Race/Ethnicity
Questions 331-340
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THE
QUESTION:
R340: What is the origin to the stereotype that Hispanics are
lazy?
POSTED JUNE 16, 1998
Alex S., 23, Richmond, VA
ANSWER 1:
It's funny, because I have heard the reverse: That white
people are lazy. I guess it depends on the person. I am Mexican, and
all the Hispanic people I know are very hard-working. All of them
have at least one job. I have a neighbor who is white, and in the
year he's lived next door, he has changed jobs at least five times,
and every time he does, he tries to get workers' comp. So maybe it
depends on the person and the financial need they have to keep a
job.
POSTED JUNE 24, 1998
Aztlan, 21, Mexican female
<aestra@chmc.org>,
Bothell, WA
FURTHER NOTICE:
Perhaps, if it exists, it stems from the siesta, which is
more predominant in Hispanic culture vs. others. Even though business
hours are extended later into the evening to accommodate this time of
rest, the knowledge of these extended hours may not be as well known
as the siesta itself by other cultures.
POSTED AUG. 9, 1998
Phil C. , 45, white male, Walnut Creek , CA
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
When I was in college, I worked at a convenience store
with a young man who was the son of the Military Attache from a South
American country. We were the same age, and from the same type of
middle-class economic background. I asked him what he found to be the
biggest "culture shock" between his Hispanic culture and his life in
the United States. I'll never forget his response. He grabbed my arm
and pointed to my watch: "You Americans are slaves to your clocks.
They tell you when to eat, when to sleep and when to start work, and
when to stop. This makes no sense to me. In my country, you eat when
you are hungry, you sleep when you are tired, you start working when
there is a job to do and stop working when the job is completed. This
makes more sense to me than stopping because a clock says it is time
for lunch, or not eating because the clock says it is time to work."
He was right. Our culture is very closely tied to our concept of
time. I have since noticed that the cultures that do not submit
themselves to the almighty time clock are the ones that get
stereotyped as "lazy" by those who do. Is it any wonder that our
clock-crazy culture has a bigger problem with depression and neurosis
than those "lazy" ones do?
POSTED SEPT. 25, 1998
Greg, 36, WASP, Newport, RI
FURTHER NOTICE 3:
I believe most stereotypes, good or bad, have come from
Hollywood. In earlier movies, and sometimes even today if you look
carefully, Mexicans were cast in subservient, complacent roles. But
nothing could be further from the truth. Mexicans and other Hispanics
are among the hardest-working cultural groups. We're just not as
visible because we are not as vocal. Why do you think the United
States has so much illegal immigration from Mexico? Do you think they
come here to work at McDonalds? Or be on welfare? Mexicans come here
to take the jobs that Americans do not even dare think about. How do
you think most American agricultural products get to your dinner
table? Illegal Mexicans work the fields, and the sweatshops in large
cities, and do all the scut work Americans on welfare refuse to do.
Only through perserverance and education do we get the opportunity to
achieve that American dream. Or is it only American?
POSTED DEC. 2, 1998
David R., 42, Mexican American
<dreb55@msn.com>,
Smithfield, VA
FURTHER NOTICE 4:
I suspect that the slur against Mexicans comes from the
siesta. It makes sense to not work in the heat of the day when you
live in a hot climate. Unfortunately, Americans are impatient with
anyone who doesn't do things the "American way." Taking a break after
lunch would be so smart! But it isn't done in America and anyone who
did would be labeled lazy. Americans as a group are in such a hurry.
Anyone who doesn't keep the same pace is lazy. Americans don't begin
to realize just how fast-paced our life is until we go to another
country. Then we call others lazy, when we're actually the ones who
ought to take a second look at the way we live. We're living lives at
a manic pace. We, as a group, can never have enough or do enough. We
don't understand the value of quiet time, so we label anyone who
takes some as lazy.
POSTED DEC. 7, 1998
Colleen, white American, 38
<congdon@illuminet.net>,
Quantico, VA
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
R339: It seems to me that when stresses in the black community
reach a certain level, one reaction is to riot, loot and burn the
very community in which they live. Why is this? I cannot recall a
riot in the white community equal in scope and damage to the L.A.
riots, the Watts riots or the riots in Detroit.
POSTED JUNE 16, 1998
Ray B., 40, white male, U.S. Navy (retired)
<raynfran@bellsouth.net>,
Summerville, S.C.
