Who are you?
The article we read about the 22 medical student named Lorena began with her story. Her background is not one of particularly pleasant origin. Her father was an alcoholic and did not treat her, her mother, or her siblings properly. At one point he even kidnaps her, fortunately she is returned to her mother after not to long. She recalls her brother saying, “‘You know the reason why he took you? It’s because you don’t sleep with your head covered’” (p-184). This quote serves to humanize her and her family. These aren’t “aliens”, or criminals, or “illegal”, they’re human beings with struggles and hardships and dreams. Her little brother’s childish comment reminds me of myself at that age, I believed my blanket could shield me from any evil force that should creep in the night. Moments like this are important in the testimony of undocumented immigrants; they help to turn our attitudes away from the “in-group out-group” mentality that threatens our unity as a single species.
All that being said, when asked how she identifies, Lorena said, “I’m very proud of being Mexican, but being Mexican now is almost taboo. I don’t describe myself as Hispanic…or Latina…” (p-198/199). The atmosphere of xenophobia in America creates another, personal atmosphere of self-stigmatization in immigrants. There should be no shame in identifying as Mexican or any other ethnicity, but this shaming has been a de facto part of the American attitude for generations. It was the same for Germans, Chinese, Italians, Irish, and all the other cultural groups that sought passage to America En Mass over the generations. Most recently, those from Central and South America have been those coming in the largest numbers. This migration to America causes many Americans to display xenophobic beliefs, hurting the good name of those who would identify as “Hispanic”, or “Latino”, or any other moniker signifying that they came from Central and South America. Lorena resists labeling herself as Hispanic, as Spanish rule has nothing to do with how she sees herself. She resists being called Latina, because the way most people use that word associate its use with troublemakers. Chicana too, has been negatively associated, being coupled with those who complain loudly but don’t bring about any change.
The younger of the too women we read interviews with, Nalda, seems to carry a different attitude. She wants to try and change the stigma around being Mexican in America into a positive connotation. She goes on to impress the interviewer with an articulate comparison between Mexican and American wealth. “I next asked Nalda which subjects she liked the most in school. This question sparked an immediate intellectual exchange” (p-180). Children are intelligent, born on US soil or anywhere else. The challenge facing many immigrants to the US is the problem of Americanization. Nalda has a strong sense of cultural identity, and it is this sense of belonging that gives her strength and will sharpen her intellect as she grows. Our interviewer tells us that trying to assimilate, throwing out one’s cultural heritage, has a negative effect on those who are forced to assimilate. “I conclude that… (the) rush to claim a new identity renders them marginal not only with respect to the academic mainstream, but also with respect to their families’ social identities.” He mentions not only being marginalized by society as a whole, but also by the smaller community that they first identified with.
The AVID program at San Rafael High does good work in regard to avoiding stigmatization of it’s students. The program is very diverse, containing all facets of ethnic representation. Latino, Black, Asian, White, most continental ethnicities are present in the program. The recent aggressive stance against immigrants has impacted many students in the Canal area, but as I have not spent much time in the AVID program yet, I cannot say with confidence what it’s affects have been on the students thus far. As a straight white male, I often thought that I was free from stigmatization and marginalization. However, if I really think back on my life, I find that there are plenty of cases where I felt as though other people hated me for who I was. I attended a charter school when I was in fifth grade that was predominantly black, and I remember not having many friends during my time there. Partly due to shyness, but partly due to the fact that no one seemed interested in being friends. I was lucky, I managed to find a few, but the majority of the school’s kids looked at me with something between disinterest and hostility. The media too, helps to stigmatize white males. The only portrayals of white men that stuck in my mind as a child were those of chiseled muscular handsome men with money. I recall a constant sense of worthlessness I felt as a child, I felt as though I couldn’t attain the status of those I saw in the media. It is important that no group, whether the majority of the population in a country or not, be made to feel inferior to anyone else, or to others of the same group.
