The View From Here

Last night in class we watched a videotape (yes, a videotape like in a VCR) that was to highlight how we make conclusions based on first impressions, body language, and so on. Essentially it was getting at how we can and do stereotype and how that can affect our ability to assess and treat clients. The videotape was about a show episode to guess who the real person was, i.e. there was one truth teller and two posers.  The person they were guessing was a Mr. Martinez who was a bilingual barber bookseller.  First of all I had issues with the show itself stereotyping by having all three people being Latino and "looking" Latino.  As I have already discussed being Latino (according to the US census) is a cultural marker not racial in that facial features and such do not indicate this identity.  Yet, we racialize this identity as the following proves... So, we have three Latinos who are stereotypically looking Latino (olive skin, dark hair, etc.) and we find out that t...

A few months ago I decided from now on to only see plays if there's a person of color.  Again, I'm fully aware of the complexity of race and what does it mean to "see" race but let's be honest, I feel most of us know what we're talking about when it comes to under-representation.  I feel there should at least be an effort to include the most apparent and salient aspects of diversity in our nation with, again, the understanding there is intersection of identities. Thus, the other night I went to see " The Glass Menagerie" at Trinity Rep  in Providence. Well, the play has an African-American woman playing the role of Laura, which is a refreshing change.  If you didn't know, in theatre circles there is the on-going debate of the idea of "purity" in hiring actors for specific roles, e.g. Romeo and Juliet need to be White and European.  It can go both ways in that White actors have been hired to play roles specifically for people of color ...

For the past few weeks I've been following the new show, " Fresh Off the Boat ," which is about an Asian American family living in Orlando.  As far as I can tell, the parents seem to be first generation arriving in the US and the kids are first generation born in the US.  I have to say that hearing the title made me think of how I heard the term growing up near Boston's Chinatown.  To be frank it was a word that ABCs (American Born Chinese) used to disparage those who were recent immigrants in the US.  Then again, my parents and family friends often called the ABC kids as " jook sing " which can be interpreted as "empty bamboo."  This was not a compliment but rather a descriptor of their children (me!) that though we looked Chinese outside, we really were void of our cultural underpinnings like language, food, etc. So, I have mixed feelings about the show as it reinforces some stereotypes especially about the mom. Then again, I'm often surpri...

Not too long ago I found out that an alum of a college I used to work at was being promoted into a significant position, and I thought it'd be great to have the news about him be part of the college's list of on-line articles about alumni news.  When I asked the college about this, I was told that they had actually been tracking this alum's career and have been wanting to interview him but he did not respond to their initial inquiry.  So I offered to follow-up and I did. Well, it turns out that, yes, this alum received their inquiry and though he was open to being interviewed, he wasn't so sure they were open to hearing what he had to say.  And it was no surprise that he said that he would have both very good things to say and some tough things to say about his experiences at the college,  I suppose this is true for most alum of any college in that one has mixed experiences as an undergraduate.  Yet it is particularly true for those who are marginalized due to...

To get the pulse of any campus, I like to read the school paper.  It's interesting to note that though technology is taking over much of our lives, the weekly or even daily college school paper continues to be on, well, paper. Earlier this week I picked up the paper at the college that I'm attending for graduate school and work at part-time.  In it was a response editorial by the paper's editor about her consternation about last week's guest editorial about #blacklivesmatter . The editor was particularly upset about the idea that we in the present are responsible for the past.  I quote the editor in full: "After reading the #BlackLivesMatter article I was annoyed and angered. The author was taking things that happened before we were even born and using them against everyone alive today.  There has been much oppression in our country's history.  When the Irish came over they were scrutinized and kicked out of buildings.  they were passed up on jobs an...

Last night my boyfriend and I were having a discussion about the problem of race and being Latino/Hispanic.  This is not a new conversation for us considering my past work in diversity in higher education and his academic teaching on Latin American and Latino US American politics. Depending on who you talk to, being Hispanic/Latino can be racially framed, i.e. being "brown" or culturally framed, e.g. being "Mexican" or "Cuban."  All of this got a bit complicated when in 1980 the US government decided to change the way census demographics would be noted and collected. So instead of being of being Hispanic, one must choose a race (White, Asian, etc.) and Hispanic or Non-Hispanic. I've often talked to friends who are Hispanic/Latino and they lament the fact that it was not racial category especially when it is racialized and they experience the racialization every day through stereotyping, microagressions and outright racism because of features deemed...

For my graduate class I'm doing a practicum in the local area.  Due to all the snow I've only gone in twice but so far it has been a good experience.  Much of it is because majority of the staff are people of color.  In my entire life this is the first time I've ever entered into a workplace and most of the people are those of color.  In this case they're also mostly women.  Also most if not all were either pursuing their Master's degree or already had one.  Having lunch with them and listening to their stories encouraged my heart and sustained me for the rest of the day. That's what happens when you're among those who are like-minded yet are different in so many ways. The expression "Unity in Diversity" really can be true. Yet the truth is that I know that when these women are out and about, they are probably presumed to be drop-outs, illegal or poor simply based on what they look and sound like.  I also know that I don't get any of that be...