ANSWER 1:
A very wise man I know said that "white people do their
rioting at the ballot box." (And sure enough, not long after that,
they voted out affirmative action programs in California.) That made
me realize that feeling empowered in a society makes someone believe
they have options for changing things they don't like. But when a
group of people feel powerless and oppressed and think they have
nothing to lose, they can resort to irrational behaviors such as
violence. As far as riots happening in the community where someone
lives: Every person of color knows that the price is higher for
committing a crime in white neighborhoods than in non-white
neighborhoods. Secondly, usually when violence erupts, it's
spontaneous; driving across town to another neighborhood is not
spontaneous.
POSTED JULY 26, 1998
Sara, black female, Oakland, CA
FURTHER NOTICE:
In the communities you mention, the simplest reason people
riot and loot is that they don't own any of the establishments they
are burning and destroying. It was true in D.C., Detroit and L.A.
Part of the reason tensions build so high is that people feel they
pour their money into these establishments and that they are the
primary, if not only customers, and still they are treated unfairly.
If you'll recall, during the '93 riots in L.A., much was made about
the fact that a number of black-owned establishments were spared.
That's why.
POSTED SEPT. 23, 1998
Greg, 20 black/white male
<december@brigadoon.com>,
Olney, MD
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
About three or four years ago, when the Vancouver Canucks
won the hockey championships (I am not a sports person, so I
apologize for being vague), there was a major mass riot and looting
in downtown Vancouver, and there were very few black people present.
It was mostly white people acting like idiots and destroying their
own town.
POSTED SEPT. 25, 1998
D. Meerkat, 26, white male
<lnx@netcom.com>,
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
FURTHER NOTICE 3:
The answer may be found in pure frustration with a racist
environment. However, blacks do not have a monopoly on rioting.
Historically, most race riots in this country have been started by
whites, as in 1919 and 1944, for example. For further information,
see Riots USA: 1765-1970 by Willard a. Heaps, Race Riot:
Chicago in the Red Summer of 1919 by William M. Tuttle, Jr., and
100 Years of Lynchings by Ralph Ginzburg. Please note that it
was a mixed group of whites and blacks who burned Williamsburg in the
mid-1600s. And then, there is always pure houliganism (an Irish
term?).
POSTED NOV. 2, 1998
R. Stewart, black
<rostew@aol.com>, Chicago,
IL
FURTHER NOTICE 4:
If you do a thorough check of history, you'll find that
white Americans have been known to riot: During the early 1830s,
during the draft riots of 1863, and at other points, including the
Haymarket Square incident. Also, in the 1920s two thriving black
communities, one in Tulsa, OK, and another in Rosewood, FL, were
wiped out by mobs of armed whites. Riots generally occur when a large
group of people rise up to enforce their will (right or wrong)
immediately, by threating or perpetrating injury to people or
property outside of legal procedures but without intending to
challenge the general structure of society. So the black rioters of
the 1960s and of L.A. never intended to overthrow the government
(that would be classified as an insurrection). They saw an injustice
and moved to protest it with violence. The difference between them
and the white rioters of earlier years is that the violence of the
latter, while not directly sanctioned by the appropriate authorities
of the time, was condoned nonetheless as being supplementary to
existing methods of meting out justice. The black rioters, already
living with the stigma of being inferior, were regarded (by
government authorities and the mass media) as being little more than
animals acting out their basic instincts. They destroyed their own
communities because, through all their rage, they maintained the
awareness that their actions would (by any means necessary) be
prevented from affecting the "larger society" (read: white
people).
POSTED NOV. 19, 1998
Samuel H., 30, African-American male
<samalex67@aol.com>,
Chicago, Il
FURTHER NOTICE 5:
Perhaps it is because the stresses in a white community
historically have had outlets prior to reaching the point of
explosion. White communities, and white people in general, feel as a
matter of course that they have a place to go to redress wrongs -
through legal, political or public forum means. Part of the problem
with the incidents you describe is that the people in those
communities felt completely disenfranchised; that is, they felt as if
they had never had a place to go to solve the issues of
discrimination, poverty, etc. Being told over and over, in subtle and
not-so-subtle ways, that your concerns don't matter, because you are
black or poor or whatever reason, is degrading and infuriating.
