What Latinos and Anglos Need to Learn From Each Other Racism Latino Versus Anglo Style. By William Javier Nelson, Ph.D. I am going to give you two completely different conversational scenarios and make an attempt to tie them both into a coherent statement of my feeling of what Latinos and "Gringos" (English-speaking US natives) need to learn from each other. A short time after my cousin Manuel (Martinez) came to this country, he was asked about the "racial situation" in the Dominican Republic. "En La Republica Dominicana, racismo no existe [racism doesn’t exist in the Dominican Republic]," proudly proclaimed Manuel to an interested Anglo (who understood Spanish). I sat beside both of them with an ironic expression on my face, knowing full well that the Latino form of racism is alive and well. Fast-forward to some recent union negotiations between the company I work for and our union. As I sat in our break room and tried to speak of the near total disregard for working men and women (of any race) by folks in the upper levels of the upper middle class and the wealthy elite (of any race), I was met with tolerant amusement by both black and white fellow employees. Both situations recall to me the fundamental blind spots of Latinos and Anglos, respectively - and also some tremendous potentialities. ______________________________ There are color gradations in all Latin American countries, with the top social levels predominately occupied by those folks with Iberian (Caucasian) features. ______________________________ In our own countries, we Latinos tend to gloss over physical and "racial" differences among each other, so long as we speak Spanish and are roughly in the same socioeconomic class. Thus, my good friend Charne Roman Pena (who is in my lower-middle class level but who looks like a central Italian) and I tend to gloss over our physical differences and focus more on our Dominican commonalities (and I assure you, I don't look like a central Italian). There are some caveats here, however: (a) with Latinos of the upper classes, all bets are off: brown-skinned Yours Truly is not looked upon as an equal; (b) there are some folks in the same economic situation who can and do decide to be color-struck; (c) Latinos entering the US who can pull it off often "go white," often incorporating Anglo notions. However, there is a genuine feeling of commonality of Latinos of many and varying colors, especially in the middle of the economic spectrum. Moreover, there is much more of a willingness by Latinos to be selectively ambiguous (translation in plain English: "Hell, I don't remember what his 'race' was, he was just a muchacho, you know"). Our blind spot, of course, is our tendency to gloss over the actual discriminations and pecking orders that come about in Latino societies, for there can be no mistaking that there are color gradations in all Latin American countries, with the top social levels predominately occupied by those folks with Iberian (Caucasian) features and a disproportionate percentage of persons with Indian, mestizo, mulatto or African features at lower levels. Thus, it is not surprising to countenance mulatta or mestiza Dominican women avidly watching and identifying with "telenovelas" featuring Caucasoid female leads. This somewhat explains the nascent level of racial protest in Brazil by darker people, who, above all, identify as Brazilians. ______________________________ The Anglo blind spot, of course, is the tendency to see everything as color-based and ignore economic dynamics. ______________________________ On the other hand, North Americans are conditioned to see themselves as their racial designation first, nationality a distant second. As far as economics are concerned, there are African Americans in droves who really believe that all whites are well-off and all blacks are poor. Moreover, whites are conditioned to focus on their advantages of being white, whether they are working class or not (the Ku Klux Klan, etc. recruits from working class whites). North Americans are extremely specific when it comes to race (although in isolated pockets there is some flexibility). In attempting to rectify racial discrepancies over the years, some powerful legal safeguards have been established. Moreover, among both whites and blacks there is a high awareness and consciousness of racial justice (something that Latinos - sorry to say - need some serious education on). The Anglo blind spot, of course, is the tendency to see everything as color-based and ignore economic dynamics, particularly the trends present in US society which have seen more and more economic inequality since 1973. One of the most humorous moments I ever had in teaching was when a white lady with a $35,000 yearly salary told me she felt sorry for Oprah Winfrey (net worth $400 million) "because she was black." When I translated what she said to the Mexicans to whom I was teaching English, we laughed about that one all week. What do the two groups have to offer each other? If my Aladdin's Lamp had two wishes, I would wish for the following two things: (a) That Latinos could impart to Anglos the ability to see nationality as having importance over race; to develop an ability to see people in racially ambiguous modes (racial non-specificity) and to look at intermarriage as normal. (b) That Anglos could impart to Latinos the ability to face head-on and discuss inequities of color and the guts to say, "Yes, we have a problem!" I have faith in God that (a) and (b) can happen and will eventually happen. Just looking at some of the correspondences I have received over the years lets me know that people are growing and growing by leaps and bounds. William Javier Nelson is of Dominican nationality. He has been an active academic for many years, currently specializing in reviewing new publications in comparative sociology. In recent years he has been an active contributor to Interracial Voice website. You can see some of his other writings at www.webcom.com/~intvoice. This article previously appeared in Interracial Voice Magazine. This website: Copyright © 2004 Dream World Media, LLC. / Urban Mozaik Magazine. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in Urban Mozaik Magazine are not necessarily those of Urban Mozaik Magazine and the publisher cannot be held responsible for them. This website/publication, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.