Wut? Are you sure know what “parochial” means? (Hint: It is not an antonym of “kneejerk politically hyper/correct”.)
I’m perfectly well aware of the “subtexts” you seem to be alluding to, and frankly, from the tone of your post, I suspect more of them, and in greater depth than you are. And just how familiar are you with the socio-political and cultural history of Mexico (and the rest of “the Americas” south of the “United States of America”)? The Monroe Doctrine and its legacy nothwithstanding, there have been a lot of “oppressors” in the Americas (and there still are), and by no means are they particularly heavily concentrated north of the Rio Grande… I have always been perfectly willing (sometimes too willing for some people’s comfort), to “call out” Ugly Americans (or I guess I should say “Ugly North Americans south of Canada”) for what they are, I just wish some other peoples were as willing to call out their own “uglies” as they are others’, and yes, in particular “USAians”…
PS: What do “Mexicans”, much less any particular Mexican, or person of Mexican descent (if that’s what you’re saying ratgirlagogo is), have to do with any of this?
PPS: I’m not sure what your point is, but I was born in and have lived the overwhelming majority of my life in NYC. Also for whatever it might be worth - and I’m not at all sure what the point of any of this is - I speak Spanish more or less fluently (in the opinion of many of the Spanish speakers I’ve been acquainted or worked with, though nowhere near as well as my native English) - and being from NYC and not especially “parochial” have certainly worked, gone to school with, and dare I say it, been friends to various degrees with, people from very many different backgrounds - both immediate-immigrant and descendants within a couple of generations of immigration (I fall into the latter category).
@MikeG, I’m truly not arguing with you, in the least. I meant what I posted, and wasn’t being sarcastic at all. Just explaining my position. And yes, I do understand what parochial means, and of course I’m using it in a very broad context here. You know that, I’m sure.
Did you read @ratgirlagogo’s post? I will wade into those waters, but not deeply. I really think you may be the best poster to address that. I’m being straightforward here, and not disingenuous. I apologize if my last post had a tone to it, and offended you in any way. It wasn’t my intention. I do lay things on the line though, but always in an honest manner, I hope.
If you want to know what I really mean about intellectual muscle flexing, just pick up a copy of Simon Winchester’s latest book, whatever the hell it is. While I was a great fan of The Professor and the Madman, I don’t read him anymore. Realize I should have underlined the title of the book, but chose not to…
Best to you, and
My only point about where you are from has to do with the fact we’re a huge and diverse country. I have lived in many places, but mostly the west. I’ve traveled a lot domestically, with some international trips. I’ve simply noticed a lot of regional differences - Oregon is almost a different country , and the south, which I love is quite different from my part of the world. Basically I’m saying that I don’t know all the cultural norms in my own country!
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
43
Surely that’s inevitable in a country as large as America.
In that respect, I’m fortunate to live on this small island off the coast of Europe. Very small - none of us live more than 75 miles from the sea. It means that, whilst there might be differences in perceptions due to ethnic or religious backgrounds, there is little geographical difference in society about viewpoints.
You deserve an answer @ratgirlagogo, but I’m going to keep it short. 2+ decades or so, ago, I had a coworker I didn’t know well yet. I asked if she was of Mexican heritage (I probably wanted to ask her about making tamales or something.) She visibly bristled, and said she was Hispanic. From then on, I’ve used alternate terms to be on the safe side. It’s complicated, even within Mexico, due to many people claiming pure Spanish lineage, rather than being intermixed with the indigenous peoples that lived there before the arrival of the conquistadors.
That said, I talked to my Latina friend yesterday, who said she wasn’t the least offended by being referred to as Mexican. She said another certain word would be offensive, but is widely used among themselves.
Hope that helps, and again, it may be different in other parts of the country.
I grew up in Los Angeles, went to school for a few years in Santa Cruz, and moved to NYC when I was 24. In other words I grew up in a state that had been part of Mexico until the Mexican cession in 1848. I know very well that since it was a colony of Spain for centuries and then part of the Spanish-speaking country of Mexico, Spanish was the primary spoken language in California until well into the 20th century.
I grew up in a Los Angeles household in which my brother and I spoke English as the first language, but Finnish (through my father) and Spanish (through my mother) were also spoken. My Irish-American mother and her sister grew up in Brooklyn and were part of the NYC rumba/mambo/cha-cha craze of the 30’s and 40’s, which probably is why my mother got her degree in Spanish from Hunter College, back when it was arguably one of the best Spanish departments in the country, full of refugees from Fascist Spain. My aunt met a good looking guy at Roseland, an immigrant from Mexico City that she married. His sister and two brothers ended up moving to Los Angeles when my mom and dad did, and the sister and her Italian husband became my godparents.
My Mexican immigrant relatives were proud to be Mexican American.
OTOH Spanish speakers who were born in the former Mexican Cession after 1848 as well as Spanish speakers from other countries, will in my experience obviously not want to be referred to as “Mexican.”
Yes I did read my own post @ratgirlagogo, and I agree that it’s freakishly inconsistent in a way. It’s why I hesitated answering your post. I didn’t grow up in states with large Hispanic populations, and I’ve heard the term Mexican used in horrible ways. Unfair stereotyping, and all that goes along with it. It’s simply my choice to use the alternative terms.
) for what they are, I just wish some other peoples were as willing to call out their own “uglies” as they are others’, and yes, in particular “USAians”…
, and the south, which I love is quite different from my part of the world. Basically I’m saying that I don’t know all the cultural norms in my own country!
It’s why I hesitated answering your post. I didn’t grow up in states with large Hispanic populations, and I’ve heard the term Mexican used in horrible ways. Unfair stereotyping, and all that goes along with it. It’s simply my choice to use the alternative terms.