I was just updating my profile, and under ethnicity, I noticed caucasian is not listed. Why is that?
Ethnicity and "White": I was just... - Restless Legs Syn...
Ethnicity and "White"
Written by
tealsea
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44 Replies
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It is not a term used in Europe x
Caucasian/ white is listed.
Also option not to declare.
Also option to declare hispanic, asian, etc. That has nothing to do with I don't have the option to declare that I'm caucasian. That is the only ethnicity I've ever known.
"white" is not an ethnicity. It is a color. there is no such thing as a white background.
WE do not set up the profile questions, as in the RLS UK Foundation, the web site itself does. Write to them, NO ONE here can fix it, and it has never been an issue. I think it has been explained, the foundation does not OWN this web site, they just use this space for their forum. Health Unlocked is who you need to complain to, if you really feel the need. We have a lot bigger issues around here, and I assume you do, too tealsea, since you joined an RLS group. Do you understand that the people who use this space for this forum, do NOT set up the questions? And, as Pippin says, Caucasion is not a term used in Europe. 
There are enough things to worry about. have a good night or day. I will assume you are in the states.
The point is that they do give "Caucasian " as an option.
White is also accepted in many cultures as a definition of race - such as " white south african" or "white Kenyan" rather than European ****** , which might not be strictly accurate if the person is from Canada etc. However , Caucasian, in those instances would be more accurate.
In South Africa , for a long regrettable period , Blanke was an official racial denominator.
I'm more concerned that they don't include Neanderthal % as a marker.
This is downright Sapiens domination at work.😠
I don't see Caucasian on there. I think I sort of resent the need to classify people in a health forum.
in reply to tealsea
White/Caucasian is the first option on there. You can also click on the «why do we ask?» link to find out more info. regarding this.
tealsea in reply to
As I said, Caucasian was not an option on mine.
in reply to tealsea
Weird...
I'm an old person. I remember the days when we defined as Caucasian for all persons who migrated through the Caucasus.
Caucasian races (Aryans, Hamites, Semites)
Mongolian races (northern Mongolian, Chinese and Indo-Chinese, Japanese and Korean, Tibetan, Malayan, Polynesian, Maori, Micronesian, Eskimo, American Indian).
Negroid races (African, Hottentots, Melanesians/Papua, “Negrito”, Australian Aborigine, Dravidians, Sinhalese).
When political correctness came on the scene, it subdivided people and really has done more harm than good.
in reply to BoldMove
Hi BoldMove, I'd forgotten how it was in the old days before we all got 'politically correct'. You know your history and geneology. Possibly from our old days schooling. Take care. irina1975 (another old person-73).
tealsea in reply to
Before we got pc, and just wanted demographic info about race, we asked what race you were. There were 3 choices--Caucasian, Asian, Negro. VERY unfortunately, Negro became a disgusting N-word, and we probably won't ever recover from that. Meanwhile, we still sing the "Negro National Anthem." OK, BACK TO RLS.
PS. This is a simplification of BoldMove's very academic and accurate post!
in reply to tealsea
Hi tealsea. Point well-taken. Years ago race was just a question along with many others but now this question is loaded with many layers of "stuff" and should probably be eliminated. A main reason, in my opinion, is that (at least here in the US) seemingly innocuous questions asked by our current government possibly also have 'hidden agenda 'reasons for obtaining this info. Sorry to be so cynical but my level of trust re honest and ethical governing is almost nil. I am angry and devastated by how anyone who is not a WASP (white anglosaxon protestant) is being treated and often harmed. When I hear that laws are being changed for the good of all "Americans" I wonder what the new definition of that word is. Americans, to me, are diverse, come in all 'colors', cultures, etc. I like our country's diversity. I was married to an Indian, my daughter is Cuban-American. and so on. . I should probably stop here and not turn the site into my political opinion. There is always PM for interesting exchange of ideas. Feel free. Take care. irina1975 PS I like the fact that sometimes medical discussions take a turn in another direction. It shows we are whole people-not just illnesses and very often what we have to deal with re our own personal stories greatly bears on our health. It's like teachers who vear off the main subject at times sharing info that causes pupils to think about life in other ways than where a 200 y.o. war took place. These are the best teachers. IMO.
