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Comment by nephihaha | Hacker News Reader

Hispanic is mainly a linguistic catch all for most Latin Americans.

The USA holds to the one drop theory with African ancestry, i.e. any recent African ancestors at all and you're black.

And the reverse with Native Americans, since you have to be practically full blooded to be considered one by some people.

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I know about the one drop theory, but what I cannot understand why a deeply racist definition continues to be used. Surely it is something that should have gone along with segregation? It is not even challenged!

So "hispanic" does not include people from Hispania!

I'm not from the USA so don't understand their rules, but Hispanic seems to mean "that person over there speaking Spanish" or a Latin American (non-Brazilian). It seems to exclude actual Spanish and Filipinos (even though many have Spanish sounding names), and probably people from Spanish speaking Africa.

I think so but does it exclude Brazilians? They seem to use tit to cover all Latin Americans. maybe an American can explain? Its not like we are short of them on HN!

Then again, I have heard of Americans using the term "Anglo-Saxon" for one white group, which no one in Britain applies to anyone from much less than a millennium ago.

I doubt the difference is much noticed in some quarters. I'm not a fan of the term Anglo-Saxon. I do have some Anglo-Saxon ancestry way back but some of my ancestors are from places they never reached.

In Australia they use Anglo-Celtic, which is slightly better.

Not heard that, but Anglo-Celtic is slightly better if you mean British but not just English, but why not say British then.

Only English people have Anglo-Saxon ancestor (but other ancestry too), so what that really means in English ancestry/ethnically English. Americans will say they are Scottish or Irish or whatever, so why not just say they are (ethnically) English?

Haha...the USA does not hold the one-drop theory. If it ever did, that was long ago. A pasty-white Brasilian with one black great-grandmother is white to himself and everyone else.

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