Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New York > New York City
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-14-2008, 05:33 PM
 
3,368 posts, read 11,649,084 times
Reputation: 1701

Advertisements

JAA2310: it's true that some non-Latin people think of Latins as one solid ethnoculturalgroup in their minds. However, distinctions ARE drawn on the lines of race and class. I doubt that the average person would think that a well-off Argentinean person of 100% European descent living in the UES was "the same" as a brown Salvadoran day laborer of indigenous descent living in the Bronx. People - and I would venture to say the majority of both Hispanic AND non-Hispanic people - know better than this. Some differences are so strikingly obvious that even people with no familiarity with Hispanic culture whatsoever will notice them.

With that said, I am going to have to agree to an extent with the following Guywithacause-esque idea: that people not from this city have no idea what the difference between an inner city Dominican and an inner city Puerto Rican is. Two groups, lots of racial, cultural, economic similarities, living in the same (well, lots of the same) neighborhoods in the city... the extent of the differences sometimes isn't even clear even to me, and I AM a person who pays attention to these things!

With that said, will we ever have a situation of "Latinos Unidos" in this country? Probably eventually but not anytime in the near future is my guess. The Latin culture is a beautiful thing; it encompasses affection, warmth, generosity, diversity, emotion, creativity, and expression. Music puts this out there. However, in a way, music is fantasy. A performer may be singing a salsa or merengue song and say something like "¿Dónde están mis latiiiiinoooooos?" to include everyone and make everyone feel united with the music, but the reality is that these singers aren't chillin with the Dominican homeboys up to no good in SuperMario's hood. Hell, the Mexicans in the audience probably aren't doing so either! It's a nice feeling to feel united, but for the sake of preserving our own cultural identities - AND for the sake of saving face when people start to trash talk - we choose to resist a total unification. I think it's petty to hate someone because of their nationality/ethnicity (like PR's hating Dominicans, etc.) but when your group has a relatively GOOD reputation (like Argentinians, Colombians, Cubans, Italians) you do not want to be told that you're one and the same with the Latins in the hood. There are plenty of good people from every nationality/ethnicity, but there are so many bad apples out there that neither myself nor many other people want to be associated with them just by virtue of being Latin.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-14-2008, 09:03 PM
 
537 posts, read 455,227 times
Reputation: 95
Crisp444: I believe your comments are pretty well on the mark. I agree that most clear-thinking people should be able to see the distinction in your example between the Argentinian and the Salvadoran. I remember from previous threads that some "white" Latinos have even passed for white (many will say, "that's because they are white").

Then, again, it oftentimes comes down to the language. There is still that contigency of non-latino Americans that only hear Spanish. One time I was speaking with a friend in Spanish and I had mentioned Puerto Rico in my conversation. Right at that time we passed by an older white man. He immediately (mockingly) said, "Oh...Puerto Rico!!" (trying to say it with some attempt at a Spanish accent). He was smiling. Then with a snarl he yelled "GO BACK".

I haven't yet met any Latin people (who speak Spanish) with whom I was unable to establish some type of rapport. I stand behind your comment about the "affection, warmth, generosity, diversity, creativity, and expression" which tends to characterize Latino culture.

Yes, I do believe there is very positive common ground, and I also believe there should be. But I also concur with you that we do not wish to be identified with latinos who are "up to no good" ( nor with anyone else, for that matter, who is up to no good....there are plenty of whites, blacks, and others who can fit that bill). It's pretty much the same in any community, I would imagine. I know African-American people who will not support other black wrong-doers, just to be loyal to their race. Rgiht is right and wrong is wrong. The laws are the same for all of us.

Some of the sweetnes of Latino culture constitutes much of what draws us together. But, unfortunately, this is far from a perfect world. There is a lot of 'bad' to contend with, as well.

Guywithacause has correctly referred to socioeconomic factors that often override racial and ethnic considerations. But, sad to say, bigotry is also alive and well in our society. I don't think it's going to leave us anytime soon.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:



Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New York > New York City
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top