Why is there so much importance on identification in our society? In our reading from part III we see different views on how people see themselves but more importantly how others see us. Evelyn Alsultany’s essay about moving selves made me feel embarrassed about my behavior. I have prodded people for additional info about where they are from because their heritage is no local to that area. I will definitely be more considerate in the future and question other why they don’t question me further. I cannot relate to Alsultany even though my grandparents are from different backgrounds. Because I am white my answer of being from Buffalo, NY becomes sufficient and taken at word. Just thinking about it makes me irritated; society needs to let this obsession with identity go.
The first place we should start is with the Census Bureau. There are so many different ways that people view themselves that it would be impossible to get correct readings. Only if there was a uniform method to indentify (which I don’t agree with) could the census be accurate. The essay from Jack Roberts proves that the data is available about the census and the concerns people have, yet the Census Bureau pumped massive amounts of money into promoting the census. Not only did they target the Latina communities to fill out the census they gave bags of cups and t-shirts at malls across America. The worst part of it was they did not check who they were giving these gift bags to. I was at the Walden Galleria mall and they were handing out bag to Canadians who aren’t even eligible to take the census. The overall goal of the census according to their TV commercials is to get a count of the population so they can allocate public funds like construction and education grants. Unless the government lied they have no reason to ask for gender, ethnicity, or race. The Census Bureau should spend less money on advertisement for the census and spend time reviewing concerns of those who aren’t taking it.
I think that we can inquire about a person's heritage, but do so in a respectful way. It's not so much about giving up on the concept of identity but about recognizing that people have different identities without letting those differences matter on both a personal and a societal level.
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