[Clemenza]

Why are middle easterners considered "white?"

Why the fudge do moronic Americans use the 19th century junk-science term "caucasian."

Why do we, alone among nations, categorize "hispanic" as a separate racial category?

Why do retards in the New York area refer to Latinos as "Spanish."

[cartan]

There is no clear definition of “race,” or which precise set of people make up one particular race. That doesn’t mean the term is per se meaningless, however. The best approach I know is to consider genetic distance: The more genes two people have in common, the smaller their genetic distance, and the more genes differ, the greater. Now you can draw a circle of a certain constant genetic distance around any given person and declare all people who fall inside this circle his “race.” This is a meaningful concept, even if there is still some arbitrariness in it, namely the value of the radius. Depending on how you choose the radius, you may consider Germans and Poles to be different races, or the same. You may even consider whites and blacks to be of the same race if you only choose the radius large enough.

So, regarding hispanics, it is not entirely stupid to consider hispanics a different race from whites because it seems pretty certain that you can choose the radius in a way that will clearly seperate them. Whether it is important, or desirable to do so, that is a different question.

[frithguild]

Why are middle easterners considered "white?"

Jesus looks pretty white in that Last Supper painting and that Renaissance painter guy was a pretty smart dude.

Why the fudge do moronic Americans use the 19th century junk-science term "caucasian."

Because if you say Caucasoid, Europid, or Europoid it rhymes with hemorroids.

Why do we, alone among nations, categorize "hispanic" as a separate racial category?

Because they were mean and pissed off enough in the 1960's to scare the people who passed those laws - squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Why do retards in the New York area refer to Latinos as "Spanish."

Because they are from Spanish Harlem.

There!

[Jewbacca]

“Why are middle easterners considered “white?””

Personally, I didn’t like being called a “Son of Shem.”

Avoiding ovens you caucasoids so like is another reason.

[MattinNJ]

Please don't get my Cuban wife started. Before we met all I knew was that Spanish chicks = hot.

Apparently there is a hierarchy of "hispanics" that I was unaware of-and that there is much disagreement about. I'll leave it there.

[razorback-bert]

Why do retards in the New York area refer to Latinos as "Spanish."

That is not what I heard them call, it does start with an S though.