BoldMove in reply to
Actually I'm a child of 71 LOL.
well if you "resent it" write to Health Unlocked, not us. I and they have explained. AND ANY health form you fill out will ask your race, different diseases are more common in certain races. That is why and they explain that to you. You also can check "prefer not to say". So, I fail to see the issue here We all have RLS and that is the issue. I assume you are in the states, and we get asked that on EVERY health form we have EVER filled out.
I thought I WAS writing to health unlocked. Isn't that what this is?????
in reply to tealsea
You are writing on the RLS-UK forum not directly to HealthUnlocked.
Health Unlocked is the WEB site. if you look there are all kinds of health groups on the WEB SITE. This is the group for the RLS-UK Foundation. You are in the forum for them only. The web site "rents space" to kind of describe what they do for lots of health organizations. So, how long have you had RLS, and maybe we can get to why you joined this forum in the first place. Better to start a new post, if you want to tell us about your RLS.
in reply to Madlegs1
LOL Madlegs! Maybe they could start adding 'mental status', ie: oaf, village idiot, eccentric, etc!! Just having a little fun. There is a tv program on PBS here in the US. Very interesting. It's called 'FINDING YOUR ROOTS." They delve into ancestry of well-known people. It's very interesting and informative. I also learned that if we go back far enough most of us have a little bit of every race in our genes. It doesn't matter to me. irina1975 (73 y.o. caucasian -european descent- eccentric old female.) PS I think I also have some 'cat' and 'dog' also!!! Six degrees of separation.........
Wilwell in reply to
Thank you Irina...
Your comments make me smile and
Since feelings play a part in our sense of ease or dis—ease I concur with
Your views about us not just being illnesses but complex beings whose
Lateral thinking may lead to answers that we have not explored sufficiently
in reply to Wilwell
Thanks Wilwell. For me most of the things I learn about life-even at 73- is because people's ideas and philosophies creep in and educate when conversation strays from the 'main topic'. Take care. irina1975 PS Humor makes everything in life easier to deal with IMO. Especially regarding illness!
madlegs, they do only say "white" ,not caucasion, but it is just different terms used or not used in different countries. It is 2:30 am, so time for me to go put my head down. Have a good day or night.
Maybe we are all reading different screens-- but when I go into update profile and choose ethnicity- the first option is " white/ caucasion".
So hence my comments above.
Perhaps it's different for the. American screens
I've taken a screen grab but can't get it on here by phone.
I have a screen grab, but cannot put it in a reply. Under our profile, at least MINE, it really does say just "White". And I do not want to start another post on this subject. have wasted enough time on this as it is. It just is not that important, in my opinion.
Weird
it is probably set up by the web site itself. Also, a lot of diseases occur more in different races. This forum "uses" this web site to exist. So, if you do not like it, write to health unlocked, The RLS-UK Foundation does set up the profile parameters, I am pretty sure. I will go look, but if it had Caucasion, then there is NO need for white. White is color not a race. There are thousands of groups that use this site for their forums, and we do not set up the profiles. Don't know how else to explain it to you. White is not a race. And, it is 2 am where I am, do not going to get into it now. I think madlegs and others have covered it. And, the fact is again, Caucasion IS a race, White is a color. That is always the way it has been on any form you fill out for anything, No one asks if you are white or brown or purple or blue or yellow, etc. White is a color just like green is a color, and should not be an issue, since it is a non issue. 
It is pretty simple to me. Pippin says Caucasion is NOT a British term, and this is the forum of the RLS-UK Foundation, as in ENGLAND. They tell you why they ask, because some conditkions occur more often in some races depending on the condition or disease. No need to make a big thing about it. Different countries use different terms. We have a lot more things to deal with around here. The web site Health Unlocked makes up the profile questions NOT the particular Foundations, and organizations. This web site has a ton of different groups. It is UK based and that is just the term the web site uses, NO ONE here has anything to say about it. I am from the states, as are a lot of people here, but literally this is the FIRST time this has ever been brought up ever. IF you do not like it, write to the web site itself, the Foundation only "rents this space" for this forum. NOT a big deal, and let's not make it a big deal. We have worse things to deal with, as in NO sleep, and it is 2:30 am where I am and am going to bed. Cheers!
