Let's have a polite discussion about cultures & ethnic groups in Mia... (Jacksonville: universities, gated communities)

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Originally Posted by harrymiafl

M*latto & mule have the same root...It is terrible...

The word Hybrid reminds me of mules actually. Mixed is the best.

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by Moderate Guy

I believe that the prevailing definition of persons of color would be non-whites..

That is interesting as I have never consider Hispanics, Arabs, Asians, Indian, etc as a person of color. When I hear that term I think African American. I don't consider a good friend of mine who is Indian a person of color, but my Jamaican friend I do.

[Moderate Guy]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

That is interesting as I have never consider Hispanics, Arabs, Asians, Indian, etc as a person of color. When I hear that term I think African American. I don't consider a good friend of mine who is Indian a person of color, but my Jamaican friend I do.

defineerson of color - Google Search

Hi doggiebus, I've attached a web definition of person of color (sponsored by Google).

It would appear that indeed your Indian friend and your Jamaican friend are classified into that category.

Of course, many in the USA do use the term inaccurately to be inclusive of African Americans only - often we have to look at the context to discern what the speaker or writer means.

[harrycrat]

Theoretically,we can ask a colorist ( sic) -I mean a graphic designer guy,about the bandwidth of the white colour in the Pantone scale...

Grey & brown skinned would be considered persons of colour...

The positive non racist approach to that is to consider it a matter of folklore...

This thread is nice because we actually demythised the "racism " term...

There is hateful behaviour by people who seek an excuse to be mean
& so they use ethnicity/race/colour as a tool for their purpose...

[Thomas Jefferson]

Originally Posted by Rock Newman

This is the first I have heard about animosity between Cubans and Colombians ...... I do know that there seems to be a long standing "rivalry" if not animosity between Puerto Ricans and Cubans ...actually I do not want to start taking shots at Cubans ... but they do not seem to be so well liked by other hispanics .. I am told that it is due to their supposed arrogance , obsession with Castro and preferential treatment from the US government .

Well, I do not like to stereotype about nationalities. But being Cubans and Colombians the largest legal immigrant groups in Miami-Dade, I have always seen a constantly rivalry between them. This is pretty common in communities where two dominant players exist. About Puerto Rican and Cubans, hell, I almost feel in the same culture when I’m surrounded by Puerto Ricans. In my personal opinion, I do not see any animosity between Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Dominicans. But this subject is extremely subjective so it varies from person to person. So, it is a waste of time to argue about it.

And, preferential treatment by the US government? Hell, Cubans are receiving the same preferential treatment as Russians and eastern Europeans when they used to live under Communism. Why do you think that there is a Little Odessa in NY or that Chicago is full of post-WWII polish immigrants? Even better, have you ever been in Minnesota or Michigan? Ask yourself about the rising Muslim population (Iraq, Yemen, Iran) in that part of the country and how do they managed to get legal residence. It is because they go through the same process as all Cubans (Political Asylum). Fair? Well, I could argue that Mexicans are receiving preferential treatment in the US. After all, they form the 75 percent of the immigrant population and the US government does not seem preoccupied in reaching a level of fairness between all the immigrant groups. It’s a complex topic that will always be subjected to some bias; especially in these or in the coming days.

Harryfml, in Latin America the nicknames about physical features are pretty common. The word mulatto as well as the N-word; so politicized here, or whitey (Blanquito) does not have the same connotations that in the US, especially when Latin America is an extremely mixed continent in relation to races; especially Cuba. Is it bad? Hey, I do not see the constantly and unproductive bitching in Latin American about majority, minority, Indians, white non-Hispanics, Hispanics, etc, or all those labels that only work in favor of big businesses (Univision comes to my mind) and the government, and in detriment of each individual or the society in general. I mean, the day a person starts treating itself as “special” because the minority status, it is the day that person accepts to be treated differently in every way, that day in my opinion, that person is totally doomed.

[harrycrat]

However,I believe in retaining the ethnic identity as a symbol,but becoming a real American ,in heart & mind...

For example,if I was a "Latin",I would not abandon the Catholic Church to join some other,but I would be "liberal" in terms of abortion,contraception etc...
I would prefer soccer over ( American ) football but I would vote yes to ballot initiatives for new football stadiums etc...
I would support other ethnic groups' cultures,expecting their support to mine...

However,my home would have only the USA flag,not the flag of my country of origin...

