When did Mexican become a "dirty" word?

Quote:

I try only to take offense when I think offense is meant.

Bingo!

That is exactly as it should be.

I don't take offense to "half-black" or "half-white", but I am apprently insensitive to these issues. Mulatto used to be the approved word but that fell out of favor so many years ago that many people don't recall the word at all.

I usually say bi-racial or inter-racial but I hate that whole silly mess least I ever have to describe myself as penta-racial/tribal or something. I just call myself a mutt and be done with it.

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@ebrown p,

ebrown p wrote:

I agree completely with your answer aidan.

I do a question for Foxfyre... are the people on radio talk shows who are referring to Obama as "half-black" generally positive about the Obama administration?

If everyone who used the term was also strongly opposed the ides of the Obama administration, I would be highly suspicious of their intent.

The radio shows I listen to are generally positive toward Obama and his administration. I have never heard either of these terms used.

I wasn't listening closely enough to be able to give a good answer to that. I just heard the terms used though I don't think they were used in any kind of derogatory sense but more in the sense of curiosity of why the President would refer to himself as black instead of half-black when he was also half white or sort of in that context.

Probably one of those silly things, but it did catch my interest enough to think about it a bit. I didn't hear anybody ragging on or bashing the President during the period I was listening.

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@Foxfyre,

Quote:

I didn't hear anybody ragging on or bashing the President during the period I was listening.

That's because they are still fixated on bashing Clinton (I bet that changes as of this week).

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@Foxfyre,

Foxfyre wrote:

Actually I grew up with "Little Black Sambo" and remember the character with fondness and remember teacher using the story as an example of resourcefulness and innovation to help us think outside the box to solve problems. He certainly did not stereotype or diminish black people in any way in my mind. I, and I think most of us kids, saw him as just another, but very smart/clever, kid who happened to be black.

Just for correctness sake, Little Black Sambo was an Indian from India:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Black_Sambo

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@Foofie,

Yeah I know but that wasn't specified in the story if I remember it right. I'm pretty sure there are no tigers in Africa though. Smile

We read the story in the same way that we would have read it if Sambo had been a kid born to farmer parents in Iowa. In other words the issue of race or ethnicity never came up. It was a story about a kid dealing with a problem.

I think children need to be exposed to much more such stories matter of factly and without social indoctrination being included. Then and then only will people begin to FEEL that we're all in this together and race in the context of racism will be erased from the national psyche. So long as we continue to call attention to it, make a big deal about it, dictate to others how they should think about it and deal with it, and separate people into groups in our minds, racism will remain alive and well.

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Boomer writes

Quote:

I usually say bi-racial or inter-racial but I hate that whole silly mess least I ever have to describe myself as penta-racial/tribal or something. I just call myself a mutt and be done with it.

LOL. That's where I am....a pure mutt. I have so many different nationalities in my ancestry, there is no way to separate out one as dominent.

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I'm Mexican and I cannot find the offense.
It depends of the context and place of course. If you go to a place where most of the Mexicans are illiterates, have no respect for their neighbours, they are illegals, aggressive, etc. It's logical that the word Mexican will become something dirty, It's very logical to me.
Most of the Americans I know are really friendly (I know of course not EVERY American is friendly) and descent people so I have a good perception of them (even with the media saying the opposite every day here in Mexico). But of course, If suddenly I MOSTLY meet ignorant Americans noisy rednecks it will be logical to think the contrary. The problem here is which Mexicans you have in your country. To me is embarrassing of course. I would like the things were different but most of the people who go to US have no education, many didn't the opportunity and other simply where too lazy, I'm telling how it is

Here's a funny story: A friend of mine (Mexican like me) were to a convention to LA... I have never visit LA so I asked to him: So how is LA?, do you liked? and he said: yes of course it's a cool place... but I'm surprised about How many Mexicans are ...but not the better ones and many of them .

It's all about context. You can call an "African-Mexican": "Black" and I'm pretty sure he's is not going to be offended because at the very beginning (in Mexico as a country) we didn't hate the people from Africa because the slavery where gone early. The native Americans are the ones who suffers here of racism, very sad indeed.

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@Memox,

Quote:

The native Americans are the ones who suffers here of racism, very sad indeed.

Native Americans suffer because they refuse to assimilate. If they had a lick of sense they would push for the federal government to buy the reservations, split the money between them, and join the rest of America.

The misery of the Indians should be a good lesson for the Mexicans who come to America and refuse to learn the language, and refuse to give up the old ways. It is the Mexicans who will suffer the most as a result, not everybody else.

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@Memox,

Quote:

To me is embarrassing of course. I would like the things were different but most of the people who go to US have no education, many didn't the opportunity and other simply where too lazy, I'm telling how it is

Many Mexicans have told me this, and I believe it to be true.

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@Memox,

Memox, you are not a Mexican. I strongly suspect you are a bigot, pretending to be a Mexican. But you are not fooling anyone (except apparently Hawkeye).

Let me explain to you why this post is so idiotic as to not be believable at all.

1. You use disparaging terms, apologizing for being a Mexican. The terms you use are classic racist stereotypes- illiterate, disrespectful, aggressive, dirty, lazy. These are not how Mexicans see themselves.

2. You use the term "illegal" as a noun. This is something that very few Mexicans would ever do.

Now it would have been possible that you have some Mexican blood, but were brought up in a place where you were taught to not respect yourself. But you wrote.

