Discrimination based on Race and Sexuality

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Reading the three selections for this DB was particularly fascinating for me, a student of Hispanic origins. In many ways I could relate t0 some of the issues facing the writers of these stories, but in the end I just focused on what made me different from them. As a first generation Panamanian-American, I grew up in a 50-50 Spanish and English household. All of my relatives outside of me immediate family live in Panama, and I was very much acquainted with my heritage. I was, and still am, at the butt ends of many jokes about my heritage. While it may have bothered me when I was young, I never give it much thought now. To me, I was always accepted as a fellow American. As Miguel Ramirez puts it, "I dress like an American, I walk like an American, I see the world like an American" but I never once felt that "in America, my home, I feel like an expatriate" (Course Anthology 842). To be honest, I could not at all relate to his issues considering his sexuality and I pretty much looked over that. That does not mean that I do not think it is important; in fact one of my friends just recently came out and I am in full support of it. But when I was reading this pieces, I was thinking about how they relate to my life experience.
I think the issues of discrimination very from people to people. Considering all of my friends are white, I am always conscious that I am a little different, but I never let my heritage define me. This may be because my parents were learned people, who came here to receive a graduate level education. Unlike Norma Andrade's family, my family was never "forced to accommodate to the work that was presented to them" (Course Anthology 851). Assimilation was easy for my family and I think it is now impossible for us to think of ourselves as anything but Americans.A perfect blend of cultures: Our family watching football in Panama (Image provided by Author)
Despite these discrepancies between the author's experiences and my own, I could still comprehend and appreciate the emotional difficulties of Allesandro Melendez's piece. His experience as a black Latino is something completely alien to me and I believe to most Latinos in this country. His struggle to find his identity was particularly striking, and I felt severe pain when his teammate confused him for an African-American, and upon learning his heritage says "I guess I should have called him a spic, huh!" (Course Anthology 857) Nothing will ever stop close guy friends from hurling racially insensitive jokes at me, but my true friends understand my heritage and appreciate it. That is why that particular episode was so callous to me; not only was that person being unnecessarily cruel, but his ignorance added another layer of hurt.
After reading these pieces, I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible for one Latino's account of their experience in America to truly represent all of us. Some Latinos hate it here; some, like me, love it and thank God that we live here. There are just too many Latinos for people to truly discriminate against us in a meaningful way. Latinos are an integral part of this country, and as such our experiences highlight countless aspects of American culture. But for now, I don't worry too much about being "the other" and I don't think many Latino Americans do.