Analysis Of Blaxicans By Richard Rodrigues

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What Does Your Identity Really Consist Of?
In Richard Rodrigues’ dissertation titled “‘Blaxicans’ and Other Reinvented Americans” Rodriguez; a sociologist, who was on his way to earning his Ph.D, explains how using race as a basis for identifying Americans is not valid; culture should be what defines a person's identity. Throughout his essay he gives anecdotes about things he has learned and even decides to use the new terminology of the anecdote in his title. In his writing, he discusses how he was on a talk show, and while conversing with Bill Moyers, Moyers asked him what race he identifies himself as, either Hispanic or American and he replied “I am Chinese, and that is because I live in a Chinese city and because I want to be Chinese” (162-165). This quote denotes that …show more content…

He has lived in a Chinese community therefore he is Chinese and no one can tell him otherwise. Bill Moyers choice of diction implies that he had to choose between being where he descended from or where he has also assimilated to. More specifically, him choosing to identify shows rebellion, he’s rebelling against the five ethnicities created by the government. Chinese was not an option, yet Asian was. He chose to identify as Chinese because he has not assimilated to Japanese culture or Korean culture, the terminology “Asian” was too broad of a vernacular for him, it does not represent his true colors. It also seems as if Bill Moyer was trying not so seems insensitive by using general races such as Hispanic or American, little did he know how callous it is to assume an individual's ethnicity. He corrected him and decided to identify as Chinese because according to Rodriguez, race is not or should not be a factor in identifying individuals. Within the same paragraph Rodriguez also confabulated about how he has assimilated into the Chinese culture. As the author writes “I have lived in a Chinese city for so long that my eye has taken on that

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