" The problem here is which Mexicans you have in your country. "

This implies that you are not in the United States (i.e. you live in Mexico). This, given the fact that you use all of the American slurs is simply impossible.

The "African-Mexican" thing is silly. Do you even know that people in Mexico speak Spanish?

This is Memox's first post here... and probably a hit-and-run. Which is a good thing...

1 Reply

In my own opinion, "assimilation" is really the question for all "ethnic" groups. Being one or the other of a racial/ethnic group might just be irrelevant to a degree. Naturally, there is a point past where one cannot assimilate, since one will always have a "look," based on one's DNA; however, speaking correct English, and having some formal education does much to even the playing field, so to speak. So, choosing not to assimilate, and living out of the mainstream culture is not just limiting one's own life, I believe, but limiting the lives of the next generation of one's ethnic/racial group.

So, for our elocution lesson, on the count of three let us all say in unison: "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain."

1 Reply

@Foofie,

Foofie,

If you believe in assimilation-- don't you think that newcomers should be the ones who assimilate to the culture of the people here earlier?

((I wonder if he will get the irony))

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@ebrown p,

Being Mexican does not necessarily preclude one from being a bigot.

The bigotry displayed in Memox's post is more along the lines of classism, which given Mexico's socio/economic disparity, is prevalent among the upper classes. One can see traces of this in some of fbaezer's posts.

What was your point about people in Mexico speaking Spanish in regard to the "African-Mexican" reference?

1 Reply

@InfraBlue,

InfraBlue wrote:

The bigotry displayed in Memox's post is more along the lines of classism, which given Mexico's socio/economic disparity, is prevalent among the upper classes.

I agree, and don't know how ebrown p purports to know that Memox is not Mexican. What Memox said is a very typical medium/upper-class perspective in Latin American countries with lots of emigrants.

They feel that their national reputation is being based on their least educated and least cultured people, and given the basic economics of emigration this tends to have a degree of truth to it (though I would certainly not call the people who emigrate lazy, in fact I think they are likely less lazy on average).

Quote:

One can see traces of this in some of fbaezer's posts.

I haven't seen it myself. In fact I see a lot more of his pinko commie (:-P) past in his posts.

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I have worked around and with illegal immigrants and legal immigrants (Mexican and other) for 35 years. The overwhelming majority within my experience have been reasonably honest and all but a few are far from lazy. I have developed a great fondness for them as a class and always resent the badmouthing they get. My friend that I currently work with does not seem self conscious about his Mexican heritage. There is just one problem. He is very sensitive to the fact that his use of the English language is not up to par. But, he is getting better. And, I was proud of him for obtaining his GED a few months ago.

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@Robert Gentel,

Quote:

What Memox said is a very typical medium/upper-class perspective in Latin American countries with lots of emigrants.

and it makes sense, because why would a person who had the skills and education to make it in Mexico take off for America? Mexicans tend not to come because America is so great, but because they have too. I have worked with a lot of Mexicans, but I almost always get the sense that they would have rather stayed in Mexico if they could have made that work.

We also get the same story about the Cubans that come here, that we get the rejects. The Cuban immigrate political pressure groups story is that the ones who come are the superior freedom loving ones, but I suspect that no one outside of the Cuban immigrant community in America buys that story line.

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@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

I'm not trying to be insensitive or offensive but I'm really curious.

If you're from Canada you're Canadian; America, American; Brazil, Brazilian; Australia, Australian.

Why is in un-p.c. to call people from Mexico Mexicans?

Thanks!

It is?

1 Reply

@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

The preferred term these days is Hispanic or Latino/Latina.

I don't know why Mexican is considered "bad" but you get the same reaction that you would if you used n-----.

I just don't get it.

Isn't that a much wider term than Mexican? Aren't many people from Central/South America Latinos?

Confused Downunder.

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I totally get what you're saying, Boomer. I work in a field where when a customer complains about labor costs they often say things like "why don't you use Mexicans?" which translates into "why don't you use slave labor?". On the other hand, sometimes it's used as a positive - example: "All the college kids are lazy sacks of ****, hire some Mexicans". It is considered bad form in my industry to say things like "I wish I could find some Mexicans", but we all think it. It's not so much a dirty word as sometimes a politically incorrect word, sort of like "Indian" was in the 70's and 80's. Are we over the Indian thing yet? I'm not sure. I think Black always sounded kind of cool and still does. Pam Grier is Black. Barry White was Black. Snoop Dogg is Black. African-American sounds like someone is trying too hard to not offend. I think the words Mexican and Latino have a similar cross usage with different impacts. Example: I went to Mexican restaurant yesterday and they had a really hot Latino band. If I said Mexican band everyone would picture guys in serapes and sombreros, by saying Latino you are more likely to picture these guys:

http://en.terra.com/addon/img/music/6b73d9fafsfsddfp.jpg

(The band Zoe)

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@dlowan,

It doesn't take long for a word to become "dirty"/not PC, even a completely innocuous word like a nationality. I'd say that the word Mexican has long held that meaning for some, but that it was confined to a more localized portion of the USA.

That the situation has been escalated, ie. made more widespread over the whole USA by all the rants about illegal immigrants.

It's scum like this "any way the wind blows" political opportunist, John McCain,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0lwusMxiHc

that has caused this sea change.

1 Reply

When did Mexican become a "dirty" word?

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