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Racism among latinos essays
Hispanic stereotypes in modern culture
The effects of racial stereotypes
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Things Aren't Always What They Seem
As a Hispanic young man, I have witnessed many racial remarks and expressions. Many people think I am Anglo-Saxon because I am light complected.
I have not only noticed racial slurs from Angle's, but also from Hispanics.
People tend to open up in front of me, because some of them think I am Anglo-
Saxon and do not know Spanish. I can recall the first day of summer school, my first day of work, and the time that Anglos' stare at my girlfriend wondering why I left their race for a hispanic girl.
My first day of summer school was a day I will never forget. As I walked into my class the students just looked up at me and stared as if I was a portrait. In a polite manner, the teacher told me to sit next to those girls at the corner. At first they were quiet and then the whispers began. “Oye chulo,” they began to call me. I didn't know what to do, so I did what any guy with a great girlfriend would do, played dumb. Then they began telling each other that
I was probably rich and conceited. Their remarks about my clothing and the color of my eyes and hair, surprised me. I was not upset because they were
Hispanic. I am sure that I would have been mad if an Anglo-saxon girl would have talked bad about a hispanic guy or girl.
Another time hispanics thought I was Anglo-saxon, was when my best friend's dad got me a job at his company. The first day he showed me around and majority of the workers were hispanic; once again they all looked at me again.
My first encounter with my racist co-workers was during lunch. As I sat down to eat my sandwich, the guy I got to know asked me if I wanted to try some Mexican food. That's when I gave him this expression that must have stunned him, because he asked me what was wrong. I told him, “What, do you think I've never eaten Mexican food or what?”
He replied, “Sorry, I didn't think know white people knew anything about
Mexican food other than tacos.”
“I am not white, I am a mexican just like you!” I exclaimed. From that day forth I was treated just like one of the guys. It is strange that hispanics are always fighting for equality and an end to discrimination. Ironically, they are the one's that are being racist.
The only time I can recall being treated wrong by Anglo-Saxons, was the
In Bettie’s analysis of Mexican-American and white girls, she finds that race, gender and class are extremely crucial in the outcomes and futures of these girls. The unmentioned and hidden effects of class, race, and gender provide the explanation for much of the inequality seen between the white middle-class girls and Mexican-American working-class girls. Much of this inequality is itself perpetuated within the school system, both by the faculty and students.
Anzaldua grew up in the United States but spoke mostly Spanish, however, her essay discusses how the elements of language began to define her identity and culture. She was living in an English speaking environment, but was not White. She describes the difficulty of straddling the delicate changing language of Chicano Spanish. Chicano Spanish can even differ from state to state; these variations as well as and the whole Chicano language, is considered a lesser form of Spanish, which is where Anzaldua has a problem. The language a person speaks is a part...
Have you ever been turned away or discriminated by another being? Patricia Williams was and she wrote about it in “The Death of the Profane: The Rhetoric of Race and Rights”. Williams was discriminated by an employee at a Benetton in New York because of her skin color. She was told the store was closed at 1:00pm while there were still others in the store. Williams created a poster about her rage and posted outside Benetton when it was truly closed. She attempted to write a story but her race, rage, and the stores name was edited out of her paper. Williams convinced them to put her race back into her story, she then spoke at a convention and talked about her experience at Benetton and the struggles of getting her story published. Williams is
The backlash that Sotomayor experiences because of her decision to apply to and her acceptance into Princeton reveals how most Puerto Ricans experienced forms of racialization, or racial classification, by Caucasian Americans. Sotomayor experiences the culmination of years of racial discrimination and oppression when her school nurse asks with an “accusatory tone” and a “baleful gaze” how she got a “likely” and the “two top-ranking girls in the school only got a ‘possible’” (Sotomayor 102). She expects Sotomayor to experience “shame” under her gaze because he...
America is a presumptuous country; its citizens don’t feel like learning any other language, so they make everyone else learn English. White Americans are the average human being and act as the standard of living, acting, and nearly all aspects of life. In her essay “White Privilege: The Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh talks about how being white has never been discussed as a race/culture before because that identity has been pushed on everyone else, and being white subsequently carries its own set of advantages. Gloria Anzaldua is a Chicana, a person of mixed identities. In an excerpt titled “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” she discusses how the languages she speaks identify who she is in certain situations and how, throughout her life, she has been pushed to speak and act more “American” like.
Anzaldua also refers to herself as a “Chicana” which refers to an American woman of Mexican descent. Chicano, also is an American man of Mexican descent. She says the Chicanos speak Standard English, Working Class and Slang English, Standard Spanish, Standard Mexican Spanish, North Mexican Spanish Dialect, Chicano Spanish, Tex-Mex, and Pachuco. She refers to Chicano Spanish and Tex-Mex to be close to her heart. Everyone can relate to having a certain dialect or slang that says a lot about them or is close to their heart.
In response, a girl questions, “What about Mexico?” suggesting that because of my mexican background I had visited Mexico. All the girls began to giggle and I remember thinking that I could not last an entire week amongst those girls. The hour went by and all I learned about my floor mates was that their school and town offered so much compared to mine. Every conversation started during that first hour was a battle about who was the best. I realized how I did not belong but had to make myself stand out and use my differences to my advantage.
The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria, an essay written by Judith Ortiz Cofer, discusses the racial stereotypes Cofer struggles with as a Latin woman who travels across America. Throughout her life, Cofer discusses her interactions with people who falsely misjudge her as a Latin woman. Additionally, Cofer mentions other Hispanic women she has met in her life, who also suffer with racial assumptions. Although several people would disagree with Cofer and claim that she is taking racial remarks too seriously, racial stereotyping is a significant issue that should not be overlooked in our society. People should not base someone’s worth by their outward appearance or their ethnic background.
many times to tell me the truth, but couldn’t as he felt it was the
I speak to Hispanics; even Latinos in Spanish and they respond
person went on to say that he was Native American but he passes for white, her response was
During the sixth grade, I encountered a critical stage in my life where I denied my heritage by saying that I was American. However, I never told my classmates I was a Latino. I didn't lie about my background or denied my race because everyone assumed that I was either Spanish or Portug...
...dy has a label by personal choice or because others put one on that person, I consider myself a Mexican-American. Once someone starts to think about his or her ethnicity is not an easy task. If the person is not related directly to a specific ethnic group, this person has to actually dig into the past and remember what factors made that person feel part of a specific ethnicity, if any. In my case we can say it was easy to say Mexican-American. However, some others might have a hard time because they have more than two references when it comes to ethnicity.
...d not acting like women. Society is very hard to please, and as Puerto Ricans it is even harder because we are neither one of their states but we also are not independent, so we are somewhat stuck in the middle. Somewhat like Negi, all Hispanics have to come up with their own middle ground. To her the responsibility of doing stuff for her people was more like doing some for your family, such as her mother, cousins, sisters, etc. But for Jamie, that was his people as a whole, all Puerto Ricans. Who is to say that one is right and not the other? Their mentalities are actually closer than what they thought. If you do things to better your Latina family, and everyone does the same, then as a whole we are helping all Latina families get ahead. Is like the saying little by little one can make a difference.
When I was in sixth grade I had a language arts teacher who was a racist. The class population was primarily white, there a few Hispanics, and a few African American