That's why these incidents have a much larger implication for our
society than just the threat of violence. We're supposed to have
gotten beyond racism and descrimination; we claim to be so
enlightened and pay lip service to words like "cultural diversity."
This is not to excuse the violent acts of individuals, but if we
understand where the violence springs from, we can prevent it from
happening again, by solving the underlying problems that precipitated
it.
POSTED DEC. 2, 1998
Laura, 37, white female, Bel Air, MD
FURTHER NOTICE 6:
There's no need to riot when you're the one holding the
power. Blacks have suffered at the hands of oppression, racism and
ignorance for so long that sooner or later a breaking point must be
reached. To say that whites don't riot is also incorrect. Whites did
most of their rioting early in American history: Boston Tea Party,
Civil War, etc.
POSTED JAN. 21, 1999
KalelxXx.aol.com
<KalelxXx@aol.com >,
Southfield, Mi
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
R338: Why do people from Mexico and South America tend to have
more than two children? It feels like even second- and
third-generation families are very large in the United States.
POSTED AUG. 5, 1998
L.M., 31, white female,
<merry@dcn.davis.ca.us>,
Davis, CA
ANSWER 1:
Being a male of Mexican-American descent, I can say that
most of the Latin community is Catholic. Traditional Catholics do not
believe in birth control, but they still like to have sex. Also, most
Latinos are very family-oriented. Unfortunately, what you are seeing
is mostly uneducated Latinos, who come to this country to seek a
better future, and they soon learn of the free money they can get
from welfare if they keep making babies. I know it sounds terrible,
but it's true. An educated Latino who is successful in his or her own
country will not come to the United States to live a policed and
controlled life.
POSTED AUG. 6, 1998
C.E., Mexican American, Los Angeles, CA
FURTHER NOTICE:
There are five basic causes for this: 1) Four or five
decades ago, many people in Latin America lived in the country and
needed cheap labor. Having many children was one way to supply the
labor deficit. 2) The influence of the Catholic Church in the
education of Latin American people. Because the Church doesn't allow
birth control methods, many people don't use them. 3) It was easier
in Latin America to raise a child some years ago than it is today. 4)
For the Hispanic culture, family is very important. All the social
life develops around the family. So the bigger the family the better.
5) A long time ago, because of poor medical infrastructure, if a
woman had five children, at least two of them died. To prevent that,
old Latin American families used to have many children.
POSTED AUG. 28, 1998
N.G., 26, South American, Pasadena, CA
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
It all has to do with the your social and educational
level. Here in Venezuela, the upper and middle classes tend to have
three children at the most, and they can afford them, but the lower
you go, the more children you find. Many Hispanic immigrants (not
all) to the United States are lower-class, particularly in states
like California and Texas. In our family-oriented society, the more
kids you have the better, but modern times have made the more
educated understand that these old traditions are unsustainable. It
is too bad the less educated have not realized this yet.
POSTED AUG. 31, 1998
N. Agelvis, 29, Latino
<nelsoneas@hotmail.com>,
Caracas, Venezuela
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
R337: How do you determine the difference between a Chinese
person, Japanese person and other Asians?
POSTED JUNE 15, 1998
Bob H. <BHilder@aol.com>,
San Diego, CA
ANSWER 1:
There are many differences in their cultures, languages,
cuisines and customs, as well as skin tone, body types and other
characteristics. If you live around, and get to know Asians, you can
tell the difference much of the time. It is important to note that
short of asking, it may not be possible to always know. I often
wonder why we have to distinguish ourselves by race or religion or
ethnicity. I have wondered how someone in Northern Ireland can tell
the difference between a Catholic and a Protestant. How can you tell
a Serb from a Croat? How about the Indian caste system? If you have a
genuine curiosity, or interest in their cultures, ask, you may want
to go to the library, visit a cultural center or museum.
POSTED JUNE 25, 1998
Steve H.,39, black, living among Asians all my life
<hubebu@aol.com>, Foster
City,CA
FURTHER NOTICE:
I lived in Korea for 15 months, dated a Chinese woman for
seven years and have lived in Silicon Valley for the better part of a
decade. I believe the best way to be able to tell any one ethnic
group from another is to spend time with people. You pick up on the
easy stuff pretty quickly - Korean names don�t sound like Vietnamese
names, Japanese (and a Japanese accent) sounds different from
Cantonese, which doesn�t sound like Mandarin, etc. Eventually the
subtleties of appearance, mannerisms, etc. might be noticeable. Think
of it this way: How do you tell the difference between someone from
San Diego, Boston and Dallas? Would someone from Moscow be able to
tell the difference without getting to know some people?
