My buddy Jose at Emerge Miami posted a video illustrating stereotypes Asians get hit with. My favorite one was "I eat dog", but that's besides the point.
Actually I had some great points and deep thoughts on the subject, until I heard the closing song.... "Tell Me Why?" by Bronski Beat. Dude (Mr. Cho), the video is awesome, but you've GOTTA change that song. Wasn't that a gay 80's anthem?
Seriously though, I can see some of what Jose is saying are similarities in feelings over stereotypes among minorities. Maybe I'm a little more resistant to it, but stereotypes don't bother me too much. That's probably because I love to dish out the stereotypes as much as I receive them.
Is that a post-modern trait? Has my cynicism and sarcasm defense mechanism made it so I can tolerate stereotypes and silly people more than people in past generations could? Maybe so. Maybe that's why shows like Chapelle Show and Mind of Mencia are so popular.
Stereotypes seem to have become a part of the fabric of our culture, for better or for worse. We stereotype other people all the time (by we I mean me, Mr. Cho and Mr. Zapata). We assume we are going to be discriminated against, because all "white" people are like that. Isn't that a stereotype?
So Mr. Cho, and Mr. Zapata, I'm afraid I cannot in all honesty stand in solidarity with you in your American experience. I would be somewhat hypocritical. I love my church, but I also love stereotyping my "cracker" brothers. I do it all the time, but I still love them. I also stereotype my Asian, Colombian, Nicaraguan, Cuban (but that's just self-loathing), Puerto-Rican and... well pretty much everyone I meet.
I guess it's just some weird post-modern... thingy.
Di-Di-Di!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
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6 comments:
The only weird thing you got is a cuban thing...Miami is the ONLY place where a person with a Spanish background grows up in the majority. You said it before, Cubans growing up thinking that their the elect race of God. I envy Hipanics who grow up in Miami, you never got handed me down baggage. But as soon as you get out of your element you default..I think I remember you saying in Texas, Hi my name is Marcos, I'm Cuban. Who taught you to do that?
In some ways you don't share the experience because you've been sheltered from it, but in other ways you deeply do. Peace, you Cubanito que no sabe na...love a Berkeley Boricua
We live in a racialized society, that's why Mencia is so funny, the way he exploits this is genius. The video was a bit cheesy and sentimental, but I found it interesting that Rev. Cho has to deal with race categories in Seattle. Here's some thoughts on a Racialized society:
What is a racialized society?
The practice of particularized slavery has produced the racialized society in which we live. As we discussed in The Gospel and Race course, the roots of our racialization go back to the particular enslavement of black skinned Africans by the Portuguese slave trade as early as the 1480s. Slavery was a universal practice before this time. However, with the commencement of the Portuguese slave trade, a particular group of people where enslaved to serve Europeans. This practice received theological justification based upon poor Biblical hermeneutics and was supported by the church. “Racism originated as an assertion of Western cultural superiority that was eventually proclaimed to be intrinsic.” This claim of superiority was eventually challenged in the 20th & 21st centuries. As we look back on our sinful history, we thank God that blacks in America can legally be denied their full humanity, their equality (slavery abolished in the North 1808), their citizenship, their right to vote (contra the Dred Scott Decision of 1857), and no longer can this society segregate blacks . However, despite the advancements made by the Civil Rights Movement, the remnants of our racist past still linger. Now instead of the practice of involuntary segregation we are left with the willful separation of white and black Americans. Emerson describes this racialized society by observing the current state of the Union.
“In the post–Civil Rights United States, the racialized society is one in which intermarriage rates are low, residential separation and socioeconomic inequality are the norm, our definitions of personal identity and our choices of intimate associations reveal racial distinctiveness…A racialized society is a society wherein race matters profoundly for differences in life experiences, life opportunities, and social relationships.”
This racialization is evident in the social structure of the United States. Every American is socialized into racial categories, and as Smith has said “we are never unaware of the race of the person with whom we interact.” Our social system unites and divides people along racial lines. We speak consciously and unconsciously in White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, and (newly added to the list) Arabic labels. This established racialized social system has historically favored whites. White skinned people tend to be the main benefactors of the advanced economic and political structures that are in place within the United States. This racialized social system works as a cooperative, and has historically given group preferences to whites to help them advance through “the system.”
Mira Boricua... You are correct sir. But in Texas, the only reason I said "I'm Cuban" (and that was more of a joke than an actual thing I did) was because of the stereotype I mentioned ; because of the "all latinos are Mexican" thing. That bothers everybody, including Mexicans. But that's what it is; a joke.
I don't think growing up in Miami has anything to do with it. We still experienced it here for many years. You only lived here recently; I spent the 70's-present here and I can tell you there were times when it got bad.
If the country club is too white, start your own. Mr. Cho is a pastor correct? He attracts other Asians. No white person is stifling his ministry. His ministry will flourish because God is behind it, and because those who form a part of it are like-minded. What does he care about stereotypes?
I'm not questioning your experience, just the reaction considering the times we live in.
Arroz con gandules, baby!
Ok Mark Rue'ez - NPR radio announcer version.
(aka Marcos Ruiz, member in the Havana Cuban Fraternity...what ever it's called).
by the way did you see the report from FEMA on insurance fraud? You Cubans are messing up property insurance in South Florida.
Markis, I don’t think this has anything to do with postmodernism; it simply has to do with realizing our city is very special and diverse when it comes to ethnicity, and we all know that our ‘cracker’ brothers are the minority in this town. I understand Zapata’s concern, I’m a third generation American, believe it or not and I and others have been discriminated against por los 'Frizados-Escogidos'. I believe this issue goes deeper than just mere opinion. I have been told things like: ‘You Cubans are all alike’ by a well known evangelical leader in our town. What made me more upset was that I’m not Cuban to begin with, second, what da-heck does he mean by his remark anyway? On the other hand, postmoderns tend to be more accepting, even of diverse cultures and beliefs. I think they are learning to embrace one way or another, multi culture, and cross culture. One thing some churches in our town don’t have a clue about… they still do ‘Latin Night’ in order to invite Hispanics to their churches and end up serving Mexican-tacos for the main meal… You figure out the rest! I rest my case.
Paz,
‘Yell-Out!’
Paz is right.
Like I said, I'm not questioning the experience, just the soundness of the reaction.
This topic got me thinking though. Time for another blog.
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