Besides the whole political issue that they are talking about in this article, that the GOP is on a suicide mission if it continues to alienate Hispanics, it made me think about what it means to be defined. Holy cow. If you see some of the examples that were in that article:
"Lastly, if it's not too much to ask, just once I'd like to not be defined by a food group. Politicians have dished out this tactic for years. In his congressional and Senate races, Lyndon Johnson went into the Hispanic enclaves of south Texas and handed out tacos and beer. Years later, President Gerald Ford tried to bond with a Hispanic audience by taking a bite out of a tamale. Bill Clinton loved Mexican food and consumed it with gusto. During a visit to a Mexican restaurant in Tucson in the late 1990s, Clinton showed his affinity with Hispanics by eating enough to satisfy an entire Mexican family."
These examples make me slightly nauseous. To think of how our presidents have acted in the past towards a certain race, defining them by a food group, just makes me realize that they have no idea how to relate to someone that isn't white. Putting an entire race under the umbrella of 'tacos and beer', it makes me angry, to be honest. But who am I to say or complain about how people should be treated... I'm not... I've said it before, I'm a little peon in a cubicle in northern MN. I'm white, and have grown up in an environment where everyone else is too.
It just seems demoralizing. But it got me thinking about how I define myself versus how others might be defining me. I'm sure it's not what I would like people to think, but at the same time, it doesn't matter. Their opinions are their opinions. It should not effect how I go about my day to day boring life.
But this is politics. This is how our top leaders are treating/defining what "Hispanic" means to them. Tacos and beer. Tamales.
Ugh, super lame.
Stereotyping=Ridiculousness
Don't give in to the madness...
No comments:
Post a Comment