POSTED JUNE 27, 1998
Gordon P., 31
<gordon@albedodesign.com>,
Sunnyvale, CA
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
The other respondents are correct: Once you spend time
with different cultures, you can see how vastly dissimilar they are.
I have been interested in two Chinese men and a Filipino, I have a
Vietnamese girlfriend who has a Korean boyfriend, and I also have
Filipino girlfriends. They are all different in language, appearance
and culture.
POSTED JULY 26, 1998
Jennifer G. ,30, black female
FURTHER NOTICE 3:
I've found the easiest way to differentiate between people
of East Asian origin is through their names. Japanese people usually
use two names with a multisyllabic last name. Those syllables usually
have only a couple of letters in them. Names like Mitsubishi, Toyama,
Yamaguchi, etc. But Oh is a Japanese name. Korean names have three
parts, usually one syllable each. Kim and Park are common Korean
names. Chinese names are also usually one syllable, but are usually
only two words (sometimes a name has two syllables separated by a
hyphen). Many Chinese people are named Chang. The Chinese use the
"ng" sound more often in their names than the Koreans or Chinese.
Vietnamese people, like Koreans, usually have three-part names. But
like the Chinese, they use the "ng" sound more often and more
two-letter vowels. And if someone's first name is "U," you can bet
he's Burmese.
POSTED OCT. 30, 1998
M.W.
<ed375@cleveland.freenet.edu>,
Cleveland, OH
FURTHER NOTICE 4:
The key to being able to differentiate among Asians is to
spend time with them. I am Chinese, and before I moved to the United
States, I used to think all white people were the same. I always
perceived Australians, English, Americans, Greeks and Italians as all
the same. I remember not being able to tell my friends apart and
always getting them mixed up - all whites even looked alike to me.
After more than 20 years of living in a white country, I am now able
to appreciate the differences in white cultures and can usually
distinguish them physically.
POSTED APRIL 8, 1999
C. Soh Hill
<chjh@bellatlantic.net>,
female, Franklin Lakes, NJ
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
R336: If I am curious about someone's ethnic background or
nationality, is there a polite way to ask?
POSTED JUNE 15, 1998
DMS, 30, female, Jacksonville, FL
ANSWER 1:
There are all kinds of ways, of which I've heard most: "I
seem to detect a slight accent..." or "Did you grow up around here?"
or "Where did you go to school?" A million ways, depending on which
way the conversation leans. A definite no-no: "So ... where you
from?" as it can mean anything - a close cousin to "Been here long?"
(Where, in this hardware store?) I prefer going straight to the
point: "What species are you? I'm a Finn myself..."
POSTED JULY 16, 1998
M. Young
<Pilvikki@ivillage.com>,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
R335: Do some cultures find staring at a person more
acceptable than others, or is it uncomfortable to all cultures?
POSTED JUNE 15, 1998
Josie, 19
<iamjamie@pacbell.net>,
San Jose, CA
ANSWER 1:
I can't speak for all cultures, but I know that in Spain,
staring is not rude; in fact, it is normal. In America, staring at
someone with a disability is considered to be in poor taste. In
Spain, it is acceptable. I had a very difficult time dealing with it
while I lived there earlier this year. Most Spanish people have dark
hair, and my blond hair stood out like a sore thumb. Staring was a
normal part of my day. I'm glad people warned me before I arrived.
POSTED JUNE 24, 1998
F. Dodd, 21, white female
<remrulz237@aol.com>,
Memphis, TN
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
R334: What was the world population of Jews before the
Holocaust in the 1940s, what was it immediately after and what is it
now?
J.D., <rufusdog.aol.com>,
Lakeville, MA
ANSWER 1:
According to the World Jewish Congress, the accepted
figure is that there were 12 million Jews in the world prior to 1933.
