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Tuesday, September 26, 2006

RACISM IN THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY!

Eres Latino, Somos Hermanos

This is my boy Cav speaking up about racism in the Hispanic community. He posted on his myspace blog.

"Racism is alive they just be concealin it.."
Kanye West

I hate to quote Kanye... but my use of his statement isnt to big brother, "the man", or any of the monikers used to describe the ominously obscure face of white power and oppression.

This is for my latino brothers and sisters.... operative words:
BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

This aint a disclaimer. But the truth is pungent at times... and because it is coming from me and not a more typical or "valid" (in some eyes) voice for the concern of "hispanic people" does NOT make it any less true.

If it validates me for you... I DO have latino bloodline in my background... among other things. But i Do Not consider myself Latino. I consider myself a Black man first. That is my choice and if you want insight on that then hit me up on a personal level.

but for the record.. there is no "Blacklandia" where "Black people" come from... and furthermore there is also no race called "Spanish". Spanish is indeed a language.... shiiiit.

Yesterday I was alarmed to hear and then read about the tragic story of two, young, darker skinned Dominican sisters who were shot by a bouncer (BOTH of the women unarmed) of a notoriously racist club in the Dominican Republic. One of the young women, a recent college graduate, died.

for information on the incident click the following links:
http://www.hoy.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=89040
http://clavedigital.com/Noticias/Articulo.asp?Id_Articulo=11879
http://www.hoy.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=89040


But here is my spiel... La Verdad if you will....
As a caribbean man... a black man.. your brother... i urge my family in latin america.. particularly those in the Dominican Republic to learn their history.

Here's the thing. We fuckin up... peep the science.
You CANNOT call a Frenchman a Brit, or a Saxon a Slav... because as people.. those folks have SOME idea or at least CHOOSE to acknowledge the history of who they are and what identifies them as a people.

who we call modern day "hispanic" or "latino" are the product of what white people used to refer to as the products of miscegeny. A mixed group of European, Native American, and yess.. AFRICAN... (OHH NOOOO) African slaves.

I went to the Taino Museum in La Romana, DR... it clearly detailed, in english, spanish, and french for all visitors to see, who Latino people are... particularly latino people in countries like Dominican Republic, Panama, Honduras, Brazil, Cuba, .. or even Jamaica and Trinidad (yes there are latino people in the english speaking Caribbean)

I hold my heart when i see the shock and awe on the face of some from these countries, particularly the island nations, when i refer to their countries as "Caribbean" or "West Indian". Somehow magically we have been deceived enough to believe that a new NoNCaribbean Sea is the body of water that surrounds Puerto Rico or DR for that matter...

Unfortunately the connotation of being "West Indian" is equated to non majority spanish speaking countries -- TO BE READ "BLACK COUNTRIES"
MAJOR MAJOR taboo apparently....

I went to DR and my heart sank.... I have been to other Caribbean countries.. experienced people from lands where English may very well be the THIRD language you learn. And in all of those places existed a uniform basic knowledge of other Caribbean nations and their inter related histories. Unfortunately, this knowledge seemed to be ignored, hidden, or just not accepted in the collective conscious on Dominican Soil... such a beautiful country... such beautiful people... being lead into the dark. And who suffers as a result? Domicans do... and consequently WE do...
if you doubt me... just really assess what is happening in 2006 there... fuck that on the ENTIRE island... Haiti included.

Im sure we could all trade stories to support or even negate some of the worldviews I am assessing in this entry.
But clearly... things are a muck.

There is soooo much more I would like to say to all... and I have much more light I could shed.. but my consideration to your time is sincere...

stay tuned. This is the FIRST blog on my site that I ACTUALLY wrote... and now that the floodgates for the truth is opened.. BEWARE.

.... signing .. off?

PS food for thought... ever wonder why Guyana is considered a Caribbean nation even though it is on the continent called South America... ever wonder why Brazil escapes the same misclassification... hmmm?

Cavalier (Caballero) - Brooklyn's Own Knight For Justice

Check Cav out @ www.myspace.com/cavwins

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

that's why we boycott kimberly clark.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting, and yet you hit it right on the head. First and foremost let me commend you for speaking up and being honest about what most people are afraid to speak about.

From looking at my picture you'd say I was black. Unfortunately, in today's society when it comes down to it you're either black or white. I myself am half African American, half Costa Rican. For the longest time, I was black, no if ands or buts. Took the SATs filled in the bubble next to Black/African American under the question: Please select your race. Choose one bubble. I joined the black student union and the Hispanic student union, but had a problem, they met on the same day at the same time. Where was I? Representing the Black Student Union.

It's funny, we spend so much time complaning about who's racist in the world, but most of need to wake up! I myself have to admit that when it comes down to it, and I have to choose, Ima be black. My grandmother refers to me as "colored", and society automatically refers to black people as 'colored' people.

i recently moved to Georgia, and when I went to get my license changed over I had to specify my race. I went straight for the bubble that said African American, but i was in for a shock. In parenthesies is said (non-Hispanic)....well hold the hell up...that's not me!
So I asked the clerk "If I'm biracial, and there's not "other" on here, what do I do. She told me to pick one. The African American (non-hispanic) does not apply to me..so i selected Hispanic.

We can't be racist to ourslves and yet get upset when come across other racist people....

One more thing, i love how you put this: "Spanish is a language not a race!"

Anonymous said...

IT WAS VERY WELL WRITTEN.. I SUBSCRIBED TO THE BLOG.

Anonymous said...

There will racist people in America no matter what. But they do get me down because all thier judgement is based on ignorance.