Sunday, July 29, 2012

Smothered, Covered, and Chunked

At Waffle House, a local breakfast eatery, you can have your eggs served a few different ways.  A popular choice is to have your eggs served smothered and covered which makes for a delicious way to start your day.   I like my eggs served that way, but I don't like myself served that way.  Let me explain.

I was at a local garage sale the other day, and a few Hispanic families attended the sale.  They looked around and spoke Spanish to each other and spoke English to the ladies running the sale.    The families were polite, kept their kids in check, and left after making a few purchases.    Afterwards, one of the ladies commented, "Don't you just hate when those bunch of Mexicans come, acting like they don't speak English, trying to get the cheapest price?"   When asked this type of question in the past, I have always just remained quiet, not wanting to start a big debate.  This time, I said, " No, not really, I like to speak Spanish, and I like to talk with them."   She then proceeded to comment about how learning Spanish would be great so she could talk with the guys who do her landscaping or the construction workers that work nearby.  I left the sale, came home and seethed.  What I wanted to say, what I wanted to scream was this:
      *Not all Hispanic speakers are from Mexico
      *Everyone at a garage sale barters on price, not just those with a darker skin color
      *Spanish-speaking people are more than landscapers, construction workers, or servers at a taco
        restaurant

Because I am white, speak English, and live in a nice suburb, at times people assume that I, too, harbor racism against the Hispanics who live in my town.   The interaction at the garage sale was just one of many.    In many situations, instead of saying "bunch of Mexicans,"  people will comment on, "that bunch of illegals."  If I continue to stay quiet when these conversations arise, if I continue to cover and smother my perspective, then I am not being true to a people who are being discriminated against overtly and covertly every day because of their skin color and because of their primary language.

Why do I have a different perspective?  At the age of sixteen, I had the privilege to serve as a Rotary Club Exchange student in the Central American country of Costa Rica.  For ten months I lived with host families and learned Spanish, and experienced a different culture and customs.     Throughout my Rotary Exchange experience, I met hundreds of people from other countries, from Mexico and El Salvador to Spain and Australia.    Despite our different geographic locations and spoken languages,  we had much in common, from our love of our countries to our love of family and focus on education.     Over the next ten years,  I studied abroad again in college and then worked in higher education, visiting high schools in North/Central/South America.  

With the changing population demographics, one no longer has to travel abroad to interact with people of Hispanic or Latino origin.  According to the 2011 U.S. Census Bureau, there are 4% Persons of Hispanic or Latino Origin who live in Sumner County, Tennessee.   Of the estimated 163,686 population in this county,  approximately 6,547 Hispanic/Latino people reside here in Hendersonville, Gallatin, White House, and the surrounding areas that make up this county.   One of the best ways to overcome stereotypes about this ever-growing population of people is to educate yourself and your children.   Attend the Fall Fiesta at Volunteer State Community College.  Drive down to Nashville and experience the Celebration of Cultures in Centennial Park.   If you have a child in a Mother's Day Out, church pre-school program, or elementary after-school class with a Spanish curriculum,  go over the new vocabulary and the lessons with your children.    At the very least,  don't cover and smother your children with your negativity against Hispanic people.  


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