Race/Ethnicity Questions 481-490

THE QUESTION:
R490: This question is going to seem very racist, so I apologize, but it is something I’ve observed for the longest time. Whenever I am trying to park at a public place (a mall, theater, sports stadium) and I see somebody trying to back in to a parking spot, invariably the person is African American. Is there something special or appealing to African Americans about backing into a parking spot?
POSTED OCT. 17, 1998
P.B., 31, non-white, Dearborn, MI

ANSWER 1:
Backing into a parking space has nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with safety. When backing out of a parking space, your chances of hitting someone are much greater than pulling out of a parking space. Also, if some maniac is after you and you need to get out in a hurry, do you really want to be faced with the idea of having to back out of a spot? I think not. I could probably give at least five more concrete reasons why backing into a space is smart, but I think you get my drift.
POSTED OCT. 20, 1998
Janet W., black female, 33 <jbutler@commomcause.org>, Capitol Heights, Md

FURTHER NOTICE:
I do it all the time. It just makes it easier to get out.
POSTED OCT. 20, 1998
Whitney T., 19, black female <kutoyis@hotmail.com>, Oxford, MS

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
I like to back in because it’s easier to get out. I’ve seen many parking lot fender-benders where neither person is looking while they back out. Never noticed it was an African-American thing; for me it’s a safety thing.
POSTED OCT. 20, 1998
A.A.W., 42, black female <ANABWI@aol.co,>, Plantation, FL

FURTHER NOTICE 3:
I always back into spots – at work, at shopping malls, at mom-and-pop stores, and even into my driveway/garage at home. It is just much easier to pull forward into the street (from home, for example), and also much safer. I learned this from my dad 18 years ago when I began to drive (and he still does it, too, and so does my mother!).
POSTED OCT. 23, 1998
Robin, white, 34, Milwaukee, WI
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THE QUESTION:
R489: I’ve always wondered why in the obituaries of African Americans there are seldom requests for memorials or donations to charitable causes such as the United Negro Fund, Howard University, social service agencies, churches and the treatment of diseases or illness that most affect blacks. While flowers are nice – and there should be some – memorials live on to benefit others.
POSTED OCT. 15, 1998
Nancy B. <nbonar@edwardhoward.com>, Akron, OH
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THE QUESTION:
R488: Who are the three living people you look to most for leadership in your ethnic group, and why?
POSTED OCT. 15, 1998
S.T.P., 28, white but trying <treat@deltanet.com>, Los Angeles, CA

ANSWER 1:
For Latinos, the late Caesar Chavez (not the boxer) is a great inspiration, as much as Martin or Malcolm is for blacks. The retiring congressman Henry B. Gonzalez is a living legend for his courage. Edward James Olmos also has many admirers for his actions during the L.A. riots. For American Indians, Leonard Peltier is a living martyr and an example of the proud warrior spirit. Ben Nighthorse Campbell is also highly regarded. From tribe to tribe, the other answers would differ greatly. For both groups, veterans are always greatly respected and looked to for leadership.
POSTED NOV. 5, 1998
A.C.C., Mexican and American Indian, San Antonio, TX
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THE QUESTION:
R487: I have been the minority in many situations. Why is it that often white people will ask me questions about everything and everybody Afro American? I don’t expect them to know everything and everybody white.
POSTED OCT. 15, 1998
M.S.D., African American, N.C.

ANSWER 1:
They’re probably just trying to find a common thread. I noticed when I was the sole white person in black groups, everyone always relates to something black, even if the conversation had nothing to do with it. Also I notice that when I was around a lot of black people, no matter how I tried to avoid it, the race issue always comes up, whether in jokes or anything else.
POSTED NOV. 2, 1998
M.K., white, 23, Cleveland, OH
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THE QUESTION:
R486: Why is it wrong to deny someone a job or membership into a club, etc., based on race, but it is OK to give scholarships based on race? Isn’t that a form of racism?
POSTED OCT. 14, 1998
J. Bennett, Jacksonville, FL

ANSWER 1:
I feel that SAT/ACT scores do not measure a person’s knowledge, and whether unintentionally or not, they are set up for whites to score higher (the same holds for IQ tests). These scores make the difference in getting admitted into a university. Also, if I am a first-generation Hispanic trying to get into Harvard or Yale, it is easier for an alumnus’ child to gain admittance than it is for me, even though I might have the scores. There are many scholarships given on academics, performance on a football field, for being some rich person’s child, so why not race? If a white person thinks it is hard for them to get into a university, how hard do you think it is for a minority?
POSTED OCT. 19, 1998
A. Mary, 42, Hispanic <amary@intcomm.net>, Kingsville, TX
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THE QUESTION:
R485: Could someone from India confirm whether the last name “Patel” is as common in India as the last name “Smith” is in the United States?
POSTED OCT. 14, 1998
Bill, 42, white, Lancaster, OH
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THE QUESTION:
R484: Many of my Asian clients who are Taiwanese nationals have peculiar first names like Grover, Winston, Kenneth, Eve, Judith, Lincoln, etc. These sound more like Eastern U.S., Anglo-aristocratic first names that I rarely hear used anymore. Where do they dig up these chestnuts, and why do they use them?
POSTED OCT. 13, 1998
R.R., U.S.A.

