather then Native American... in many areas some races are less Obvious then in other areas, so while many applications referance, Black white and Latinos there are many areas where lesser populations are far from lesser.... :) , Natives of Alaska Inuit peoples ( and beyond ) aren't seen too often IN LA or Honalulu while large populations of Asians and Native Islanders are... Its not something "white" people did for our "control issues " as you said In fact manywhites saythe exact same thing.. It has to do with federal jobs and that trickles down into all aspects of life including welfare, federal grants and funding Itsthe only way the government has to even try to be fair and give Or take away equal oppurtunity...so they say...Most of us believe this dosent work but if nothing else it helps statisticly when a group complains the government can go backand say we hired 200 people broken down nationally BY these numbers of race categories, so the whites cant say they we overlooked or the Native peoples cant say all the jobswent to whites, etc Its the easiest way out for the government ON the issue of whites being the majority, stems from the black white issues of jobs and hiring process.....somehow they figure that post slavery issues brought on primarily in the south have and will keep they're race down, while many black ( and Latino) people gone into all matter of education the larger poorer populations prefer tocomplain they have NO oppourtunity to advance based upon Inner city educational systems which cause a supreme court ruling in the 60's that children from the inner cities should be bussed to suberban schools and visa versa to promote equality in education inmany cases neither child did well, and the quality of education across the boardseems to have dropped , magnet schools were ananswer to this issueand have faired a bit better. IN some parts of New York city children are Bussed from one bourough to another I recently saw a case where a particular girl who lives IN the Bronx was picked up daily by her Bus, at 4:30 am to be able to get to her school Located in Brooklyn by 7 am she is picked up andspends that time every day back and forth while thebus picks up and drops off an intire route of High school kids, Middle schoolers as well as grammar schoolers from here to there and back...like 5 and a half hours a day on a freakin bus ..lol ...

Contrary to the defined term "miinority" I've had people of differant races tell me Itsimpossible for me to be a minority, which is rediculous because A minority is simply the person of least populous ethnic, racial, politicalbackround in this context .... I've been in places when I havent seen another person with white skin for days, making me very much a minority , I' ve also realized that My "people" on my mothers side were part of the ehnic cleansing that occurred in eastern Canada that caused a mass immigration to parts of the then french terrtory of Lousiana, of the Acadian people who are known these days as Cajun which began most likely as a slur of Acadian...On my fathers side, he was Sicilian best known as mobsters the Underground anti socials weremost likely forced to undertake these activities after thousands of years of being invaded by Romans, Greeks, europeans, Africans, phonecians,Ottomans and every other waring tribe out there most sicilians arelooked down upon by mainland Italians as not being pure of race as well... because of all the interaction for survival... As far as your supremacy statement goes get past it, the government is doing what your parents and grandparents wanted them to do You say its stupid many whites who apply using the same forms are stupid, but ifthey didnt have it YOu would be 1st in line crying foul with your hand out....lets face it , IN africa there is ethnic cleansing of black by black, IN South Africa Light skinned peopleof color are looked down upon by darker skinned blacks because they arent black enough or as black as me, In Australia the aberiginal peoplesor native peoples are having many similar issues as native peoples here arewith educational issues because they are not native educational systems sowhat is your answer? do we at this stage of the game revert native peoples back to tribal warfare?living off the land what about the african american issuessend them back to africa to fight with the tribes that sold they're for fathers into the slave trade to begin with? give you a chunk of land so that youcan revert to yourown culture again? what would be the answer? At this point in history I am not even going to takethe time to address the latin "issue" or asian issue... believe me generalizing statments like they did this they are doing thatis the problem...