If you accept the figure of six million killed and the fact that the
number of people identifying themselves as Jewish is going down, you
can see that Hitler's dream is coming true, albeit slowly. In
1977, I attended a lay leadership conference, and the figure at that
time was in excess of 14 million. In addition to the murders of WWII,
Jews as a group assimilate the most, intermarry the most and
experiment with other religions the most (I have many friends who
during the '60s had "romances" with Eastern religions). Also, with
the exception of Orthodox Jews, who generally reproduce above the
norm, Jews have a low rate of reproduction compared to the general
population. The 12 million before 1936, given general geometric
population projections, would probably represent 30 to 50 million
today. WJC figures: United States 5,800,000; Israel 4,600,000. The
estimated strength of World Jewry today is a little more than 13
million. We say "estimated" not just because of the traditional
Jewish reluctance to count its people, but also because of the
impossible task of reaching out to so many unaffiliated Jews in the
Diaspora.
POSTED JUNE 14, 1998
Alan R., 45, Jewish
<bix2@flash.net>, San
Antonio, TX
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
R333: Why is it that some whites feel minorities are doing
something wrong or illegal if they are successful? I am an engineer
for a major telecommunications corporation, and I notice how whites
are envious of me and what I have, and I have also heard accusations
of dope dealing on my part. I have one good friend who is white, and
he explained some of it to me, but I want more input.
POSTED JUNE 14, 1998
Charles, 27, African American
<cjames71@yahoo.com>,
Atlanta, GA
ANSWER 1:
Personally, I like to see a lot of diversity around me,
but some of my associates seem uneasy about it. I think some whites
believe the racist propaganda that blacks and women cannot do well in
math and engineering careers, so they look for some other reason for
a person's prosperity and success. Yet Albert Eistein's wife was a
better mathematician than he was - silly huh? George Washington
Carver (black) invented the field of food chemistry. There are lots
of similar examples if you want to look for them.
POSTED JUNE 24, 1998
Tom H., white
<thodges@softhome.net>,
Portland, OR
FURTHER NOTICE:
I don't know if it's just because you're black. In my
hometown, there is a very successful used car dealer (white) who owns
a large house on a big acreage who has been constantly accused of
dealing drugs (charges are unsubstantiated). My father-in-law said to
me, "If you are successful, people will say all kinds of things about
you." It's just jealousy.
POSTED JAN. 21, 1999
Bill, 25, white male
<Bill@Perkins.net>,
Charlotte, NC
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
R332: I was horrified to learn of the recent brutal beating
and dragging death in Texas of a 49-year-old black man by three white
men. Can someone help me understand the hatred some whites have for
blacks and vice versa? I just can't understand why and how someone
could hate someone as much as it would take to do that to them.
Lora L., 29, white, Portland, OR
ANSWER 1:
Ignorance is the only reason I can come up with. And
ignorance can abound anywhere, with any race/ethnicity. Also,
intolerance gives people more room to dehumanize people who are
different from themselves, and thus treat them as no more than an
animal.
POSTED JUNE 26, 1998
Lisa, Smyrna, GA
FURTHER NOTICE:
It is being called a racist crime, which it may be. I also
feel very strongly that those three men would have done the same
thing to a white man or an Asian or anybody else who may have been
there. Sadly, it was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I
feel terrible for the deceased man and his family. I hope it does not
come to be a race issue.
POSTED JUNE 28, 1998
PAD4, 29, Germany
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
Human beings have to be taught to hate; its's not
something genetic or inherit. Whether it is learned in the home
enviroment, in prison or in a peer group setting, hate is a behavior
that usually goes hand-in-hand with ignorance of another person's
culture and/or low self-esteem. It is not impossible to change.
Helping someone question his or her reasons for hate/dislike of a
group sets the stage for a rational, thinking process to take place.
I believe that, given the chance and direct involvment with other
cultures and ethnic groups, most people figure out we are really no
different from each other. You will have some who hate so strongly
that your only option will be your own protection. But, the majority
of us can figure out our own nutty behavior when we are forced to
question it.
POSTED JULY 29, 1998
A. Jackson
<pridewks@centraltx.net>,
Kempner, TX
FURTHER NOTICE 3:
This issue is clearly dominated by race. If a white man
had been walking along under the same circumstances, he would have
been fine. However, consider the opposite situation. What if this man
were walking in South Central L.A. instead of the Deep South, and a
car with three black men came upon him? What might have happened
then? Would it have sparked the same reaction? Sadly, I think most
people would have the same answers to these questions. But Lisa isn't
totally right - this ignorance stems from what they are taught in
their society, just like the intolerence, and the hatred that
accompany this ignorance are taught.
