Dispelling myths

[nitabunni]

I figure it would be nice to have a discussion about myths that people within this group believe in. You can post in here to add certain politically incorrect beliefs or myths that you know are wrong that people still believe.

I'll start.

Myth 1: All Jews are White
-Since Judaism is a religion and not necessarily defining something genetic, people forget that there are also Jews in Africa, Jews in Asia, and in between.

Myth 2: Hispanic is a race
-Hispanic IS NOT a race.  Neither is Latino. Hispanic is a term applied to Spanish-speaking people in general, and Latino is a term applied to people who speak Latin-based languages in Latin America (for example, a Brazilian is Latino but not Hispanic based on their speaking Portuguese while a Puerto Rican is both Latino and Hispanic). Hispanics and Latinos can be Native American, Black, White, or any combination of those. It's valid to say that both "Hispanic" and "Latino" refer to ethnic groups, but not races.

Myth 3: All of Africa is black
-There are descendants of Europeans that have lived in Africa for centuries in different countries around the continent, as well as Asians (Indians and some Chinese) that were BROUGHT TO AFRICA AS SERVANTS, especially South Africa. There are also many North Africans that do not consider themselves to be black. In addition, there are people in Madagascar who are technically not black and are related to Malays of Asia (cousins of Indonesians and Filipinos)

Myth 4: Asians hate black people
-There are several billions of Asians on the planet (not even including India, which has over a billion itself)...most of which have never met a black person in person. For countries like Japan and Korea, and to some extent China, a lot of the time the only blacks they have been exposed to largely have been on television and the news (except for those near military bases like in Seoul or Okinawa). What they see tends to be negative so many formulate opinions based on this, so when some immigrants from Asia come here, they come with the notion that blacks are actually like the way they are portrayed in the media and they harbor bias. So what the issue actually is isn't that they harbor some innate hatred for blacks, but that they don't actually know much about blacks to begin with. This phenomena isn't only with Asians, but generally worldwide with people that have not been exposed to blacks, particularly "African Americans". Many people would be surprised to know that there are blacks even in Africa that feel as though African Americans are somehow "bad" based on what they have seen in the media.

Myth 5: Muslim is synonymous with Arab
(The largest Muslim-populated country in the world is Indonesia in Asia. Malaysia also has a large Muslim population. There are also significant Muslim populations in Africa as well as South Asia. There are even Chinese Muslims. Aside from that, there is a sizeable Christian Arab population. )

Myth 6: Another myth: Caucasians are all fair-skinned
-Many dark-skinned Indians (East Indians) are considered Caucasians. Many Arabs and North Africans that range in complexion are also considered Caucasian. I also recall there being a debate about whether or not to consider certain Ethiopians and Somalians as Caucasians, despite the darkness of skin. Even within Europe, there are naturally deeply tanned Caucasians.

 

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[mamivon2]

Interesting.I dont really have any right now. Maybe that all swiss people suppose to know how to yoddle

[nitabunni]

Quoting mamivon2:

Interesting.I dont really have any right now. Maybe that all swiss people suppose to know how to yoddle

Lol. Has anyone asked you that?

[mamivon2]

yes all the time.

Quoting nitabunni:

 

Quoting mamivon2:

Interesting.I dont really have any right now. Maybe that all swiss people suppose to know how to yoddle

Lol. Has anyone asked you that?

[mamivon2]

Oh I found another one. People constantly confussing switzerland and sweden!! Its not the SAME.. Those are 2 different countries. I am swiss not swedish...:)