Please check one of the following...

FRIEND: Everyone wants to call themselves white.

ME: Did I tell you about the person I know who works in HR?

FRIEND: No

ME: I know this girl who worked in HR at a big company. When she goes through applications, she regularly finds people with Asian sir names, who she eventually meets in person and confirms that they are of East or South East Asian descent, people who don't remotely look "mixed" at all, who when asked to check off ethnicity, even though it is OPTIONAL (meaning it says on the form OPTIONAL), check "White/Caucasian." They choose to check that.

FRIEND: Not surprised by that. There are Indian people who do that too, even darkest ones. They're just so deluded they don't even understand. Its not about what box you check. Its about the struggle. Its not about identity labels. Its about changing the system. Fighting for equality. Or, at least knowing that you are oppressed... or even if you're not, that others are.

ME: Yes. But people aren't taught that. (Asian immigrants always get lost in the mix.) Hmmm...If you are Christian and Indian you can sorta get away with it. UNTIL the interview.

FRIEND: (Then) it might be beneficial to check that you're white.

It both fascinates me and appalls me that this is the world we live in. It has never occurred to me to ever skip over or check something other than the box for Asian/ Pacific Islander in the ethnicity category of any form. I hate to think what this means for the US Census.