Why is it that when someone is biracial

For the same reason Obama is considered "black" by the general public. People don't care what your origins actually are, it's what you look like at first glance. Halle Berry, Lauren London and Paula Patton all look black. Rashida Jones doesn't.

Personally I don't care what someone wants to call themselves. But whatever you look like at first glance is what most people will perceive you as. Not really a big deal.

Excellent response.

I thought her daughter was 3/4 white. Not like it matters but just trying to clear only that part up.

1/2 white, 3/4 white. Who cares?

No, it does matter. Because if 3/4 white, you're basically white.

...except....who cares? It doesn't matter if you don't care. And there's no bona fide reason of value to care about such things.

Here is a bona fide reason. In the 70's I dated a black chick (I'm white). Every time I showed up at her house, I was greeted with racist anti-white comments. She was also verbally abused for dating a 'cracker.' Eventually they beat the snot outta me. Knowing a person's race and the societal implications can prevent you from a bad beating and possibly death. Here is another example. True story. A successful female Chicago lawyer who defends pond scum types was standing in front of an open elevator filled with Latino gang members who were there visiting their lawyer. She did not address her internal fear mechanism and rather chose to substitute her ultra-liberal everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt attitude. By the time she hit the lobby she was a bloody mess and died later. If you are standing on the ledge of a thirty story building your fear tells you to back off. Similarly we all have a built in fear mechanism for all situations that might have adverse consequences, including the societal problems associated with mixing races. Is that right? Of course not. Is that racism or simply a primitive instinct that informs us that all is not well. No one knows for sure. We all want people to get together and co-mingle in peace but unless you live in a cave you know the opposite is frequently true. Fear saves. Recognizing differences saves. Avoidance saves. You cannot force people to love one another.

Here is a comment from her father Quincy Jones about racism at Harvard:
QUINCY JONES' actress daughter RASHIDA has suffered racism throughout her life, because she is mixed-race. The 32-year-old has a black father and a white Jewish mother - actress Peggy Lipton. And Jones claims her looks have alienated her from black and white social groups - particularly at Harvard University, where she was turned away from an all-black sorority. She says, "I definitely learned my lesson. I'm back to that place were I'm like, 'You know what? I'm black, I'm white, I'm Jewish, I'm Irish, I'm Portuguese, I'm Welsh, what the *beep* ever.' To me it's so inconsequential. "People still say things to me like, 'Oh my god, you're black? I would've never guessed that.' And I just think, I can't help your ignorance. There are bi-racial people who look like me or who look like Alicia Keys or who look like Halle Berry. I'm so proud to be so many things."

Race shouldn't matter but I can personally attest that there are places on this planet where if they don't like your race, religion, ethnicity, country of origin, etc. you will not get out alive. This is why we address a person's race on IMDB, because it can matter in the wrong situation.


As an apologist turned authority I don't defend my comments because I am always right.

That is the best written, most well reasoned piece I have ever read on IMDB, and possibly the internet.