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The United States was an offshoot of England,
just like Mexico and most of South/Central America are an offshoot of Spain.
Mexico and the other countries are considered "Hispanic". People from there are considered Hispanic or Latino, no matter what their race.
When people think of the United States, they usually think of white people as being the main population, just like a lot of people only consider the mestizo population of Mexico. So the stereotyped American is the anglo.
So it's mostly an umbrella term for the white people in America.
What's the big deal about this anyways?
It seems like making a big deal about nothing. Shrug it off as an umbrella term for the established white population in the United States.
Us Americans get offended by the smallest, pettiest things. Mexican culture is more open to nicknames without getting all offended. You always see them calling each other Gorda, Flakita, Feita, etc. Try that in the U.S.
Why? Because you said so? Oh, okay.
Your opinions amount to nothing more than your opinions. Thanks for sharing them. I am glad not everyone takes issue with ignorant monikers - but just because you don't, doesn't mean that we all have to follow suit.
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Last edited by Keeper; 12-03-2008 at 07:52 PM..
Reason: off topic
Your opinions amount to nothing more than your opinions. Thanks for sharing them. I am glad not everyone takes issue with ignorant monikers - but just because you don't, doesn't mean that we all have to follow suit.
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It was a suggestion.
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Last edited by Keeper; 12-03-2008 at 07:55 PM..
Reason: edited quote/comment
The problem with this is that less than half of people in the United States are of "Anglo" origin. If it is used in a cultural sense - in that the United States is an "Anglo" country - then millions of Italians, Eastern European Jews, Russians, Greeks, Middle Easterners, and Hispanics that are born and raised in the United States would have to be labeled "Anglo" as well. I have a feeling that this would not go over well.
If you want to refer to Americans as a group, just say "American." I have honestly noticed that most Mexicans refer to Americans as "estadounidenses" or "americanos" anyway (which is accurate and doesn't present any problems) and that "Anglo" is more of a term that Mexican-Americans use to describe non-Hispanic white people (and of course, this use of incorrect when applied to non-Hispanic whites as a group).
It is a delight to see that there are people who are capable of contributing circumspect posts with meaningful and well thought out points of view. Tried to rep you but I have to spread it around first.
I wouldn't know what "anglo" culture looks like, I've never been to England but I would guess it's no longer in existence because the anglos were just some old tribe of people found in Europe.
It looks like Norman Rockwell paintings -- you know -- back in the bad-old-days when we were "racist" because we didn't have wonderful programs such as chain migration to enrich us with all the benefits of "diversity".
If it is used in a cultural sense - in that the United States is an "Anglo" country - then millions of Italians, Eastern European Jews, Russians, Greeks, Middle Easterners, and Hispanics that are born and raised in the United States would have to be labeled "Anglo" as well. I have a feeling that this would not go over well.
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Exactly, which again points out the futility of relying on these terms in the first place. Your example is a good one, and no, it probably wouldn't go over too well....just as the millions of Italians, Eastern European Jews, Russians, Greeks, Middle Easterners, Germans, and British who make up the modern population of Argentina may not conveniently fit into the label of "Hispanic"...yet, under the 'system', that's what we call them...at least by official US Government practice.
'Anglo", "Hispanic", etc, are terms of convenience...simplistic, inadequate, and most of the time, not very accurate.
Excuse my ignorance but when I am in Mexico or even here with my family I do say..."Los Americanos".
But when around friends and we are all Americans, whether Asian, African American, etc., what would be the appropriate term without offending white people, if we are all Americans?
If everyone is American -- then why worry about race at all?
I don't call my Spanish surnamed friends anything but American especially if they're roots are deep in the USA, and they may speak English and speak no Spanish at all.
I know of people with some kind of Latin American or Spanish ancestry that are blue eyed blond and fair skinned which makes them Caucasian. They speak fluent English and always have. And if they're brunette and like that they may still be Caucasian -- every bit as much with mixed German-French or mixed Scot-Swede ancestry so I don't see the point in making any distinction. Or like an English professor I once had spoke beautiful English, even studied in London but was dark complexion and had a Spanish sur-name but didn't speak Spanish, maybe his dark hair and skin came from Mexican Indians, or maybe from Spanish Moors, or maybe something else -- I never knew but he was American.
One of my "Chicano" friends (that's how they called themselves) grew up in the Midwest USA and tried to learn Spanish, even went so far as to study in Mexico and for the life of him he couldn't learn much at all. He has the worst American accent you could imagine when he tries to speak Spanish -- "Key air row cam proar nah ran zjhas" (quiero comprar naranjas) --- yet he has the black hair and eyes, the dark skin of his Mexican ancestors, and a last name he cannot pronounce how it would be pronounced in Mexico. That's about it though.
A daughter of a friend of mine married an English man, and is obtaining English citizenship. Her grandparents were brought as young children from Mexico but would she now be "anglo" especially since she's very much into English culture and living there? She never spoke much Spanish but did learn a little. She's dark -- but would that really matter?
It might be better to refer to people as "English speaking" or "Spanish speaking" because at least that has some meaning.
Well the Anglo Saxon's and the Vikings (Scandanavians) are still Germanic. Also alot of English have Roman or Latin blood in them as the Romans inhabited the southern part of Britain from 55 B.C. to 410 A.D. when the Romans had to leave to fight the invading Goths and never returned again.
Here's a good example. There are Germanic people who live in Mexico, (Casas Grandes, Delicias) their families have lived there for some time. They generally speak Spanish well and a form of German that people from Germany don't completely understand. They're fair haired and often have blue eyes.
Since they come from a Spanish speaking country, are Mexican citizens and usually speak little or no English would they be "hispanics"?
Interesting Malamute as i never knew of these Germans in Casas Grandes etc..When did they emigrate to Mexico ?? Do they or the other Mexicans have a name/slang for them.
Also many don't realise that at one time Spain was inhabited by the blonde hair blue eye Germanics or Visigoths for 300 years 420 a.d. to 720 a.d. which was known as the Kingdom of the Visigoths as maybe that's where some of the Spanairds/Mexicans/Argentians etc.. get their blondish hair and fair skin DNA from.
Interesting Malamute as i never knew of these Germans in Casas Grandes etc..When did they emigrate to Mexico ?? Do they or the other Mexicans have a name/slang for them.
Also many don't realise that at one time Spain was inhabited by the blonde hair blue eye Germanics or Visigoths for 300 years 420 a.d. to 720 a.d. which was known as the Kingdom of the Visigoths as maybe that's where some of the Spanairds/Mexicans/Argentians etc.. get their blondish hair and fair skin DNA from.
I don't know if you read Spanish but there are a lot of pictures of them under "fotogaleria".
They are the Mexican Mennonites. We see them come up to shop, they dress very distinctly and usually must communicate in Spanish because German isn't spoken here and Germans from Germany say they don't understand the German dialect they speak.
So -- would these Spanish speaking Mexican citizens be "hispanics" or "anglos"?
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