POSTED AUG. 28, 1998
Matt, 20, New York
FURTHER NOTICE 4:
This crime is one of many by both blacks and whites
against each other. The reasons for the crimes are the same: Fear,
frustration and powerlessness have always led people to hate anyone
different from themselves. Intellegence and basic goodness tell us it
is wrong to feel that way or act on those feelings. Some people of
every race, religion or ethnicity lack good will. Their stupidity
diminishes us all. Sometimes it seems as though government and the
media exploit the differences and the hate for some hidden agenda. If
they have no agenda, then they are, perhaps, the most stupid of
all.
POSTED SEPT. 22, 1998
White male, 50
<gduff48482@aol.com>,
Grand Rapids, MI
FURTHER NOTICE 5:
I believe a lot of racial hatred is due to fear and
ignorance. A lot of white Americans unfairly associate blacks with
crime, violence and socially "rude" behaviors. Also, they may
generalize a few negative personal experiences (someone driving
aggressively on the freeway, loud black teenagers in malls, etc.) to
broadbrush the 35 million individuals who make up black America.
POSTED OCT. 15, 1998
Jay L., 45, white, Claremont, CA
FURTHER NOTICE 6:
To Pad4: I live in Texas and so maybe I received more
information about the story than you did, but that senseless killing
was a race-related crime. They said that they were part of the KKK
and yelled racial slurs at him while dragging him. It wasn't a case
of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a case of being
the wrong color for these ignorant people. I know that for some
people, it may be hard to believe that they would just kill him
because of his race, but it's reality.
POSTED NOV. 2, 1998
Poetess, 22
<Poetess_99@yahoo.com>,
TX
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
R331: I have heard that some Hispanics would rather be call
Latino than Hispanic. I heard that it was because of the word
"stick." Why is that? I heard it discussed on the radio, but without
a complete answer.
POSTED JUNE 13, 1998
Steve, 43, rmc@calweb.com, Antelope, CA
ANSWER 1:
The word "stick" is probably not what was said on the
radio program to which you refer. The word was probably "spic." That
is a racial slur that refers to Spanish-speaking people; it was
coined by American soldiers during the Spanish/American war and
gained popularity on the East Coast in the 1930s, when Puerto Rican
immigrants began to settle, en masse, in New York City. The word
"Hispanic" has all the vowels and consonants necessary for a
convenient reduction to "spic."
POSTED JUNE 25, 1998
Z., Bellingham, WA
FURTHER NOTICE:
I do not think it is because of the word "stick." I think
it is because of the derogatory word "spic." That word was/has/and is
still used to make fun of Spanish speaking people. In Spanish, there
is no grammatically correct way of saying a word that starts with the
letter "S." That is, unless it is preceded by a vowel. (i.e., the
word "speak" turns into "e-speak," which can be translated by an
English-speaking person as "spic"). Another reason why this can be
interpreted as such is because in Spanish there are only five ways of
pronouncing the vowels a,e,i,o,u. On the other hand, English has 14
different variations of the vowels. In any case, this is how the term
came about. As to why some people prefer "Hispanic" over "Latino," I
am not certain. Maybe they associate "Hispanic" with "spic." I don't
know. I do not mind either of them. Yet, my little sister hates it
when they refer to her as a "Hispanic." I guess it depends on where
you're from, where you are raised and how you are raised.
POSTED JUNE 27, 1998
Karla, 22; Puerto Rican
<diazkarl@pilot.msu.edu>,
East Lansing, MI
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
The word "Hispanic" is used to identify anyone who
descends from the Iberian Peninsula of Spain. "Latino" is for anyone
of Spanish origin descending from Latin American (Central America)
and the Carribean basin Spanish-speaking Islands. Anyone from South
America descending from a Spanish-speaking country is a South
American. Ask a Colombian, a Peruvian, a Venezuelan, etc. These
people do not consider themselves Latinos. On the other hand, ask
anyone from Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, etc. They are from Latin
America. However, here in the States it depends on what area of the
country you're from. In New York there are mostly Latinos, i.e. from
Puerto Rico, Cuba, Santo Domingo and the like. There is a great
population of Central and South American people. Ask them and the
answer might be, I am Latino Americano or Centro Americano or
Suramericano.
POSTED AUG. 27, 1998
Hector, Puerto Rican
<chaparrh@ddaccess.com>,
Hampton, VA
To respond
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