What's My Line Pt 2 - 07/17/2006

My sister Brenda & her son Jonathan kept giving us things they did not want or use. Brenda gave me a maroon gauzy 3/4 sleeved shirt. Today I decided to go grocery shopping while David was still here and the toddler was napping. Throw my jeans on, grab some sandals and my new-to-me shirt. Oy. The shirt has these long slits down each sleeve. I did not realize this until I put it on. It just screams: "LOOK AT ME, I'M PUERTO RICAN!!"

Yes, I am Puerto Rican. I live in Central Florida which, after New York, has become "little Puerto Rico." I enjoy being able to speak Spanish and being from a small island, etc., etc. My problem? The fact that a lot of other Puerto Ricans perpetuate the stereotype of the loud, rude, wearing-my-jeans-too-low-look-at-my-thong, my-shirt-is-two-sizes-too-small-check-out-my-belly-and-flabbiness, my-hair-is-slicked-back-so-tight-I-can-stick-my-nose-in-my-ear Hispanic female. The women who are too young and yell at the top of their shrill voices to their little boys in Wal-Mart: "Ven ACA, hijo de la gran puta!!" (calling their sons "sons of whores," while not realizing the irony that they are these boys' mothers, and hence, they are the whores. True story. Saw it with my own eyes). The "I want to be in your face so I will drive a car so low it hits the ground, play music so loud it will one day cause me to wear a hearing aid, my seat is so far back, you can barely see me driving" guys that go with them are so fun too. I get embarrassed by these people. Did I mention that my sisters call me the "White" sister? Just because I am from Puerto Rico does not mean that I now have to act a certain way or listen to certain music (please stick an ice pick in my ear if I am ever near Reggeaton (sp?) again!) I am Puerto Rican and intelligent? *gasp* College graduate?? No! Make over minimum wage (a lot over) Perish the thought! I must be an abberation!

You need to aspire to do something greater than be just a stereotype for your nationality or culture. Notice I don't say race. This was another discussion I had recently.

Back when David and I were going to school, there were only 3 races: Caucasoid (or Caucasian), Mongoloid and Negroid. This is not made up or me being racist. Look it up. Puerto Ricans are Caucasians - notice I did not say white. White is not a race, it's a color. Caucasian does not mean you are white. It means you are of the Caucasoid group. Mongoloids (such a weird word), includes Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, etc. I can't & won't argue this all, because even to this day, these words are being bantered & argued over. The US Government Census has even expanded what the term is, because people get so confused.

I love Wikipedia: Quote:
The 22nd federal census, in 2000, had a "short form"[3] that asked two race/ancestry questions:
1. Is the person Spanish/Hispanic/Latino?
No, not Spanish/Hispanic/Latino
Yes, Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano
Yes, Puerto Rican
Yes, Cuban
Yes, other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino (write in group)
2. What is the person's race?
White
Black, African American,
American Indian or Alaska Native (write in tribe)
Asian Indian
Chinese
Filipino
Japanese
Korean
Vietnamese
Native Hawaiian
Guamanian or Chamorro
Samoan
Other Pacific Islander (write in race)
Other race (write in race)

This census acknowledged that "race categories include both racial and national-origin groups."
"National-Origin groups". See. Race and National Origin. They are mixing both, confusing the term Race for us all.

David had someone at work once argue with him because David kept telling him he (the other guy) was Caucasian. The person got incredibly irate with David for calling him white (LOL - Caucasian does not equal white, people) and yelled at him that it was "people like you!!" that perpetuate racism. No, it's just ignorance. LOL

Back to my shirt. I wore it to Winn Dixie (grocery store) and felt like a total doofus doing so. I felt like I need to be wearing 4 inch stilettos, TIGHTER jeans, and be at a club shaking my thang, wherever my thang happens to be at this moment, as thangs have expanded and dropped. I wish I could sew.