European American

The first time I heard of someone refer to themselves as that I thought they were crazy.  But are they?  I just filled out a poll and it listed, under 'which racial group do you most closely identify yourself with'; white, black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, or other.  Why is it 'just' White, when it's not 'just' Black, Red or Yellow?  Silly thing to contemplate, I know, but when one part of my family was here during the revolution, and the other part has been here 3 generations, I don't understand why they list White as a race, and break up the other 'colors'.  Just pondering....