I wonder why we need to know someone’s ethnicity on this forum
it is asked for health reasons. As I said, on most health forms you fill out, they do ask this question. Different diseases affect different races. Like Sickle Cell Anemia is a disease that is mostly had by black people. Just an example. But, in the states, anyway, they DO like to know for many HEALTH reasons.
What a storm in a teacup. !!
We all came out of Africa so we are black in our souls despite the whiteness of our skin. I remember talking with a 'black' dude one night. I told him wasn't black and I wasn't white. He was a lovely chocolatey brown and I was a sort of magnolia, after a good laugh he sort of agreed stating black was culture as opposed to skin tone.
I get that conditions like sickle cell effect 'black' people and they need to be treated differently a lot of the times with BP problems, (as I was told by a black Dr) but we all bleed red, (except Vulcans who bleed green ).
I want a caramel option now as I have a bit of colour on me
in reply to
Can't resist-then I'll stop. Just a bit of humor!! When I was young, still thin, and looked good in a bikini I lived in South Florida and maintaining my tan was a 'religion' for me. So I was 'golden'. Now I'm old, not so thin anymore (my bikini days are LONG gone) so now I'm 'beige'. LOL irina1975
in reply to
Throw on a bikini and to hell with what people think. I'm aiming for a good colour this summer and I intend to have as few white parts as possible,
A philosopher, Niche (sp?) I believe, said that when a person learns a new language God gives him/her another soul. I'm from the States but live in Mexico half the year and learned Spanish 20 years ago. When I speak Spanish with my Mexican friends my personality seems to change as I enter a different culture. Different races in a few cases may have different health issues, but language and culture is what defines u, not the color of our skin.
in reply to Bajatom
Very insightful. I also speak spanish-learned starting in 1st grade at boarding school in Key West, Florida in the late 40's. I find when I'm around spanish speaking people my mood is better and I often have more fun. I see them as basically a happy culture. The other language I have studied though my knowledge is still dismal is russian. Have always liked russian culture/history-don't know why. When I decided to go to the Soviet Union in 1975, I took a basic russian course at a junior college. My goal was just to be able to read street signs and navigate the Metro so I could 'break away from the group now and then. '(Though we were closely watched). It worked and just being able to figure out metro stops made my trip much more fun. I still try to learn some more words every now and then. There are senior russians in my senior living bldg. Theirs is also, IMO, a happy culture, but with strangers they are very conservative and correct. When they know and feel comfortable with you, the vodka flows!! LOL- AND the food.
I think this has been covered thoroughly now. Can we get BACK to RLS? For people who have not read thru, different races have different rates of contracting different diseases. THAT is why they ask. There is NO nefarious reason for this question, and it IS set up by Health Unlocked, the web site, NOT the foundation.
It could be useful to see how other cultures understand and treat RLS. In the primative area of Mexico where I live, people still rely on herbs and local healers. I invited one such healer I met to treat my Piernas Inquietos. He had me drink a tea from bark of a local plant, and walk bare foot daily on sand, earth, or grass, not cement. Sometimes it seemed to help but of course there is no way to to know without a proper large scale study.
in reply to Bajatom
If it helped,lt helped! No need for a large expensive study. The proof is in the pudding more often that modern medicine likes to admit!
Just to highlight a point. A friend of mine died of cancer. It was a cancer only contracted by Japanese women during childbirth. Some clever Australian doctor diagnosed it at an early stage which I thought was amazing but the early diagnosis didn't help. How's that for a specific disease?
I can not believe the attitude of some of the people who have replied to your email....shame on them! I feel that they have turned your simple query into a criminal offence. I was taught that if you can't say anything good then say nothing at all. You could do without the stress which their actions have probably caused. Comforting hug, J xx
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