They call it “MASA,” for “Muslim, Arab and South Asian.”
So this is a category that includes Norwegian converts to Islam, Assyrian Christians, and Bhutanese Buddhists.
Also, “South Asians” are now part of two overlapping acronym communities, as we’re already “AAPI.”
Only sort of related
https://www.yahoo.com/news/im-black-look-white-horrible-140002729.html
But once again phenotype matters. That’s what people see.
It will be funny to see woke MENA happy to be in this brown umbrella. On the other hand, many will be unhappy (the same types who discriminate against the “black” S Asian inferior converts)
> Both of my parents are Black but have white ancestors. Those recessive white genes were passed on to me, and I was born very light-skinned, with blue eyes and light, wavy hair. This was not a surprise. In both of my parents’ families there are “white” babies who pop up each generation. I have aunts, uncles and cousins on both sides of my family who are also white-presenting.
Razib you’re the geneticist – is this even remotely plausible?
yes
What a joke. But as Razib said in a recent podcast, culture wars are long wars. No one older than 25 will ever use this term in their lifetime. But I can see college students and younger embracing it over time. In a few decades, there will be millions of Masa Americans.
American racial categories are terrible. “White” includes everyone in-between Tajikistan to Morocco.
Asians in particular are very hard to nail down. Racially, desis are very similar but are deeply divided on religion. Hinduism is not a global religion like Christianity, it’s a rooted religion for a specific people (much like Judaism), which makes it its own ethnicity IMO. There are also significant differences between East Asia and the rest. And even within East Asians, a distinctions between SEA and NEA.
When the Asian group was smaller and more dominated by East Asians it made more sense to talk of an Asian whole, but not now.
American racial categories are terrible. “White” includes everyone in-between Tajikistan to Morocco.
If such a broad category is made, better call it West Eurasian rather than white, which implies light skin tones not every European let alone West Eurasian has. Do not think most North Africans and Tajiks would object to such a category, those groups prefer not to be racially associated with most Africans and most Central Asians respectively.
They were going to create a new racial group, “Middle East and North Africa” that would have separated those people out from the “white” group, for the 2020 Census. I think the Trump Administration nixed that idea though.
I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.
+1
South Asia, AAPI to MASA – I don’t even know where this will end but i just don’t want West to impose it’s categories. Indians esp. Non-Abrahamic ones must vehemently oppose the West’s imposition of categories & descriptors.
Deep Bhatnagar: “i just don’t want West to impose it’s categories. Indians esp. Non-Abrahamic ones must vehemently oppose the West’s imposition of categories & descriptors.”
While you impose caste identity on every living thing inside India? Don’t want to be discriminated against, but happy to discriminate. Hypocrites.
If you had the opportunity to relocate to a different planet, what identity would you carry with you? American, Indian, Hindu, Earthling?
Dravidian
+1000.
American national, Indian ethnicity,
If I’m Masa, that means I become a tamale in the sauna… so I’m now Mexican!
Masa means mother’s sister’s husband in Gujarati
Clueless people may confuse Masa for Masai (an African tribe in Tanzania).
Overuse of the term “South Asian” is getting on my nerves too, especially where it isn’t warranted. For example, there hasn’t recently been a spate of “South Asian” CEOs in Fortune 500 companies; they are all Indian and should be described as such (the most specific category ought to be applied in any context).
There is a superficial resemblance between Arabs, Iranians and North Indians; however, I don’t think that means they should be lumped together. Linguistically and culturally they are different, especially Arabs(who are already very diverse). Iranians and North Indians could fit into an “Aryan” category because obviously they are the actual Aryans linguistically, culturally and by ancestry. But considering that that term, Aryan, has become controversial among northern european populations, that category may not ever be created(thanks for ruining everything nordicists!).
Picture two MASA women… which one has more white privilege?
a) Blonde Norwegian White muslim convert Hijabi
b) former Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi.
🤔
Obviously Indra Nooyi. Great success is basically evidence of participating in white supremacy, unless of course its in the arts or entertainment and you are liberating humanity and decolonising our minds by subversively twerking.