And I would denounce dual citizenship,I would only be a U.S citizen...

In a conflict of interest between USA & my COO(country of origin ),I would side with US,unless there was profound injustice against my COO...

[Michael Di Meo]

I can be civil too.
Even if I hate doing it sometimes.
But, I'll give it a try.
When I moved here, I only knew a couple of people.
I fell rather quickly (matter of weeks) into a circle of Cubans - and now I am very good friends with them. I really love them.
From there I started to meet mostly Colombians, Argentinians, Nicaraguans and Hondurans.
Also some wealthy Mexicans.
Then I met Venezuelans, Hatians and French.
However, my second group of friends are mainly from Colombia.
Of course, I have met people from all over, but these are the main groups.
I even have a couple of extremely good Anglo friends, one from the NE, the other from the west coast.
I would call them my 3rd group of friends.
But, the majority of my time, I spend with Cubans, Mexicans second and Colombians third.
However, we are mixing all of these groups together at parties.
I (being a Latin origin from a European country) do not understand a lot of the stereotypes of Cuban people - especially from Anglos.
The Cuban people I have met have been some of the nicest people in all of my travels.
They can be sophisticated, cosmopolitan, extremely intelligent, open-minded, ambitious, hard-working, you name it you can find it.
The Cuban population is as diverse as the Anglo population.
The ones I have for friends are truly wonderful people, and my interest in Cuba has just skyrocketed. I can visit with my home country passport as long as I pass through another country.

I guess my main question is regarding the Anglo-Americans.
This group is a mystery to me.
My Anglo friends tell me that many Anglos don't feel comfortable here and they are moving out in droves.
However, a poster here says that exodus will slow to a halt.
Are Anglos moving in or moving out?
Net increase or decrease?
I don't think the 2010 census will give a good picture until way into 2012.

[doggiebus]

I just had a neighbor who is anglo just yesterday say to me he wants to leave Miami. I asked him why, he said he was tired of going into stores and all you hear is Spanish, he said a few other things too he was tired of Miami. And he wants to move back to California if that tells you anything. He said Miami isn't Multi Cultural its 60% hispanic and growing. I just ran into an old friend today who is not anglo and he too has had it with Miami and wants to move. I asked him why, and he mentioned the spanish thing too, along and wanting to start a family, he said he wouldn't raise a family here in Miami and he grew up in Miami if that tells you something. He said the last 10-15 years Miami has changed so much and not for the good. From what I have seen its not Anglos alone that stereotype Cubans people from other countries do stereotype Cubans too. What I have learned is usually the people in the minority will have issues with the people in the majority. An example the blacks in the south have had issue with the white majority. So the minority here the white and blacks will have problems with the majority hispanic Miami population.

I will say this, I know many anglos that have left Miami already, and many that would love to leave but haven't yet. But just the same I know a few non anglos that want to leave Miami too. Are anglo numbers going to continue to decrease or increase. I probably would lean to a decrease, just for the fact many anglos that are still here are older and they will probably die here. Many of the anglos I grew up with didn't return to Miami after college, and will never return.

[harrycrat]

Maybe there is a thin line which separates "ethnic ego " from racist -type reactions...

It is normal for everyone to communicate best with his "own kind of people "...

Maybe many anglos face middle-age crisis or economic dead end & they slide into "ethnic confrontation ...
The interesting hypothesis is this..
If those specific acquaintances of doggiebus won 1m in lottery,or nailed a premium job"in Mia,would they still get annoyed by spanish speaking ? Where would they go ? Only rural new England is (still) blanket white...in people & ...by snow...

To paraphrase a greek poet "If u carry misery inside u,u will feel miserable all over the world"...

[crisp444]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

That is interesting as I have never consider Hispanics, Arabs, Asians, Indian, etc as a person of color. When I hear that term I think African American. I don't consider a good friend of mine who is Indian a person of color, but my Jamaican friend I do.

Honestly, when the term "colored," "person of color," or "minority" arises, I think of blacks as well. It is only very recently that the media have begun to label dark-skinned Latinos, Indians, East Asians, etc. as "persons of color." Additionally, I honestly do not think that the proponents of affirmative action in the 1970's (when it began to be widely practiced) intended it to benefit all of these non-white immigrant groups. The policies may have referred to "colored" people, but they almost certainly were referring to blacks.