counting a country -- and its colors

it's this time of the decade again, census time.











apart from a first letter in the mail box that announced the "official 2010 census form", plenty of ads have popped up everywhere to remind you of this duty as a resident in the united states.

the official form which came to this house states:

"your answers are important. Census results are used to decide the number of representatives each sate has in the U.S. Congress. The amount of government money your neighborhood receives also depends on these answers. That money is used for services for children and the elderly, roads, and many other local needs."

on the "united states 2010 census website -- it's in our hands" its put a bit more romantically:

"The 2010 Census is here. Make sure your story is captured as we make a new portrait of the nation."

supposedly the data is "confidential" and "used for statistical purposes, and no other purpose." yet, a full-fledged campaign seems to be necessary to battle for the trust of the nation.

the websites features over a dozen of short videos interviews of individuals to convince you of this undertaking.

there's the white hunting guy man who is otherwise afraid of big government and hates bureaucracy. he tells you how easy it is to fill the form out and how after looking at the questions he is not afraid of them anymore. and oh it's just one page.

a young urban green couple tries to connect the census form with growing beans on their roof top.

an itinerant "taxi driver/philosopher" needs to realized that he needs to have a say in his neighborhood once he settles down (and fills out his census).

a cuban lady talking in spanish (with english subtitles) is connected with the sub headlines of finding out "where our communities are now, and what they need to grow in the future".

another "happy family" with greek-irish ancestry is cooking food and topped with the lines "While your family celebrates your own cultures and traditions, the Census is the chance to tell the nation your story."

i didn't see a line on the form to put down a recipe. (maybe there is room for improvement next time around?)

asking around a bit, it seems most u.s. citizens don't mind filling out the form. although some sense an ulterior motive. in my house, i seem to be the only one who wanted the letter, nobody asked for it after i hid it in my room for further investigation (and blogging).

the official form is quite interesting. apart from name, birth date, the relationship to the place you stay at (rented, owned, not paying rent) questions eight and nine are the most fascinating. among all ten questions, they take up about a third of the questionnaire.















as you might guess from the ad above: they concern the question of race. the united states is quite obsessed not only with the number of hides occupying the territory but also with the colors of them. to give my german audience the full picture:

8. Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?
No, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin
Yes, Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano
Yes, Cuban
Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin -- Print origin, for example, Argentinian, Colombian, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Salvadorean, Spaniard, and so on

9. What is Person 1's race?
White
Black, African, Am., or Negro
American Indian or Alaska Native -- Print name of enrolled or principal tribe
Asian Indian
Chinese
Filipino
Other Asian -- Print race, for example, Hmong, Laotian, Thai, Pakistani, Cambodian, and so on
Japanese
Korean
Vietnamese
Native Hawaiian
Guamanian or Chamorro
Samoan
Other Pacific Islander -- Print race, for example, Fijian, Tongan, and so on

Some other race -- Print race

quite impressive, isn't it?

one almost wishes to be not white. or to be a good combination that escapes these finely thought out categories, think mogli from the woods or saint kittsian with a polar streak on granny's side. but alas, the last catch all category of print the hell what you want denies this fun. it's the secret of a successful content analysis, the "other" category.

if you are still confused and don't know what to fill in. i have already seen allegedly certified census helper stations around (my predominantly latin american) neighborhood. the form also exists in other languages, at least in the german culture goethe institute you can take a copy printed in spanish and at least two asian languages judging my the unreadable symbols.

how counting colors helps to determine the number of representatives to go into congress or the number of dollars to go into pouring concrete i don't know.

but green, blue, or salmon pink -- whoever you are, make it known to uncle sam. after all he and his underlings put so much effort and money into these pretty little videos. and maybe next year you too can grow three kinds of water melons in the inner city of chicago.