(no subject)
I have an 8-page reading that I want to do right now but I'm sitting on the couch next to Winnie and in the narrow space between us her two cats are sleeping one on top of the other and it's so disgustingly cute I don't want to move for fear of disturbing them.
So, here I am.
A lot of stuff has been going on with La Alianza (Case Latino group) lately, and other race/ethnic stuff too for that matter. I've been getting a bit frustrated with Alianza because it seems that the only events people want to do are Salsa Nights and food things. I've been really wanting to do some sort of group service project, but no one really seems interested. Maybe I should just get something together and then propose it to the club - if the work is done for them already they may be more inclined. One problem is that one professor who I know would have a lot of ideas and contacts for me is too petty to speak to me right now. Maybe I should just drop by her office one day and flash her a great big smile and grovel at her feet (I was one of her golden children until I dropped her class last semester...and by drop, I mean stopped showing up).
Another thing with Alianza that has come up is the question of what makes us Hispanic or Latino and why do so few people come to meetings (aside from issues of publicity)? That's a whole issue I will get into another time because I don't feel like typing it all out right now. During a mini-discussion we had, though, Suleika (prez) was saying that some of us (Latinos) take pride in the stereotypes and some of us reject them. She was like, "I identify with the whole idea of a red-hot curvy Latin mama who likes to dance and eat, and I'm proud of that. And Jeff [who is constantly decked out in Puerto Rican gear] is like a totally stereotypical Puerto Rican guy, and he's proud of that. And Jess is totally not stereotypical, and she hates the stereotypes, and she's proud of that." That is not true at all. I explained that, no, I don't hate (all) the stereoytpes and I don't necessarily reject them, I just don't think anyone should be boxed into them. Yeah, I'm proud of my curves and I do love to dance salsa and eat tacos and I joke about being a Latin lover but I want to choose to identify with those things if I want to. I don't want people to assume them about me as soon as they find out about my Mexican-ness.
Winnie just looked over and saw that I'm writing in here.
W: Are you gonna write about me?
J: No... (teasingly)
W: Okay... [pause] Are you gonna write about meee??
J: No....
W: Okay... [pause] How bout now?
She's a cutie.
By the way, I've gotten her saying "Ay, chingada madre!"
Anyway, I've just been thinking about all that... and I mean one thing I've always noticed about the whole idea of "Latino" or "Hispanic" as a single ethnic group is that it's so diverse, how can you group it all into one? But the more I've thought about it, the more absurd I've thought it to be. Like tonight, for example. We had a movie night and showed the movie Born in East L.A., about a Mexican dude. And the room was mostly full of Puerto Rican dudes from the West side of Cleveland, and I was sitting there, thinking that this was absurd. We're all supposed to understand each other just because we've all been tacked under the same label? I mean, to some extent, yeah that is one reason why. Because the US looks at us all the same way, we can relate. I mean Latinos are banded together by the label itself just as much as a (somewhat) shared culture. But what else is there? Many people (including myself) argue that Spanish can't always be a factor. I know I'm getting into a whole controversial debate that's been goin on for a while, but it's so hard. A huge reason is, how can we say that Central Americans, Caribbean people, South Americans and even Spaniards are the same? Especially with South America, which is not only so incredibly diverse but is a whole fucking continent (or half of one, if you learned the continents anywhere other than the US or Canada). Venezuela is very different from Argentina.
Ay, ay, ay... <--- is this what bands us together?
The cats actually moved a little while ago, and I need to pee and do my reading. I'll get into the other things another time. To remind myself:
-OMA
-damn I forgot already....oh yeah, the annoyances of discussing Che Guevara in my English class. Damn gringos.
So, here I am.
A lot of stuff has been going on with La Alianza (Case Latino group) lately, and other race/ethnic stuff too for that matter. I've been getting a bit frustrated with Alianza because it seems that the only events people want to do are Salsa Nights and food things. I've been really wanting to do some sort of group service project, but no one really seems interested. Maybe I should just get something together and then propose it to the club - if the work is done for them already they may be more inclined. One problem is that one professor who I know would have a lot of ideas and contacts for me is too petty to speak to me right now. Maybe I should just drop by her office one day and flash her a great big smile and grovel at her feet (I was one of her golden children until I dropped her class last semester...and by drop, I mean stopped showing up).
Another thing with Alianza that has come up is the question of what makes us Hispanic or Latino and why do so few people come to meetings (aside from issues of publicity)? That's a whole issue I will get into another time because I don't feel like typing it all out right now. During a mini-discussion we had, though, Suleika (prez) was saying that some of us (Latinos) take pride in the stereotypes and some of us reject them. She was like, "I identify with the whole idea of a red-hot curvy Latin mama who likes to dance and eat, and I'm proud of that. And Jeff [who is constantly decked out in Puerto Rican gear] is like a totally stereotypical Puerto Rican guy, and he's proud of that. And Jess is totally not stereotypical, and she hates the stereotypes, and she's proud of that." That is not true at all. I explained that, no, I don't hate (all) the stereoytpes and I don't necessarily reject them, I just don't think anyone should be boxed into them. Yeah, I'm proud of my curves and I do love to dance salsa and eat tacos and I joke about being a Latin lover but I want to choose to identify with those things if I want to. I don't want people to assume them about me as soon as they find out about my Mexican-ness.
Winnie just looked over and saw that I'm writing in here.
W: Are you gonna write about me?
J: No... (teasingly)
W: Okay... [pause] Are you gonna write about meee??
J: No....
W: Okay... [pause] How bout now?
She's a cutie.
By the way, I've gotten her saying "Ay, chingada madre!"
Anyway, I've just been thinking about all that... and I mean one thing I've always noticed about the whole idea of "Latino" or "Hispanic" as a single ethnic group is that it's so diverse, how can you group it all into one? But the more I've thought about it, the more absurd I've thought it to be. Like tonight, for example. We had a movie night and showed the movie Born in East L.A., about a Mexican dude. And the room was mostly full of Puerto Rican dudes from the West side of Cleveland, and I was sitting there, thinking that this was absurd. We're all supposed to understand each other just because we've all been tacked under the same label? I mean, to some extent, yeah that is one reason why. Because the US looks at us all the same way, we can relate. I mean Latinos are banded together by the label itself just as much as a (somewhat) shared culture. But what else is there? Many people (including myself) argue that Spanish can't always be a factor. I know I'm getting into a whole controversial debate that's been goin on for a while, but it's so hard. A huge reason is, how can we say that Central Americans, Caribbean people, South Americans and even Spaniards are the same? Especially with South America, which is not only so incredibly diverse but is a whole fucking continent (or half of one, if you learned the continents anywhere other than the US or Canada). Venezuela is very different from Argentina.
Ay, ay, ay... <--- is this what bands us together?
The cats actually moved a little while ago, and I need to pee and do my reading. I'll get into the other things another time. To remind myself:
-OMA
-damn I forgot already....oh yeah, the annoyances of discussing Che Guevara in my English class. Damn gringos.