Re: Why Beijing?

On 30 Dec 2006 05:58:17 -0800, "Peter T. Daniels"
<grammatim@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
<news:1167487097.305657.21080@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
in sci.lang:

Aidan Kehoe wrote:

Ar an naoú lá is fiche de mí na Nollaig, scríobh Peter T.
Daniels:

For it to be the same, my original comment would have
to be reworded thus: In the US, these are presumably
used to allude to people as low class by virtue of
ethnicity.

No. Ethnicity does not correlate with class. Oprah
Winfrey, Bill Cosby, and Willie Mays are high-class,
because they are persons of great wealth and personal
accomplishment. they are also African American.

Eh, that's not a valid argument. Three counterexamples
don't contradict '[ethnicity A] correlates with [class
B]'-you need demographic data.

Of course they do. A single example disproves a
generalization.

Yes, but Aidan is correct in saying that a single example
does not disprove a *correlation*. We all know that it's
perfectly possible for a man six feet tall to weigh less
than a man who stands only 5' 9", but there is still a
positive correlation between the heights and weights of U.S.
adult males: if all you know about A and B is that A is
taller than B, you will be right more often than not if you
guess that A is also heavier than B.

In fact for the U.S. as a whole ethnicity probably *does*
correlate with class to some degree, just as for historical
reasons it still correlates with income.

One place where such a correlation is clear is in Los
Angeles, where ethnic Persians are distinctly wealthier
than the mean.

Do you know racists who think of Persians (Iranians??) as
a "race"?

They are an ethnicity, which was the term actually used by
Ranjit.

[...]

Brian
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Why Beijing?
    ... these are presumably used to allude to people as low class ... No. Ethnicity does not correlate with class. ... as low class by virtue of poverty. ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Why Beijing?
    ... Angeles, where ethnic Persians are distinctly wealthier ... They are an ethnicity, which was the term actually used by ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Why Beijing?
    ... Angeles, where ethnic Persians are distinctly wealthier ... They are an ethnicity, which was the term actually used by ...
    (sci.lang)
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