it really depends. i’m a pale arab-amerikkkan. i’m perceived in most contexts as white as long as i don’t tell anyone i’m arab. if i spoke english with an accent, wore any kind of foreign or religious clothing, or had darker skin like my father, i don’t think i would be perceived like this. these are the kinds of borders of racial categories where strict definitions really start to break down, and individuals have to try to categorize you on the fly based on vibes. i won’t claim that i’ve faced serious racism directed at me, but it is jarring those times when i’m “discovered” and suddenly seen as something fundamentally different from a white person i’m talking to.
incidentally, the reason the US government counts us as white for the purposes of the census (but not for the purposes of military intervention) is because wealthy arab immigrants sued to be considered white under the de jure regime of racial segregation that oppressed black americans. yikes.
it really depends. i’m a pale arab-amerikkkan. i’m perceived in most contexts as white as long as i don’t tell anyone i’m arab. if i spoke english with an accent, wore any kind of foreign or religious clothing, or had darker skin like my father, i don’t think i would be perceived like this. these are the kinds of borders of racial categories where strict definitions really start to break down, and individuals have to try to categorize you on the fly based on vibes. i won’t claim that i’ve faced serious racism directed at me, but it is jarring those times when i’m “discovered” and suddenly seen as something fundamentally different from a white person i’m talking to.
incidentally, the reason the US government counts us as white for the purposes of the census (but not for the purposes of military intervention) is because wealthy arab immigrants sued to be considered white under the de jure regime of racial segregation that oppressed black americans. yikes.