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For a people who love to use the term "negrito" (though dont seem to use "blanquito") Latins seem way more obsessed with skin color. Do Americans normally address each other with explicitly race based terms routinely?
And even though racism is the "elephant in the room" in the USA, not every interaction between blacks and whites is framed around race. Having lived here for almost 40 years I have seen the improvements.
For a people who love to use the term "negrito" (though dont seem to use "blanquito") Latins seem way more obsessed with skin color. Do Americans normally address each other with explicitly race based terms routinely?
Here we go again with the narrow minded Anglo-perspective.
Language is different in Spanish and the connotations especially are totally different! From Spain to Latin America the Spanish language is far more descriptor based, skin colour is just one of the many descriptors.
Gordo (Fat), Canoso (Grey), Sarca (Green-Eyed), Mueco (missing tooth), Pecoso (freckly, usu. Ginger), Calvo (baldy), culi-cagado (dudu-ass i.e. small kid), loong etc.
These ard frequently used in innoffensive interactions and as terms of endearment. Try calling someone fatty or baldy in Englih and see how that goes for you.
Blanquita is used, not as much as negrita but guerita that comes from 'sick pale person' and mona is frequently used. Your premise and the agenda you pedal is from your own myopic, mono-linguistic world.
Here we go again with the narrow minded Anglo-perspective.
Language is different in Spanish and the connotations especially are totally different! From Spain to Latin America the Spanish language is far more descriptor based, skin colour is just one of the many descriptors.
Gordo (Fat), Canoso (Grey), Sarca (Green-Eyed), Mueco (missing tooth), Pecoso (freckly, usu. Ginger), Calvo (baldy), culi-cagado (dudu-ass i.e. small kid), loong etc.
These ard frequently used in innoffensive interactions and as terms of endearment. Try calling someone fatty or baldy in Englih and see how that goes for you.
Blanquita is used, not as much as negrita but guerita that comes from 'sick pale person' and mona is frequently used. Your premise and the agenda you pedal is from your own myopic, mono-linguistic world.
The above is a narrow-minded perspective of other cultures as well. If I remember that poster’s background correctly, he does not simply come from Anglo culture and, if you have such a need to classify it that way based on the main language, then you are uninformed about Anglo cultures. He comes from one of the most uniquely diverse cultures in the world, where there are 5 other significant languages, and 10 other Amerindian ones.
Similar characteristics exist in his culture as well. Across the Caribbean/West Indies are similar “inoffensive interactions” and “terms of endearment.” Terms like “fatty” and “baldy” in English are normal in Caribbean/West Indian cultures. So what are you talking about?
Regardless, that doesn’t mean he isn’t entitled to his opinion about such descriptors. That is his opinion when comparing Americans and Latinos.
Last edited by ReineDeCoeur; 12-06-2019 at 03:59 AM..
I think it´s natural for Latin Americans to look at the Anglo-American take on race and race relations as challenging and confusing...and vice versa.
The "elephant in the room" analogy is a good one I think to describe what goes on in the United States. I think one of the biggest mistakes many North Americans make is "forcing" mixed race people to identify with one race or another, typically mulatto people in the U.S. have to identify as black...whereas identifying as black in Colombia means you´re probably 100% African and could pass for Congolese, Nigerian, etc if you didn´t open your mouth.
Having lived in both places, I can say that racism is alive and well in both...but that many people in both places often could care less about your race and don´t let it get in the way of personal or professional relationships.
What bothers me about Latin racism is just a general glorification of whiteness...my wife is triracial and always uses filters on her cameraphone to make her skin look lighter than it really is, it never fails. North Americans of course are often known for going great lengths for political correctness, so a lot of the language used here in regards to race just seems completely tone-deaf to me. One of my friends here posted a meme on social media that said (in Spanish of course) "I say no to racism. Share if you have a black friend, and you don´t care who knows it." Instant face-palm for me when I read it.
It is what it is. We look at the same issue through different lenses.
The above is a narrow-minded perspective of other cultures as well. If I remember that poster’s background correctly, he does not simply come from Anglo culture and, if you have such a need to classify it that way based on the main language, then you are uninformed about Anglo cultures. He comes from one of the most uniquely diverse cultures in the world, where there are 5 other significant languages, and 10 other Amerindian ones.
Similar characteristics exist in his culture as well. Across the Caribbean/West Indies are similar “inoffensive interactions” and “terms of endearment.” Terms like “fatty” and “baldy” in English are normal in Caribbean/West Indian cultures. So what are you talking about?
Regardless, that doesn’t mean he isn’t entitled to his opinion about such descriptors. That is his opinion when comparing Americans and Latinos.
He is entitled, but his posts are rude and he has an aggressive communication style. Rudeness is generally looked at with disdain in some cultures and returned in kind when someone is thought deserving of it. It's really not hard to figure out that he is intentionally trying to provoke with some of his comments and would never dare say some of that in person.
