Why I Hate Affirmative Action and Interracial Relationships

I feel the need to open this with four simple words: I am not racist. I know some people will assume I am with the title and possible not having read the article, but I'm not. Not even slightly. And here is my reasoning:

I am black. By black, of course, I mean my skin is dark. It's not as dark as some, but it's darker than others, sure. And, because I live in America, I would be termed "African American". But where does the "African" part come in? I can trace my mother's heritage back to England in the 16^th century. There is no mention of any living in or being born in Africa. I can trace my father's heritage back to Germany in the 18^th century. Again, no trace of anyone born or living in Africa. Maybe there was some African influence in my gene pool before then, but I think it's fair enough to say that it was long ago enough where I can no longer lay claim to it. I do not speak any African languages except what little French I learned in school to fulfill my second language requirement. I do not know anything substantial about African cultures, nor do I consider myself part of one of them. So, I ask again, what makes me African American? My skin color? Everyone tells me nowadays that skin color doesn't matter, and yet it means the difference between me being American like my friends and family and African American. Why don't we just call people like me what I am: American. I was born in America. My parents were born in America, and so were my grandparents. I'm American. Period.

That being said, I hate the term "interracial relationships". Why do we still have it in a time period that's supposed to be becoming less sensitive about the race issue? There's no need to label things like that. Call it what it really is: a relationship. It's just two people in love-why should their races mean anything when it comes to that?

As it is, I am considered to be one of those people in an "interracial relationship", and this is a categorization that, again, I have trouble understanding. It's based on the assumption, of course, that I'm "African" American and my boyfriend is just "American". But let me tell you this. My boyfriend and I were born in the same state, merely 30 miles apart from each other. Our parents, as well, were born in that state. Both of us attended the same school since Kindergarten and our parents were friends while we were in grade school. In high school, we took mostly the same classes. Our houses are located about 10 minutes apart. So how exactly does that make it an interracial relationship? Because of my skin color? Does skin color really mean so much that two people can grow up in the same cultural background and still be considered separate races?

And consider this: my boyfriend and I think alike, share values, share common beliefs, enjoy the same hobbies, speak the same language, celebrate the same holidays, wear the same sorts of clothes, and like the same sorts of activities. We eat the same foods and drink the same drinks. We are more similar than him and all the other "white" people that attended our school. And yet some people are going to tell me that we're not the same race? It seems to me that we're both American. Isn't that a race?

As for affirmative action: it needs to be done away with. Slavery is over. It was wrong. Yes, everyone gets this. But why does that automatically make it so that minorities should get preference over others? I don't think it's right. I worked my ass off in high school to get good grades so that I'd be able to attend a good college and it paid off. I made it into my choice college because of my work not my "race". If someone of a different race had gotten better results in their work than I did, then, by all means, they deserved the place as much as I did, regardless of race. The only thing that should matter is results.

How can Americans rightfully say that the concept of "race" is becoming less and less a matter of importance when people make such a big deal out of it regardless where you go. The United States now has their first black president. Wonderful. Everyone claims that it's a radical change and it breaks down a lot of barriers, and maybe it does to them, but it only reinforces the walls that already exist from my perspective. Why, you might ask? Because he's a black president. He's not a qualified president, an American president, a good president, or any other possibly fitting adjective, but he's a black president, and that's the thing that everyone feels the need to highlight. We're not becoming more "racially aware", we're just labeling more. Obama was born and grew up in America. He's an American president. Not African American. Not black. Period.

Now, there may be some people that are proud of their African heritage, and I'm not trying to diminish that either. It's good to be proud of one's heritage. But, for people like me who have no African influence to speak of, what heritage am I supposed to be proud of when everyone keeps lumping me with a group that I don't relate with at all?

So, yes, I hate affirmative action and interracial relationships. If that makes me a terrible person, then so be it. If that makes me a bad American, I can live with that too. I'm happy being who I am-now it's just time for others to realize what I am not.