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Why are Mexicans generally not considered white in the U.S.?
I'm going to give an "outsider" perspective (I'm black American, about as dark as LeBron James in complexion).
Irish people weren't considered white when they arrived in the states. That's about as white as you can get and yet they were "other." Our British roots as a nation are strong and it has informed much of how we view different groups of people. 'White' in the U.S.-sense is not purely about skin color. It's a combination of skin color and shared culture.
Many Irish folks that came over during the potato famine were Catholics with different cultural traditions than the existing WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestant) population. I feel like Mexicans fall into the same bucket. You 'look' white but are not really considered WHITE...not yet anyway.
On top of that, the Irish are mostly all-pale skinned though hair and eye color vary quite a bit....from "black Irish" with dark/black hair to those that look like Vikings with high cheekbones and bright red/blonde hair. Mexicans vary considerably in terms of skin color...much more than the Irish. The most visible/rich/famous/powerful Mexicans we see in movies and TV (especially Spanish language TV) are uniformly pale and white but that's not really representative of the population as a whole.
Imagine if 90% of U.S. media showed 6'5" black people that look like Samuel L. Jackson. There are a decent number of Americans that fit this profile but the vast majority of Americans look nothing like that and our media reflects this. If I knew nothing about Mexico and only watched Spanish-language TV, I'd assume everyone was Irish, possibly Turkish or Iranian speaking Spanish. The average American doesn't see many truly white Mexicans in their day-to-day life......if they even see Mexicans at all.
I live in Texas and see the whole spectrum. Many Mexican Americans, I didn't even know they were of Mexican descent until they mentioned their last name or talked about their family. People (probably) just assume white Mexicans are Greek, Italian etc.
Not only Irish were treated as dirt, also Italians, Poles, Catholic Germans. Many took refuge in Mexico. Chinese took refuge in Cuba and Creoles in Mexico.
Not only Irish were treated as dirt, also Italians, Poles, Catholic Germans. Many took refuge in Mexico. Chinese took refuge in Cuba and Creoles in Mexico.
This is true the US in general has treated every large immigrant group like crap and now people complain they don't have enough immigrants from Europe the truth is if they came in large numbers live previous waves or like Mexicans and Central Americans they would again treat those Italians, Poles, Germans etc like crap again. It's the American way treat them like crap to force them to "assimilate".
Why are Mexicans generally not considered white in the U.S.?
I'm going to give an "outsider" perspective (I'm black American, about as dark as LeBron James in complexion).
Irish people weren't considered white when they arrived in the states. That's about as white as you can get and yet they were "other." Our British roots as a nation are strong and it has informed much of how we view different groups of people. 'White' in the U.S.-sense is not purely about skin color. It's a combination of skin color and shared culture.
Many Irish folks that came over during the potato famine were Catholics with different cultural traditions than the existing WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestant) population. I feel like Mexicans fall into the same bucket. You 'look' white but are not really considered WHITE...not yet anyway.
On top of that, the Irish are mostly all-pale skinned though hair and eye color vary quite a bit....from "black Irish" with dark/black hair to those that look like Vikings with high cheekbones and bright red/blonde hair. Mexicans vary considerably in terms of skin color...much more than the Irish. The most visible/rich/famous/powerful Mexicans we see in movies and TV (especially Spanish language TV) are uniformly pale and white but that's not really representative of the population as a whole.
Imagine if 90% of U.S. media showed 6'5" black people that look like Samuel L. Jackson. There are a decent number of Americans that fit this profile but the vast majority of Americans look nothing like that and our media reflects this. If I knew nothing about Mexico and only watched Spanish-language TV, I'd assume everyone was Irish, possibly Turkish or Iranian speaking Spanish. The average American doesn't see many truly white Mexicans in their day-to-day life......if they even see Mexicans at all.
I live in Texas and see the whole spectrum. Many Mexican Americans, I didn't even know they were of Mexican descent until they mentioned their last name or talked about their family. People (probably) just assume white Mexicans are Greek, Italian etc.
