Am I not considered white in the US.

[Dani Cutie]

Same. But americans are crazy anyway, obsessed with race and stuff.

Is bad?

[RighNick]

Yeah, you'd be a bit out of place. It's difficult to say where I'd place you in Europe, maybe U.K. Did people try to speak Finnish to you when you were here, or did they spot that you're a tourist?

I think they spotted me as a tourist right away I tried using a few Finnish phrases because I think it's an awesome language, but most people switched to Finnish after a few seconds.

[Mortimer]

Not really. In the US, at least in the West and Midwest people are more concerned with skin color, appearance and behavior. For instance, if he was hanging out with other white people then the INS would just look at him as white. But if he was hanging out with a bunch of dark skinned LatinAmericans and acted like them, then the INS would assume he is an illegal. Any fair skinned person who acts "white" will pass as white in the US. This forum has a very distorted version of reality.

and what was the reason they said he is not white then? because he looks white

[dude]

and what was the reason they said he is not white then? because he looks white

Probably messing with him. He also does not look Anglo Saxon and with his last name most likely he was thought as Hispanic. I don't know if you are aware, but Hispanics are not "White" according to the census, regardless of looks, race or color. It has to do with the context. If we are talking about ethnicity then he might not be thought as "White", but in a racial context he would be seen as "White". Does this make sense?

Here in the US the difference between a "White" and "Hispanic" is that a "White" is a Caucasian person who migrated directly from Europe. If a Caucasian person migrates from Europe to LatinAmerica and then his/her descendants migrate to the US from LatinAmerica then he/she is considered Hispanic. The only exception is people from Spain, they are always Hispanic.

Since most people in the US are quite ignorant about other countries and ethnicity, so they try to fit everyone in a box they already know. He was put in a box most Americans are familiar with because his background is not common in here. And that's pretty much how he was told he was not "white".

[RighNick]

Probably messing with him. He also does not look Anglo Saxon and with his last name most likely he was thought as Hispanic. I don't know if you are aware, but Hispanics are not "White" according to the census, regardless of looks, race or color. It has to do with the context. If we are talking about ethnicity then he might not be thought as "White", but in a racial context he would be seen as "White". Does this make sense?

Here in the US the difference between a "White" and "Hispanic" is that a "White" is a Caucasian person who migrated directly from Europe. If a Caucasian person migrates from Europe to LatinAmerica and then his/her descendants migrate to the US from LatinAmerica then he/she is considered Hispanic. The only exception is people from Spain, they are always Hispanic.

Since most people in the US are quite ignorant about other countries and ethnicity, so they try to fit everyone in a box they already know. He was put in a box most Americans are familiar with because his background is not common in here. And that's pretty much how he was told he was not "white".

Interesting observations, thanks!

[Mortimer]

Probably messing with him. He also does not look Anglo Saxon and with his last name most likely he was thought as Hispanic. I don't know if you are aware, but Hispanics are not "White" according to the census, regardless of looks, race or color. It has to do with the context. If we are talking about ethnicity then he might not be thought as "White", but in a racial context he would be seen as "White". Does this make sense?

Here in the US the difference between a "White" and "Hispanic" is that a "White" is a Caucasian person who migrated directly from Europe. If a Caucasian person migrates from Europe to LatinAmerica and then his/her descendants migrate to the US from LatinAmerica then he/she is considered Hispanic. The only exception is people from Spain, they are always Hispanic.

Since most people in the US are quite ignorant about other countries and ethnicity, so they try to fit everyone in a box they already know. He was put in a box most Americans are familiar with because his background is not common in here. And that's pretty much how he was told he was not "white".

basically what i said too my friend, because of his ethnicity and surname and because they are not familiar where he is from.