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It's used often, in many threads, and it's a newish term to me. I'd never heard it applied to myself until I moved to New Mexico. Since "Anglo" is a form of "Anglo-Saxon" and my ancestry is NOT Anglo-Saxon, I don't know why the term would be applied to me. I certainly never use it to describe myself.
I'm a little on the fence as to whether or not I consider it insulting, although it's certainly not accurate.
why would you consider it insulting. It is used in many places throughout the country especially in the southwest. It is just another way of saying caucation.
why would you consider it insulting. It is used in many places throughout the country especially in the southwest. It is just another way of saying caucation.
No, it is not the same as Caucasian ( if that is what you meant )
I have lived all over the US ( including the Phoenix area ) , and have never been referred to as an "Anglo" until moving to NM.
Since I'm not familiar with the word, it's a valid question to ask if it's insulting.
No, it is not the same as Caucasian ( if that is what you meant )
I have lived all over the US ( including the Phoenix area ) , and have never been referred to as an "Anglo" until moving to NM.
Since I'm not familiar with the word, it's a valid question to ask if it's insulting.
really, well it certainly was used in Texas by both whites and Hispanics. i just returned from a trip to So Cal and also heard the term as I did when we lived there many years ago. It is all in the way it is used, same as asking someone who is Mexican about the term Latino versus Hispanic? Everyone has his own idea. Yes, it pretty much is the same, what do you think it means if not white or caucasian? I still can't understand why you would feel insulted, can you explain or maybe you have, I need to read the entire posting.
No, it is not the same as Caucasian ( if that is what you meant )
I have lived all over the US ( including the Phoenix area ) , and have never been referred to as an "Anglo" until moving to NM.
Since I'm not familiar with the word, it's a valid question to ask if it's insulting.
I think "Anglo" is very common all over the Southwest, even in Phoenix, for non-Hispanic European descent people. Actually, a lot of Spanish people might qualify as gringo, simply by appearance.
It's use is not insulting, in my view, any more than Hispanic or Latino(a) is...just general terms without much in the way of stigma or racial baggage.
I don't take offense at gringo, gabacho or chilango...though "steenkeen white boy" would get under my skin , much as w*tback is offensive to many, possibly most, New Mexicans of Hispanic descent.
Mostly it's how these terms are used, not the terms themselves.
All that being said, terms within Mexico are, to me, much more complicated and fascinating in a weird way. I think this comes from the historic legacy of the Spanish, who even differentiated between Spanish people born in the New World (Criollos) and those from Spain (Peninsulares). The way they sliced things (black/Spanish,Spanish/Indian, Indian/Black..on and on..) was Byzantine and almost incomprehensible when seen thru modern eyes.
It pretty much boils down to Ladinos or Espanoles (more Spanish in culture), Mestizo or, to some people, Mexicano (Mexican mixed Indian and Spanish culture- the vast majority) or Indio (Native American culture).
These cultures are all Mexican, but often quite different, in appearance, lifestyle and otherwise.
In my experience, Los Indios have, by far, the hardest time of it. I might see this in part because a lot of my time in Mexico has been spent with Native Americans and I've seen first-hand how they're discriminated against in the larger culture. They're often considered hicks, lazy, uneducated and untrustworthy, while also being held up as a cultural "relic" of a grand and illustrious romanticized past.
Bottom line, we're all meat encased in skin...but how human beings deal with it all can be, at once, fascinating and sometimes horrifying.
why would you consider it insulting. It is used in many places throughout the country especially in the southwest. It is just another way of saying caucation.
Hispanics would be mad about being indiscriminately called Mexicans. Why shouldn't white people be mad about being indiscriminately called English? Plus its a silly term since hispanics are all white, black, indian, or what have you.
This is probably a good time to relate this "Anglo-Hispanic" story of mine. Now, if people read my other posts they know that I'm virulently anti-illegal immigration, but I also do not like it when US-born Hispanics are demeaned. This story relates to the latter. Years ago, another Anglo and I were assigned to a work crew in northern New Mexico for a week or two. Our co-workers were all northern New Mexico Hispanics. They all were completely bi-lingual, speaking both good English and the beautiful Castilian Spanish still spoken in northern New Mexico. Neither my Anglo friend or I spoke much Spanish, which was no problem. The other workers would speak English to us, and either English or Spanish (or a mixture) to each other. We all had a good time working together. Now, both my Anglo co-worker and I are blue-eyed Anglos, but we both had deep tans from working outdoors, and we were wearing hard hats and dark sunglasses. Well, one day, some Eastern milque-toast white tourists came up to us and began speaking to us in very broken Spanish with a heavy New York or New Jersey accent. My Anglo friend, who has a devilish Irish sense of humor, just looked at them blankly and said "No comprende." Our Hispanic co-workers were highly amused at this and played the "straight men," a couple of them dutifully answering "No comprende" at any English or Spanish uttered at them by the tourists, who were also making pretty demeaning remarks about all of us in English to each other. Finally, the frustrated man asked loudly, "Don't any of you Mexicans speak English?" My Anglo friend just looked at them and said "De nada." For the rest of the week, the local Hispanics on the work crew referred to we two Anglos as "Hey, you Mexicans!" One of the guys on the crew I still see every year or so, and he still will greet me with that, with a hearty laugh for both of us. I will admit that Anglos and Hispanics in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado may disagree on many issues, but "putting one over" on some gringo "turistas" can be a humorous exercise for both once in awhile.
Too funny! CD is getting to the point where it won't let me rep anybody......grrrrrrrr!!!
I hadn't repped this person before so mine "took."
Using the term "Mexican" for anyone who is Hispanic has long been the norm among Anglos along the border. It's too often used as a disparaging remark.
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, much as w*tback is offensive to many, possibly most, New Mexicans of Hispanic descent. 
