@ossobuco,
What might be interesting, is that when this country started, the only "whites" were those from England/Scotland, Holland, Scandanavia, or Germany. Did I leave anyone out? Blacks were from Africa. Other nationalities might have been non-white, or at least not as white as those from the five locations above. I believe there are parents today that might glow with pride as they admire any platinum blond hair of their children.
As a child, during the Cold War, Russians were Slavic EuroAsiatic. Asians were Orientals (Ashkenazi Jews used to be referred to as Oriental Jews/Asiatic Jews if they came from Czarist Russia).
It seems that those with sleeping melanin cells are today being told that they are white. Only those with an "other" defined racial identity can claim non-whiteness?
If you notice in the Spanish novellas on tv, the dominant group in South America are very white folk; the mestizos tend to be the proverbial middle-management of society; Blacks seem to be quiet about their role in society? How did whites in South America manage to not feel threatened by non-whites? I have no idea, but in those novellas everyone seems to be content with their station in life? Or, is this just fiction?