The case of Irish, Greeks, Italians and even Germans and Scandinavians being once considered as outsiders to the "White race" is often brought up to draw a comparison with Mexicans and Central Americans. Giving credit to it is very tempting. However a closer look will probably challenge the aforementioned statement prediction power.
I agree, for long, being "White" in the US really meant being of British extraction. The American society had hijacked the racial (i.e. phenotype) term and narrowed it to serve and flatter its nationalistic sentiment. Greeks, Italians, Irish, Germans had always regarded as White in Europe were suddenly downgraded as they cross the Ocean. It took some time, but those non-British Europeans racial identity was progressively restored.
Mexicans aren't considered white because the vast majority of them aren't, and unless they find a way to change their phenotype, it will keep on being that way. Sure, some are but they are a small minority. Note that it's not just a "racist white american" thing. In Europe, Mexicans aren't considered any Whiter.
I don't believe time is a factor either. Mexicans have immigrated to the US for a long time, and their status hasn't change. Look at the Chinese. They were not welcome. For a while they were mocked, ridiculed, worked menial jobs, suffered harsh treatment and discrimination. For generations they emphasized education, entrepreneurship and hard work. Nowadays they are one of the most successful communities in the US. They didn't care nor need to be considered as "White" to achieve all that. Being administratively considered "White", or passing as 'White" will not fix Mexican-Americans problem such as teenage pregnancies, high school dropouts, gangs and violence.
Why are Mexicans generally not considered white in the U.S.?
I'm going to give an "outsider" perspective (I'm black American, about as dark as LeBron James in complexion).
Irish people weren't considered white when they arrived in the states. That's about as white as you can get and yet they were "other." Our British roots as a nation are strong and it has informed much of how we view different groups of people. 'White' in the U.S.-sense is not purely about skin color. It's a combination of skin color and shared culture.
Many Irish folks that came over during the potato famine were Catholics with different cultural traditions than the existing WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestant) population. I feel like Mexicans fall into the same bucket. You 'look' white but are not really considered WHITE...not yet anyway.
On top of that, the Irish are mostly all-pale skinned though hair and eye color vary quite a bit....from "black Irish" with dark/black hair to those that look like Vikings with high cheekbones and bright red/blonde hair. Mexicans vary considerably in terms of skin color...much more than the Irish. The most visible/rich/famous/powerful Mexicans we see in movies and TV (especially Spanish language TV) are uniformly pale and white but that's not really representative of the population as a whole.
Imagine if 90% of U.S. media showed 6'5" black people that look like Samuel L. Jackson. There are a decent number of Americans that fit this profile but the vast majority of Americans look nothing like that and our media reflects this. If I knew nothing about Mexico and only watched Spanish-language TV, I'd assume everyone was Irish, possibly Turkish or Iranian speaking Spanish. The average American doesn't see many truly white Mexicans in their day-to-day life......if they even see Mexicans at all.
I live in Texas and see the whole spectrum. Many Mexican Americans, I didn't even know they were of Mexican descent until they mentioned their last name or talked about their family. People (probably) just assume white Mexicans are Greek, Italian etc.
This idea of "Hispanics" not being consider White is just a reflection of ignorance by the average US citizen. I am not saying everyone in the US is ignorant in this regard, but many are and I don't blame them. They simply lack the knowledge of the history and culture of their southern neighbor.
Crazy to think that at one point the Irish, Italians and even the Germans were not consider White, since this people are racially speaking White. Once again, this is a matter of ignorance relating to foreign ethnicities and cultures.
Why are Mexicans generally not considered white in the U.S.?
I'm going to give an "outsider" perspective (I'm black American, about as dark as LeBron James in complexion).
Irish people weren't considered white when they arrived in the states. That's about as white as you can get and yet they were "other." Our British roots as a nation are strong and it has informed much of how we view different groups of people. 'White' in the U.S.-sense is not purely about skin color. It's a combination of skin color and shared culture.
Many Irish folks that came over during the potato famine were Catholics with different cultural traditions than the existing WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestant) population. I feel like Mexicans fall into the same bucket. You 'look' white but are not really considered WHITE...not yet anyway.
