I am primarily Hispanic of Mexican descent. I also am part German and Irish as well. As I grow older I realize that my ethnic background has influenced me more than what I had originally thought it had, although the general environment in which I was raised had the largest influence on me and it was not specifically ethnically related. My sense of family, my work ethic, my religious affiliation, and the reverence and respect I hold for certain members of my family have all been influenced by my ethnicity. Also, although I do not live within or often associate socially within my own ethnical group, I maintain a sense of kinship with most Hispanic’s I meet. It is a visible common factor that we share and can immediately associate with. I liken it to being in the military; you are a part of a group that no matter where you go you can associate with and develop some form of camaraderie with.
I’m a fairly light skinned Hispanic, but if you are paying attention at all, it is evident I am not white. In this age of such wide diversity, often I don’t think people know exactly what ethnicity I am unless I tell them my name. If they are aware of Hispanic ethnicities, the pronunciation of my name gives it away. Without this, I think it would be easy for someone to think I’m Middle Eastern (which I think did actually happen after 9/11 – it cost a bank my business and a mortgage as a matter of fact), Indian, Puerto Rican, and once, a long time ago, someone even thought I was Asian. I could also be an Italian! Overseas I was even probably thought to be Turkish (Germans at the time, and probably still, weren’t very keen on Turks).
Yes, I do believe it has influenced the way some people communicate with me – verbally and non-verbally as well as inflection and tone. If you mean do they speak louder, or assume I don’t speak English etc. no, just the way they talk to me. Mexican’s assume I can speak fluent Spanish and are a bit disgusted to find out I can’t sometimes. I have been discriminated against and talked down to more times than I care which I believe was directly associated with my ethnicity – without my giving them any indication of what I was. I have had racial slurs thrown at me, even ones that weren’t even associated with my ethnicity. Most people are decent though and communicate without these types of biases. The state of the country at a given time and where I’m living within the U.S., or elsewhere, along with my ethnicity also influences how people communicate with me.
The problem is it is easy when you are visibly ethnically different to assume someone is communicating with or treating you differently because of your ethnicity. It could be there is something else, non-ethnically related, that is really the cause, but how do you know?
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This would be difficult to find out. I can see why when you are visibly ethnically different why you would assume someone is communicating differently with you because of your ethnicity. This feeling probably stems off of the stereotypes people have of certain ethnic groups; so then you would assume they are viewing you in that way too. I think this would come naturally as a defense mechanism. I think when you are visibly different than the majority of the population, it is hard to know why people communicate differently with you. But it is important to learn how others communicate in different cultures so there are less misunderstandings. Having an open mind in this way makes communicating with others easier.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what Kim said. People in the United States have a long history or racism and prejudice, and sadly, some of that still exists today. I also think that some people have very little experience communicating with people of other ethnicities and are uncomfortable with such communication. For people of different ethnicities, it is natural to assume some people will view you as "different" and therefore communicate differently with you because of your ethnicity. It's definitely an intercultural communication problem!
ReplyDeleteI believe people care ethnicity more than they think. Like America, there are many ethnicities exsist in one country and has various problems. Problems are not simple and easy. However, the Internet dramatically changed the world, and now we have a lot more chance to know other ethnicities through online information. Also, we are learning this right now! People do treat you defferently because of your ethnicity, however, I believe it will change in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think that you dont really know. there is so many differnt things to consider. someone could treat you differently or talk to you differntly because of what you are wearing, music choices, and friends. Even if there was an ethnic difference they maybe don't even care that your skin tone is a different color of that you are from a differnent area.
ReplyDeleteI am sensitive to the way others have treated you and at the same time embarrassed. I realize as I read through these blogs that I am one of those people that pay little attention to ethnicity and try to figure out someone's ethnic background simply because I am paying more attention to them as people. I still remember coming to the Twin Cities when I was 21, from a very non-diverse small town and noticing how many diverse people I was seeing for the first time. Since then, I have been exposed to so many people for different reasons that the only way I would really notice it is if they were speaking a different language. My daughter's friends in school are all from different backgrounds too whether adopted from Korea, Indian, or Mexican. I really enjoy diversity personally.
ReplyDeleteThis is something that could be pondered about for centuries.For myself I think depends upon how much we actually think about this. They claim at a certain age, this is a question is relevant to the obsession of many young teens and preteens alike. This obsession of how people think of us, is part of all kinds of uncertainties that idiosyncratically place themselves into the paths of our lives. We may sometimes be right about prejudices people have about our appearances and ethnicities and we may be wrong, but I believe it depends upon how much I care about the person and when and where are they going to affect me on my life journey.
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