Defining Race and Ethnicity

Politically correct does not always make a person right. Throughout my life, I have often been asked, "What are you?" That question has always made me laugh. However, when I am in my own head, I often have wondered the same thing. It has been mistaken that I am Puerto Rican and even mixed. The funny thing is I am Irish! At the end of the day, I have always broken people down into Whites, Blacks, Indian, Latino, and Imports (anyone of Asian heritage). That was always a person's race to me.

Anytime I, or anyone else for that matter, fills out a questionnaire or application of some sort, those are the common options in the race section (minus the import part, it just says Asian). I have always chosen not to go against the grain of societies acceptable forms of race.

Today I was introduced to the term ethnic in the politically correct sense. Ethnic, where I am from, always referred to a(n) Black/African American person. The term ethnicity was foreign to me. The terms refer to, what I classify as, someone's heritage. For instance, I am Irish and English. That puts me in the White ancestry ethnic group, along with Germans, Italians, Polish, French, and Jews.

The difference in racial and ethnic groups, are nothing more than cultural or physical differences that set people apart from others in society.