On top of that, the Irish are mostly all-pale skinned though hair and eye color vary quite a bit....from "black Irish" with dark/black hair to those that look like Vikings with high cheekbones and bright red/blonde hair. Mexicans vary considerably in terms of skin color...much more than the Irish. The most visible/rich/famous/powerful Mexicans we see in movies and TV (especially Spanish language TV) are uniformly pale and white but that's not really representative of the population as a whole.
Imagine if 90% of U.S. media showed 6'5" black people that look like Samuel L. Jackson. There are a decent number of Americans that fit this profile but the vast majority of Americans look nothing like that and our media reflects this. If I knew nothing about Mexico and only watched Spanish-language TV, I'd assume everyone was Irish, possibly Turkish or Iranian speaking Spanish. The average American doesn't see many truly white Mexicans in their day-to-day life......if they even see Mexicans at all.
I live in Texas and see the whole spectrum. Many Mexican Americans, I didn't even know they were of Mexican descent until they mentioned their last name or talked about their family. People (probably) just assume white Mexicans are Greek, Italian etc.
SPAIN is in Europe and of course they are white, unless you count recent immigrants. Ditto Portugal. Many Latin Americans are Native or Black or some mixture, but you do have outright WHITE Latin Americans.
Spain is a Latin language, and the Iberian Peninsula was the Roman provincia Hispania!
This idea of "Hispanics" not being consider White is just a reflection of ignorance by the average US citizen. I am not saying everyone in the US is ignorant in this regard, but many are and I don't blame them. They simply lack the knowledge of the history and culture of their southern neighbor.
Crazy to think that at one point the Irish, Italians and even the Germans were not consider White, since this people are racially speaking White. Once again, this is a matter of ignorance relating to foreign ethnicities and cultures.
The majority of Latin American immigrants to the US have substantial Native and/or African ancestry.
They are not considered white in Spain or in Europe because they are not white and actually look distinct. Unless you are talking about Latin American immigrants who are actually white, and yes of course they exist.
Meanwhile it's much harder to tell the difference between people from different European nations.
Irish, Germans, and Italian immigrants often changed their names and once they lost the accents it was pretty easy to ASSIMILATE in ways that non white immigrants could not.
I know an acquaintance that moved from Argentina to the Orlando area of Florida. According to her, she has a problem letting many people know that she is white, because she was born and raised in Argentina. Once they hear where she is from, suddenly her "whiteness" is suspect. Lol Her parents moved to Argentina from the Ukraine and before that every generation that she knows about has been in the Ukraine area. How much whiter does she needs to be? I bet she is whiter than many people that put her whiteness in question. Lol
Well, at least her lineage is becoming less white since she married a non-white husband (mixed guy with significant Spanish ancestry in him judging by how he looks, but non-white none the less) and has two kids that don't look white though they too have significant European ancestry based on their looks.
I know an acquaintance that moved from Argentina to the Orlando area of Florida. According to her, she has a problem letting many people know that she is white, because she was born and raised in Argentina. Once they hear where she is from, suddenly her "whiteness" is suspect. Lol Her parents moved to Argentina from the Ukraine and before that every generation that she knows about has been in the Ukraine area. How much whiter does she needs to be? I bet she is whiter than many people that put her whiteness in question. Lol
Well, at least her lineage is becoming less white since she married a non-white husband (mixed guy with significant Spanish ancestry in him judging by how he looks, but non-white none the less) and has two kids that don't look white though they too have significant European ancestry based on their looks.
These days everyone is wherever. There are Black Germans. There are White Kenyans. There are Pakistani Spaniards. There are Iranian Italian.
Being a citizen of a country has nothing to do with race.
Lots of people with parents or grandparents from wherever in Europe are in South America. Or Mexico for that matter. The percentage varies from nation to nation with some nations it's a small part of the population and other nations its a large part.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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Most immigrants to the USA from Latin America are economically disadvantaged where they live and that has a strong correlation to race. Economic elites there tend to be the most European with the least non European ancestry. So our Latinos do tend to be more Native and sometimes African than the total population there is.
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