I think it´s natural for Latin Americans to look at the Anglo-American take on race and race relations as challenging and confusing...and vice versa.
The "elephant in the room" analogy is a good one I think to describe what goes on in the United States. I think one of the biggest mistakes many North Americans make is "forcing" mixed race people to identify with one race or another, typically mulatto people in the U.S. have to identify as black...whereas identifying as black in Colombia means you´re probably 100% African and could pass for Congolese, Nigerian, etc if you didn´t open your mouth.
Having lived in both places, I can say that racism is alive and well in both...but that many people in both places often could care less about your race and don´t let it get in the way of personal or professional relationships.
What bothers me about Latin racism is just a general glorification of whiteness...my wife is triracial and always uses filters on her cameraphone to make her skin look lighter than it really is, it never fails. North Americans of course are often known for going great lengths for political correctness, so a lot of the language used here in regards to race just seems completely tone-deaf to me. One of my friends here posted a meme on social media that said (in Spanish of course) "I say no to racism. Share if you have a black friend, and you don´t care who knows it." Instant face-palm for me when I read it.
It is what it is. We look at the same issue through different lenses.
That right there is offensive. What does a 100% African look like? Never mind BEFORE the Europeans came you had an Arab presence in what is now called Northern Nigeria. The language spoken there, Hausa belongs to the Afro Asiatic group of languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, etc. Ethiopians are part Middle Eastern and many have at least some Caucasian features and you will find Africans like this across the Sahel, where the deserts meet the savannahs and the woodlands.
You cannot necessarily look at someone and tell they are an African.
Lastly people on City Data are WEIRD. No one actually goes around calling people MULATTO in real life contemporary America. It's an archaic term.
The term was used in the United States in the 1800s. Some of my ancestors were classified as mulatto. Big deal.
No one would refer to themselves as MULATTO. It more or less means mule (offspring of horse and donkey) and that in and of itself has some pretty nasty and offensive connotations.
Here we go again with the narrow minded Anglo-perspective.
Language is different in Spanish and the connotations especially are totally different! From Spain to Latin America the Spanish language is far more descriptor based, skin colour is just one of the many descriptors.
Gordo (Fat), Canoso (Grey), Sarca (Green-Eyed), Mueco (missing tooth), Pecoso (freckly, usu. Ginger), Calvo (baldy), culi-cagado (dudu-ass i.e. small kid), loong etc.
These ard frequently used in innoffensive interactions and as terms of endearment. Try calling someone fatty or baldy in Englih and see how that goes for you.
Blanquita is used, not as much as negrita but guerita that comes from 'sick pale person' and mona is frequently used. Your premise and the agenda you pedal is from your own myopic, mono-linguistic world.
Interestingly I never hear people call by these terms in Spain. They basically call people by their name or nicknames.
No one would call someone negrito here. They may refer to someone as negro or moreno as a descriptor, but they call people by their names, just as anyone else. Ditto Portugal. It would be seen as offensive and people would speak out against it. You do have activists and NGOs who fight on the behalf of immigrants.
Personally I have a name and if someone calls me something, it should be by my name. I know what I look like.
And I'm not monolingual either. The people you're referring to need better education.
If anything calling someone say "gordo" could be extremely upsetting to someone who has weird issues, ditto some of the other terms.
He is entitled, but his posts are rude and he has an aggressive communication style. Rudeness is generally looked at with disdain in some cultures and returned in kind when someone is thought deserving of it. It's really not hard to figure out that he is intentionally trying to provoke with some of his comments and would never dare say some of that in person.
That right there is offensive. What does a 100% African look like? Never mind BEFORE the Europeans came you had an Arab presence in what is now called Northern Nigeria. The language spoken there, Hausa belongs to the Afro Asiatic group of languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, etc. Ethiopians are part Middle Eastern and many have at least some Caucasian features and you will find Africans like this across the Sahel, where the deserts meet the savannahs and the woodlands.
You cannot necessarily look at someone and tell they are an African.
Lastly people on City Data are WEIRD. No one actually goes around calling people MULATTO in real life contemporary America. It's an archaic term.
The term was used in the United States in the 1800s. Some of my ancestors were classified as mulatto. Big deal.
No one would refer to themselves as MULATTO. It more or less means mule (offspring of horse and donkey) and that in and of itself has some pretty nasty and offensive connotations.
Fair enough...I'm not going to respond/debate most of that. Remember I'm from South Louisiana where the French left large communties of mixed race people...they're usually called Creole or Mulatto. I've lived in too many places and had to adapt to so many different sets of norms and expectations now to care that much about terminology, sorry if you think I'm weird and some words I use are outdated.
On another note...I did not know the origins of the word "mulatto", that actually does make me think twice about using it.
Last edited by aab7855; 12-15-2019 at 04:07 PM..
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