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misconceptions
delalluvia:
--- Quote from: opinionista on March 21, 2008, 09:14:55 am ---One misconception I don't like is when people tell me I speak Mexican very well, when "Mexican" is not a language. The language is Spanish. When I was living in Wisconsin and New York people congratulated me for 5 de mayo and that date means nothing to me.
Also some people get so surprised that I'm really not into hot spicy food. Not all hispanic countries have hot spicy food or tacos or burritos in their daily diet.
There are so many misconceptions, especially in the USA, about hispanic people and the general culture. The worst part is that a lot of white and black American citizens show little interest to learn about the culture and the people. It's like we don't exist. There's also a lot of racism. Not everybody is racist of course but it is a sad reality. :-\
--- End quote ---
I get some of this occasionally, too. Most of the time it doesn't bother me. After all, I hardly care if a person is of Irish or English or Croatian descent, to try to make distinctions of foods they eat or holidays they celebrate (I just say nothing), so as not to offend, so how I can I expect them to try to learn the differences in the Hispanic world?
This goes along with my "Happy Holidays!" versus "Merry Xmas and you'd better like it." live and let live attitude. I like my attitude. It lets me deal with people as people and not as their nationality or cultural background.
Last night, a male nurse at the hospital asked me, "Where are you from?"
I replied, as I always do, even when I'm pretty sure I know what they're asking, just to watch them fumble to figure out how to rephrase their question, ;D
"Here. Born and raised."
"No, I mean what is your background?"
"Oh, I'm Hispanic."
"I thought you were Hawaiian."
I don't look like anything ethnic in particular because of all the mixed blood in my family, so I get a lot of misidentifications, even in Texas, with its large Hispanic population. Name almost any nationality/ethnicity/culture with olive-skinned or tan looking people and I have been mistaken for one. But I did get mistaken for French once, due to my French name (which is also Spanish).
Hawaiian, though, has always been my personal favorite.
forsythia12:
--- Quote from: opinionista on March 21, 2008, 09:14:55 am ---One misconception I don't like is when people tell me I speak Mexican very well, when "Mexican" is not a language. The language is Spanish. When I was living in Wisconsin and New York people congratulated me for 5 de mayo and that date means nothing to me.
Also some people get so surprised that I'm really not into hot spicy food. Not all hispanic countries have hot spicy food or tacos or burritos in their daily diet.
There are so many misconceptions, especially in the USA, about hispanic people and the general culture. The worst part is that a lot of white and black American citizens show little interest in learning about the culture and the people. It's like we don't exist. There's also a lot of racism. Not everybody is racist of course but it is a sad reality. :-\
--- End quote ---
yep. i hear ya on that one! my dad lives in spain and is married to a spanish woman. .....therefore, i speak some spanish. i've also been to mexico many many times, and since i'm familiar with the term 'mexican' and 'spanish' it totally irks me when someone says 'do you speak mexican'....? wtf? but, in all fairness, some people just don't know,...and i personally don't hold it against someone for not knowing. afterall,, there's stuff we all could learn; however, what i don't like is when people are not humble about there ignorance, and think they know it all. i get very offended when people make statements as if they were true, out of ignorance. i mean, i've asked people what ethnic background they're from, and quite frankly, i think that's wise to do because it's the only way to learn. what i don't like is racial comments that are grossly wrong, and go with an unwilling attitude about learning. in fact, i think people should ask more questions to inform themselves properly.
i worked for a sikh family once, and i was very curious about their religion, what part of india they were from, how they felt about terrorists, islam, they're language, etc....and i was blown away about how much i learned, and how many stories they had of people accusing they're fellow sikh's of terrorism. so, yes, i was uninformed before, and now i'm better informed. i think they appreciated the questions, since they were asked in taste, and with a genuine desire to learn....
opinionista:
--- Quote from: forsythia12 on March 21, 2008, 12:37:23 pm ---yep. i hear ya on that one! my dad lives in Spain and is married to a spanish woman. .....therefore, i speak some spanish. i've also been to mexico many many times, and since i'm familiar with the term 'mexican' and 'spanish' it totally irks me when someone says 'do you speak mexican'....? wtf? but, in all fairness, some people just don't know,...and i personally don't hold it against someone for not knowing. afterall,, there's stuff we all could learn; however, what i don't like is when people are not humble about there ignorance, and think they know it all. i get very offended when people make statements as if they were true, out of ignorance. i mean, i've asked people what ethnic background they're from, and quite frankly, i think that's wise to do because it's the only way to learn. what i don't like is racial comments that are grossly wrong, and go with an unwilling attitude about learning. in fact, i think people should ask more questions to inform themselves properly.
i worked for a sikh family once, and i was very curious about their religion, what part of india they were from, how they felt about terrorists, islam, they're language, etc....and i was blown away about how much i learned, and how many stories they had of people accusing they're fellow sikh's of terrorism. so, yes, i was uninformed before, and now i'm better informed. i think they appreciated the questions, since they were asked in taste, and with a genuine desire to learn....
--- End quote ---
I live in Spain too. I usually don't hold ignorance against people because they can't help it. But I also think in this era of Internet and wikipedia it is not so hard to learn Mexicans speak Spanish not Mexican. You can even learn that on Sesame Street! Also, Spanish is taught in many schools around the nation, so I'm always surprised when I hear people say that. As for 5 de mayo, is that I'm Puerto Rican and being congratulated for a battle fought in Puebla when I lived in Wisconsin and New York city was so strange to me, given the fact that there are so many Puerto Ricans in New York and Milwaukee. I thought people knew more about the differences between the Puerto Ricans and the Mexicans in those cities but I was wrong. It could be that they can't really tell from my looks where I'm from and they simply assume I'm Mexican.
forsythia12:
--- Quote from: opinionista on March 21, 2008, 01:12:55 pm ---I live in Spain too. I usually don't hold ignorance against people because they can't help it. But I also think in this era of Internet and wikipedia it is not so hard to learn Mexicans speak Spanish not Mexican. You can even learn that on Sesame Street! Also, Spanish is taught in many schools around the nation, so I'm always surprised when I hear people say that. As for 5 de mayo, is that I'm Puerto Rican and being congratulated for a battle fought in Puebla when I lived in Wisconsin and New York city was so strange to me, given the fact that there are so many Puerto Ricans in New York and Milwaukee. I thought people knew more about the differences between the Puerto Ricans and the Mexicans in those cities but I was wrong. It could be that they can't really tell from my looks where I'm from and they simply assume I'm Mexican.
--- End quote ---
lol.
yeah, what people think can be amusing and annoying at the same time. yes, i agree, often times you wonder how someone could possibly go through life thinking the things they do, especially with all the info available out there today....but, i guess we'll always have that problem. i didn't think you did hold it against them. i guess , IMO, if someone is genuinely uninformed, it's a lot easier to overlook their misconception, but when someone is ignorant and rude about it, well, that's just unaccpetable. thank you for your post.
mucho gracias! ;D.......(that's me speaking mexican!) lol
MsMercury:
I'm always surprised that people think Mexicans speak "Mexican" instead of Spanish. :laugh:
My boyfriend is part Cherokee indian. He definitely looks it, especially in the summer. Well while he's at work he has people (customers) come up and start speaking Spanish to him and when he tells them he doesn't speak Spanish they actually get pissed at him!
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