ANSWER 1:
I am American living in Taiwan and have been here more than four years. The Western names you hear Taiwanese nationals being called are nicknames they picked to be able to associate with Westerners; these are not their legal or actual names. It is popular in Taiwan to pick a Western nickname, and also Westerners have a difficult time pronouncing Chinese names.
POSTED OCT. 20, 1998
Dave, white male <Gilstrap@ms13.hinet.net>, Taipei, Taiwan
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THE QUESTION:
R483: What do African Americans feel about the current debate regarding bilingual education, as well as the immigration issues that may see a large change in racial demographics in the United States? Specifically, do African Americans feel this benefits or damages their efforts to improve their condition in America?
POSTED OCT. 13, 1998
Dave, white, 41 <GILSTRAP@MS13.HINET.NET>, Easley, S.C.
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THE QUESTION:
R482: To Saudi Arabian women: Why is it necessary to wear abbayas in public? Do you feel they give you more security and do they command respect from men because they cannot see your faces?
POSTED OCT. 10, 1998
Lavina J., 20 <lrjohnson@dhvx20.csudh.edu>, Los Angeles, CA
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THE QUESTION:
R481: To me, many people of Middle Eastern and Indian background tend to have offensive body odor. Is there a cultural reason for this?
POSTED OCT. 9, 1998
Darrell E., 56, white, Camarillo, CA

ANSWER 1:
I am a non-Indian woman who has studied, lived and related to people of Indian origin and never smelled this odor you are describing. I can say I have come across the “smells” of turmeric, cardamom, cumin and hing, all spices used in typical Indian dishes. And, since most Indian households still cook and eat homemade ethnic meals, perhaps you came across some Indians who had just eaten a fabulous feast. I would urge you to give it a taste and find out for yourself. By the way, Indians bathe daily and use deodorant. Matter of fact, speaking about Hindu Indians, they have religious dogma that requires them to bathe before their daily pujas/prayers. So any idea of a body odor because of not bathing is false. Going a step further, my fiance, an Indian, gets complimented often on his choice of men’s fragrance.
POSTED OCT. 19, 1998
Jenny S., 29, white-female <ganga@netrox.net>

FURTHER NOTICE:
I have noticed that most of the Indian people I know have an odor different from my own (we all have odors) and that their smell is similar to one another. Their houses have a similar odor as well. I have gotten used to the smell and now it doesn’t strike me as much. It is a smell akin to mothballs, I think. Perhaps it is part of their diet or a smell from food being cooked in the house. I have felt very guilty for noticing this and for feeling it was an undesirable smell, but I have to tell the truth. It does not affect our friendship or our interactions. It is just one part of the picture. Perhaps I smell strange to them as well.
POSTED NOV. 2, 1998
Ryan H., 23, Scandinavian Canadian <ryanhy@tbaytel.net>, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
I am a big fan of Indian food, and it has been scientifically proven that when you eat/drink a lot of something, you will probably start to smell a lot like it. Notice how alcoholics reek of alcohol even when they drank hours earlier. Indian food uses lots of curry. When I cook with curry, the smell stays on my fingers for the rest of the day, and the smell is prevalent throughout the house for hours to come. So imagine for a race that eats like that every day. Lastly, in under-developed countries, only very modern folks use deodorant soap and antiperspirant. Coupled with their hot climates, it is not a very pleasant combination. I reckon in years to come, deodorant use will be much more common.
POSTED NOV. 12, 1998
S.E., VA

FURTHER NOTICE 3:
As a child of Indian parents, I think I can explain. There are two issues here: (1) Why is there an odor and (2) Why does that odor smell the way it does (i.e.: why is it “offensive”). The answer to the first question is that the use of deodorants and anti-persperants is largely a Western practice. Among developing nations I have only seen them used among middle-to-upper class folks in Latin America. In Asia (Japan, China, India, the Middle East, etc.) the use of deodorants, etc. is extremely rare, although among the upwardly mobile urban and Westernized middle-to-upper class in Asia, the practice is growing (I have seen deodorant ads on TV in India, for example). Do not confuse this with bathing or general hygiene; Indians and Middle Easterners wash and clean themselves more or less as thoroughly as most Westerners do. But the idea of “underarm hygiene” was generally unheard of there until very recently. As to why the odors are “offensive,” it is due to factors such as diet (different foods and spices create different smells) and to a small extent genes (different ethnic groups perspire in different ways, I think).
POSTED NOV. 19, 1998
Mihir, Indian, 25 <mishah@vt.edu>, Skokie, IL

FURTHER NOTICE 4:
I live in an apartment complex with mostly Middle Eastern neighbors. I like everyone fine and converse quite often with everyone. However, I have though been known to run from the door of my apartment to the outer doors of the complex while holding my breath. After a bit of this I started asking around. Come to find out the smell was the spices in the food, but no one found this to be a bad smell quite the way I did. I found this hard to believe, as the smell more resembled crusty socks, but that is what it was. The one family that ate the food every night moved out recently, and the smell only reappears a couple of times a month around dinnertime now.
POSTED FEB. 16, 1999
Andy J., 21, male <andy@tigerteam.net>, Peoria , IL

FURTHER NOTICE 5:
I have some half-Pakistani relatives by marriage (I am a white European), and I used to share a car to work with one of them. She was a typical modern young lady, very conscious of her looks and personal hygiene (probably more so than me). However, to me she would occasionally smell of excrement. This amazed me, but I of course never said anything. A few years later I heard that many races smell peculiar to each other, one of the better examples being that the Japanese often find that Westerners smell of sour milk (the Japanese have far less cow’s milk in their diet than Westerners). I now think that something in my relative’s diet must have produced the unpleasant odor (probably one of the spices).
POSTED FEB. 23, 1999
S.P.H., white, European male <s.p.hodges@openmail.uena4.sukeplon.simis.com>, London, UK

FURTHER NOTICE 6:
I think you should never generalize like this. I am a Middle Eastern male and had two American roommates during college. If they did not take a shower, they usually “smelled.” If they did, they usually did not.
POSTED FEB. 24, 1999
Mohammad, 30, Arab (Middle Eastern) male <alibaba1969@yahoo.com>, Kalamazoo, MI
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