For years now, the "N"-word has been a taboo part of vernacular.... that is unless you are an African American....
Then the other day I was eating lunch with a friend and I was talking about my brother-in-law - who is Mexican. Not just Mexican decent, but a Mexican citizen. In the course of the conversation I realized that when it came time to speak of his nationality we whispered the word "Mexican" almost as if it was an insult to speak of him that way.
I stopped myself and wondered, what is wrong with me? Following that conversation I noticed that I was not the only one that was talking that way. Is that a Utah thing? An American thing? Anyone?
I don't mean anything derogatory in my use of the word, which is why I laugh about it now. In your various parts of the world, is the term Mexican a descriptive, as it should be, of nationality and heritage, or is it used with caution so as to not offend anyone?
You bring up some interesting points.
ReplyDeleteThere should have been no shame in uttering the word "Mexican" out loud, for it actually applied to someone who was of such nationality.
The awkwardness seems to come from the current sensationalized negative views on illegal immigration in certain parts of the country.
As far as certain neighborhoods are concerned, I have been and lived in both anti-Mexican and "brown pride" neighborhoods where people were proud of their Mexican heritage.
I'm sure that there exists such neighborhoods in not only Utah, but in all parts of the world.
Thanks for your participation! Welcome to the blog. I suppose when you come to America there is a sense of national pride that can be viewed as a healthy respect for your culture, and then there can be a set that shows their pride by destroying the country that allows them the freedoms to express themselves.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Southern California and I didn't encounter a great deal of the "whispering". Mexican culture was very much part of the area. I suppose I have noticed this idea of tip-toeing around calling someone a mexican because they want to be nice about it, but deep down they tip toe because they assess the term mexican as a derogatory term. Just found that to be an interesting commentary.