No, I Will Not Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!
…And you shouldn’t either.
From September 15 to October 15 this year, this country celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month.
OK, so here’s the thing. I have plenty of reasons to enthusiastically celebrate the culture of Latin America… Hmmm, even that doesn’t sound right. That Holy Roman Spanish colonialism sure is hard to wash out.
What I’m trying to say is that I will wholeheartedly celebrate the cultures of the people whose ancestry is South of our border. I fully support recognizing each and every one of them. I also enjoy the food, the music, the art, the languages (plural!), and… did I mention the food? But most importantly, I support and appreciate the awareness that is so critically needed during this time.
I should also mention that my wife is Puerto Rican and I’m pretty sure that counts as well, although it isn’t technically “South” of our border, it is within it… but that’s a whole other can of worms I can’t go into here. However, it’s exemplary of the problem.
So what’s the problem, then?
The problem is the term Hispanic. Other than poking a little fun by dividing it into two words: his panic, there isn’t much humor in the whole thing. It is actually fraught with bad history. So let’s delve into this a…
