But what “label” does our infant son fall into? And does it really matter?

And most importantly, who the hell should even care about it?

My little boy has a few of my features but in appearance, he has most of my wife’s attributes. My hunch is that in 20 years from now, people on the street would probably think that he is white instead of Hispanic. But should it matter to him or to other people?

What really determines if he is classified as Hispanic or white? Or is it even allowed to list both since that is perhaps the most accurate designation?

And that is not to say that I want to naively ignore our cultural and societal settings because even if some of them are absolutely ridiculous, there are still so many people who have an emotional investment in them. It is unfortunate but I still have to at least be aware of them.

When Tiger Woods exploded on the professional golf scene, a number of African-Americans expected him to articulate to the public how a black man overcame the racial barriers in a practically all white sport. Consequently, Tiger insisted that he did not consider himself to be entirely black. Instead, he coined his own designation as “Cablinasian,” which recognized the Caucasian, Black, Indian, and Asian elements of himself.

The firestorm that resulted was immediate and intense.

Prominent minority leaders and organizations trashed him. Tiger was roundly ridiculed and criticized, especially by people who felt that he betrayed blacks. At best, he was described as uninformed and naïve while at worst he was described using words that I will not print here.
 

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But in many ways, I can empathize with Tiger.

There are a growing number of Americans who just want to consider themselves as that; American. Or perhaps in Tiger’s fashion, a little bit of everything. My son is half Hispanic and half white. He is not one or the other because he is both. So what is the use of playing this “either/or” game of what you are?

As Tiger Woods stated on Oprah:

“I'm just who I am… whoever you see in front of you.”

Idealistically, it shouldn’t matter how people are racially or ethnically classified.

But for many in our modern paranoid culture, it does matter.

Tiger publicized a current in society that could someday produce great waves. That is, racial and ethnic classifications really don’t carry the kind of value that they once did. As a result, more racially mixed people want to have such designations either completely removed or at least be allowed to be included in more than one category.

For now, perhaps the latter is the best approach. Recognizing all the classifications is the most accurate and has the most meaning to the people who belong to them as it does with Tiger and the growing number of people who fall into multiple categories.

This development continues to stun and frighten many minority leaders and organizations because they don’t want to see their political strength diluted.

But most interestingly, of all places, America is the country where the process of multiple classifications should evolve.

That’s not to say that the civil rights movement was useless. But just the opposite in that the movement is achieving its ultimate goal in arriving at a state where people shouldn’t care how you are labeled or how you look. Times have changed and so have people.

When my mother was a little girl growing up in the barrio of a rural South Texas community, she couldn’t even fathom that some day she would have a grandson that would have come from a white woman. Neither did she ever imagine that each of her future children would some day marry white people. Or that a white man would actually live in her house as in the case of my brother-in-law when he and my sister stayed there for four months while their house was being built.

The civil rights movement not only made such events possible but it made them commonplace.

Perhaps the next step of its evolution is when racial and ethnic classifications don’t even matter anymore. And perhaps far into the future when my son becomes a grown man that can happen. Seeing the firestorm that Tiger Woods ignited, it seems rather unlikely since we do live in racially charged times. But then again, when my mother was a little girl in a racially divided town, she never thought it was remotely possible that she would ever have white in-laws or a half white grandson.

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COMMENTS FROM READERS

Coming from a German and Swedish background and then my daughter with a Greek background added to that and then my granddaughter with a Black background. I have always believed we are American and American only. If we do not look at it as a non hyphenated title then we need to include all the past heritage. That would make my granddaughter be put into the category of German, Swedish, Greek, Black American. That is why we are "Americans only" This article was very good at pointing out the reason we don't need labels and categories. Well written and a good learning experience for my family. -Sandra

If you are the Dick Cheney, I'd say your son falls into the category of OOPS! Seriously? To me it doesn't matter a persons color or nationality. I'm like Martin, it's the content of one's character. The Bible student should know that in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, but we are all one in Christ Jesus and that's the way I view this matter whether or not a person is a Christian. -unsigned

Man, your article caught my attention because it sounded just like me and my green eyed white wife. I have come to the point in my life that when I am asked, "White, Hispanic, etc,,," that I don't mark anything. Since it is illegal for any one organization to discriminate against me or my children because of race, then my race to them is irrelevant. If they [want to know] then I remind them of the law and everyone will ignore that question. I believe if we are going to stop this racial "pigeon-holing" then we need to quit answering those questions and demand that we be judged upon our talents and qualifications. PS: I know exactly what your mother went through, I grew in segregated S. Texas. -Jeff

Who made up these racial designations in the first place? And why? -Keith

As a first generation American with a Mexican father I find this article very interesting. I am the lightest skinned child from my family and have light eyes. I married a "white" man and our children are "white". But even in my own extended family they think my children and even myself are not Mexican; I initially only spoke Spanish and learned English when I went to school. I hate that I am forced to categorize my children. All the documents say "white, of non-Spanish decent" or "Hispanic"....nothing in-between. I tell my kids check the box that says "Hispanic"....since this is the game people want to play. I am waiting for my graduating son to get questioned by his new college in the fall as to his "true heritage". I wondered if we had applied for a minority college scholarship would they have actually given him the scholarship upon seeing him? Or would he have been denied just because he has blonde hair and blue eyes? -Gloria