A few weeks ago, in class someone mention something that got under my skin. To avoid an argument or a debate I kept quiet; but figured I write about it instead. We were talking about ethnic groups that day and therefore she made her comment in regards to my race. The term “Those Mexican’s”, doesn’t bother me most of the time because I am very proud of being Mexican. However, most people use it in a derogatory manner and therefore it pisses me off! Not to mention, how do you know they are “Mexican?” Stereo types are a thing of the past (for me at least.) Not to mention that they are not 100% accurate! Let me remind you that Latin America is composed by 20 countries. So, you can’t assume that someone who “looks" Latin is automatically “Mexican.” You can’t call someone Chinese just because they “look” like one, right? They could be Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, etc. So, next time if you aren’t sure what they are just call them Latino or Hispanic. To prove my point, the picture I provided has four people in it… Could you pick out which of the four is Mexican?
I understand what you mean. For instance, I am from Uzbekistan and nobody in America knows about my country. So I have to say that I am from Russia, because Uzbekistan was part of Russia some time ago and everybody knows Russians. But some Russians think about Uzbeks same way as some people here think about Latinos. When I met one Russian woman and told her that I am Uzbek, she talked to me as if I was second class and she was first class. It’s because she thought that all Uzbeks work as cleaners in hotels. When I said that my husband is a programmer, she changed and started to talk to me like a normal human. I think it does not matter which nationality is person if he or she is a good person. There are no good or bad people, all nations have good and bad people.
ReplyDeletei get what your saying about how people shouldn't call all Latinos Mexican's but I'm pretty sure that's not what they mean. i know a lot of people who are just used to calling Hispanic people Mexican just because everyone says it so much. you made a good example that people call all Asians Chinese when they could be from any of those countries. But the thing is that so many people call Asians Chinese that people just say it without thinking about it. if i were you i wouldnt take the things that people say so seriously just because their is no point of getting mad from something that stupid. for example if i were to ask people to guess where i was from they would say most likely say indian or they would just say countries that the US is at war right now with lol. people have even thought that i was dutch for some reason.... but im actually persian. so when people make all the stereotypes i just laugh and play along:) and about the picture you posted, i would say the bottom right one is Hispanic but in todays society, any of them could be Latino because they could be mixed or they could look like what ever they want.
ReplyDeleteI'm 100% for what you are saying. People shouldn't go straight for the terms of being Mexican or what ever ethnic group they think the person is. It really gets under my skin as well when people even mention anything like that, when it comes to stating a certain ethnic group. For one, not all ethnic groups will look like exactly what they are. Me and my friend for example, do not look like what we are. We are both a mix of random stuff. People refer my friend as Puerto Rican and shes really a mix between white and black. For me, a majority of people say that i look Italian, when i'm really mixed with Spanish and French. I recently been told i am a mix of Mexican. So people might not look like what ethnic group they are from. So, people should really just stay silent until they know for sure.
ReplyDeletei know what you mean, a while ago i was playing soccer and this guy on my team referred to another guy as "the Chinese dude" so i told him 'you don't know if he is Chinese for sure, he might get offended' and he replied with "who cares" and i got pissed a little but didn't say anything. it happened to me too countless times where people refer to me as Greek, Arab, Indian, Israeli, Palestinian etc but i usually don't get pissed when its about myself because i know my originality isn't too easy to figure out so i just tell them i'm Persian. but i do believe people should ask where someone is from instead of just assuming their originality.
ReplyDeleteI would like to mention that the people in the picture are all Latino. The two on the top are both Mexican. Like most of you said, what people assume an ethnic group "looks" like isn't really the case. :)
ReplyDeleteI would like to start by saying I love Mexicans. Two of my best friends are Mexicans(not really I just think that's something racist people say to make themselves feel better)! As far as I'm concerned Mexicans are Black people. And I say that out of love. I was astounded when I found out that many Mexicans share the same heritage as Black Americans. Without boring you to death with historical facts, I think the best evidence is in the food. There are so many foods that are common in West African countries that can also be found in Mexicans. Foods such as offal, menudo, platains, black-eye peas, and lots of rice is shared by both cultures, they just have different names. If you ever get the chance, check out Professor Gates PBS special "Black in Latin America", especially the episode Mexico & Peru: The Black Grandma in the Closet. It provided some clarity on connections I could already see between Mexicans and Black Americans.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean. I totally agree on the point where you said that people can’t assume someone belongs to one ethical group by just looking at them. Like you said in your blog, there are also stereo types for Asian people as well. My friends and I went to Virginia beach last summer, and there was a group of guys shouting “Ching chang chong” thinking that we were Chinese even though we are in fact Koreans. It happens often time to Asian people. I don’t mind if people think I am Chinese or Korean because they might not know. Not so many people try to make fun of certain ethical group but there are some people who do that and it’s their attitude that bothers me.
ReplyDeleteI'm also a Korean, and often feel that the other people assume that I'm a Chinese. Of course, I'm not happy, but I don't get upset either because there are numerically much more Chinese people around the world compared to Korean. It is even natural that people can easily think a foreigner with black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin is a Chinese. Also, I believe that if I can talk to people logically, and they are very polite, they would not make fun of them with their looking.
ReplyDeleteAlthough many Latin American people are not from Mexico, they are often called Mexicans. It is because Mexico is the only country having boundary with the US, and the largest number of people from Mexico have migrated to the US.
I don't think most of the people do intend to look down on foreign people. They are just insensibility, and we don't have to be sensitive on their attitude.
Good point. I look like I am of Asian descent but I have people asking me if I am Chinese all the time.. I was just called chinese even though I do not really look Chinese. It bothers me that people do not think, like you said, that there are other countries that someone can be from. Yet they "jokingly" call someone Mexican, or Chinese.
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