The Outrage is perplexed.
We know this is outrageous, but we can’t determine who the villains are.
Is it Mostafa Hefny, the man who is suing the US government because he wants to be classified as black rather than white?
Is it the US government, which classifies a man with black skin as white because he came from Egypt?
Is it a system that classifies people according to their skin color, and awards benefits and advantages based on these classifications?
Hefny is an Egyptian immigrant who has been classified as white due to Directive Number 15 of the US Office of Management and Budget. The directive states that a white person is anyone originating from the peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East. Ergo, Hefny is white, despite the fact that the color of his skin is very dark.
Some years ago, it might have been considered an economic advantage to be officially classified as white. No more. “Definitely, I would’ve had more opportunity for advancement and even for hiring had I been considered black,” Hefny says. “I was prevented from applying and requesting positions and other benefits for a minority person because I knew I was legally white.”
The US government is trying to work out some way for people to choose their own identification. Here at The Outrage, we’re busy trying to decide whether we feel most comfortable identifying ourselves as Aleutian Islanders or genetically ambiguous world citizens.
READ MORE ABOUT IT
Read more about today’s Outrage in the CNN story.
