Ask me questions about being a Latina woman...

[Xteenmachine]

how do you respond when coworkers say racist things?

[yo soy el mejor]

Originally Posted by Skradgee

As a latina woman, how do you feel about postcards?

Did you get the one I sent back? I'm guessing 'no' if you don't live in Texas anymore.

nathan, is that you?

[yo soy el mejor]

Originally Posted by Xteenmachine

how do you respond when coworkers say racist things?

i've really only had to deal with this from one person at work - a security guard named Walter. i liked him well enough and we'd chop it up and one day he started saying mess about black people. now, i do work in a crime ridden neighborhood and they make up a high high majority and awful shit does happen from time to time. just last week there was a car chase and the guys crash into another car parked on the front curb. two guys got out, jumped our fence, and there were police everywhere. we were on lockdown, but luckily it ended just before 5.

but there is no need for his comments like that. at first i would just end the conversation by subtly becoming disinterested. i still liked the guy, though, and now that we're better buds i just say that's mean and/or you're an asshole. he hasn't done it in a while, though, so maybe he's stopped for good around me.

[Trotskilicious]

My question was bad

[yo soy el mejor]

kind of.

[Trotskilicious]

Why?

[yo soy el mejor]

too open-ended. what do they mean to me?

all i can say is i don't mind the term Latina. or Mexican obviously since I'm Mexican and all.

I absolutely hate the word Hispanic. for a large segment of the population, Latino connotes ethnic pride and Hispanic borders on the offensive. i don't think you would quite understand unless you were Latino yourself - no offense! and it's not easy for me to explain.

you can read this if you'd like:
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/15/we...-a-latino.html

[yo soy el mejor]

btw, thanks D. and Erica.

[Trotskilicious]

no offense taken, the fact that i don't understand is exactly why i ask. I have a friend who hates being defined as "latino" and demands to be considered Mexican. I have a friend who would prefer if you just called him American. Americo Parades wrote in George Washington Gomez that "Mexican" sounded like an ethnic slur when white people said it, the way they pronounce the x. That always stuck with me. Hispanic doesn't make any sense to me because to the best of my knowledge it's derived from Hispanola, half of which is Haiti. I was not aware that people considered it offensive.

The terms that are self applied and appled to ethnic culture is interesting to me, and I hope the question did not offend.

[Trotskilicious]

i don't like when people consider me wasp or anglo...because technically anglos are the english. the irish were the first indigenous ethnic group to be captured and oppressed by the English, and ultimately that's why my forbears ended up in america

granted, in america we had color race war going so the irish were eventually assimilated into white america because they needed help against black people or whatever and irish americans are RACIST as all fuck too but i always get prickly when someone refers to me as an Anglo. most of the rest of me is french which is also not anglo (but definitely oppressors and not the oppressed).

it's strange as an irish american when people start talking about oppressor/oppressed because our heritage is both. the irish were oppressed by the english for 400 years before they could even seek out the new world. then once they got there americans treated them like some kind of sub human race. eventually though they were assimilated into "whiteness" almost like sellouts to any oppressed minority, but this is true of all the unwanted european ethnic immigrants the polish, the slavs, the italians...and in terms of the irish, italians and polish ethnic slurs, jokes and stereotypes exist to this day. think of how many stereotypes and slurs there are for anglos. There aren't any teams called the Fightin English. We don't celebrate St. George's Day by wearing red and getting shitfaced. Also note that the three disparaged white ethnic groups i mentioned are catholics. the other white ethnicity mocked the most is the french, who are catholics. it's interesting...

i'm only like three generations american. most of my irish family came over during the war of independence which was in the 1910s or so. so great gran da was from cork, etc. i know mexican americans who go further back in texas than my family does in america.

/drunk

[Elphenor]

That's interesting. Never really thought about that stuff...

St. Patrick's day should actually be pretty offensive the way we celebrate it.

[Trotskilicious]

it would be, but ultimately in america i am for all intents and purposes a white anglo saxon male

[Kahlo]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

the irish were the first indigenous ethnic group to be captured and oppressed by the English, and ultimately that's why my forbears ended up in america

/drunk

ORLY? I think you could just say Celts in general, although to be fair lowland Scots did much of the oppressin'

[Trotskilicious]

scots got an act of union out of the bastards you know, they didn't have all their land stolen and given to...well, resettled scots...

[Trotskilicious]

Because of mel gibson

[Trotskilicious]

I know what the battle of the boyne is, i know what it means. even i'm a little insulted they route the parade through irish/celtic/catholic neighborhoods

[null123]

Irish American is an irrelevant political category in 2014. Pretty much every group has oppressed and been oppressed so why would anyone get upset when it's not relevant to the current situation. No one is thinking about the particulars of european ethnography when they say anglo in that context. O and I don't have english blood either

[Trotskilicious]

i don't really get upset, but i'm not anglo

[Trotskilicious]

anglos and germans run this country, that's kinda why you can say it 's not a "relevant political category" but lets be honest, what are the names that mostly make up the power core?

[Kahlo]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

I know what the battle of the boyne is, i know what it means. even i'm a little insulted they route the parade through irish/celtic/catholic neighborhoods

they march through the street I live on, and I live in Scotland. Dicks.

Also the Act of Union was made by Aristocrats and landowners, ordinary Scots didn't have a say. These same landowners then kicked the scots off their land in favour in sheep. Only 2 weeks until we see if we get to break away from this mess.

Anyway, back to Latina matters!

[Trotskilicious]

but, but mel gibson

[null123]

Nobody wants to be English cause it's just not cute

[Trotskilicious]

what about that cumberbatch guy

[Cool As Ice Cream]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

but, but mel gibson

!!!

[Trotskilicious]

ach, for freedom!

[Kahlo]

Originally Posted by Cool As Ice Cream

!!!

I will hunt you down Trots. Also The Irish Potato famine also fucked up the Scottish Highlands and Islands. True facts.

[Trotskilicious]

i don't know fucking anything about Scotland, it's kind of embarrassing. to be honest i didn't even really realize how profoundly little knowledge i have about scotland until right now

the famine in the islands and the highlands makes total sense, potatoes grow great out there! and everyone's poor the aristocrats are like FUCK EM LOL

[mxzombie]

here's my understanding of the hispanic/latino divide

hispanic refers to spain and encompasses spanish-speaking nations around the world and can conceivably carry colonial undertones. latino refers to those of latin american origin, regardless of cultural/linguistic heritage (e.g. brazil counts). beyond that many people prefer to go by their nationality.

[hnibos]

I never considered it derogatory. I actually felt it was more "formal" than latino. Ignorance on my part I guess.

[mxzombie]

i didn't realize it could be offensive until ****** told me a couple of years ago.

my dad always had an issue with the USA having a monopoly on the term "american" because he feels that all of the people of the americas are american. i get it, but what to do when the official demonym is "American"? too bad english doesn't have a more direct equivalent to "estadounidense"