Race is a made-up concept | Column

The Federal Way Mirror's Diversity Section has been a great addition to the newspaper and a great motivator for learning and researching the challenges that are faced as communities grow in diversity across the country.

The Federal Way Mirror’s Diversity Section has been a great addition to the newspaper and a great motivator for learning and researching the challenges that are faced as communities grow in diversity across the country.

I am really glad the Mirror chose to use the title “Diversity.” The New York Times runs a newsletter titled “Race/Related,” and the more I look into the concept of “race” the more I am convinced it is an inappropriate, made-up, outdated concept.

I was called for jury duty earlier this year, joining a diverse group of community members. We were handed an optional form eliciting some information that I found a bit odd. There was a category for “race” that covered a series of “-ans,” “-cans,” “-ians’ and “-eses.” The next block was structured around “Ethnicity” and seemed targeted at trying to distinguish among those of Hispanic heritage based on the country of ancestral origin.

Missing was the category Mr. Federal Way recently alluded to in a discussion about diversity: “Human.”

I’m sure the form came out of decent intent, like a desire to obtain data to examine whether people are facing a jury of their peers. After all, the importance of jury composition was recently highlighted by the Supreme Court when it overturned an old murder conviction in the South after finding the prosecution sought to eliminate African-Americans from the jury. Some people might feel it’s outrageous to believe an all-white jury might be prejudicial against a black defendant, but clearly the Supreme Court looked at the issue within the context of our nation’s history and the Constitution to overturn the conviction.

Still, as important as the data might be, I chose not to complete the survey. I wonder if those who created the form debated the merits of having jurists of Asian descent be under a “race” category while jurists of South American descent would be an “Ethnic” category.

The scientific community would tell us we are all in the same species and subspecies. The category of “race” really has no merit and represents an antiquated worldview. Race is a made-up concept. At its root is the idea that one group can be differentiated and categorized as having an innately genetically superior and/or inferior trait compared to another. As history has shown, the concept of race has also been used to segregate people from one another. Eye color, hair color and skin color have no merit in pre-determining characteristics such as intellectual or physical ability; nor does it pre-determine ethical or social values systems. Nevertheless, color, as well as nationality, language, religion and other avenues of differentiation have certainly been used as pre-determining factors for targeting and discrimination.

The concept of “race” continues to thrive in our society, but hopefully it will lose meaning as people truly come to realize we are all one race. It does take time, but words do go out of style. Some Asians were referred to as “Celestials” at one time, and while the number of times is becoming fewer, the term “Oriental” is becoming a term for rugs and art instead of people. In a more enlightened worldview, one in which we stop talking in terms of a white or black “race,” the term “racial” and “racist” might live on to take on a stronger meaning as holding not just ignorant stereotypical or discriminatory views, but of holding a completely obsolete view of humankind.

Hiroshi Eto, a homeowner in Federal Way since 1988, returned in 2012 after retiring as a civilian member of the Army Corps of Engineers. He serves on the Federal Way Public Schools Board as Director, District 5 and serves the City of Federal Way as a Commissioner on the Diversity Commission. The views he presents are solely his own.