Am I White, Hispanic, Latino, Or A Man?
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| I took this screenshot while filling out an online application for a job I didn't really want. |
Venturing into the workforce (while still pondering starting another small business), this is what I encountered.
Perhaps I am interpreting this wrong.
Maybe their system has an algorithm which reads my name and makes an assumption.
For the sake of honor (my own), I won't share whose company I was applying for.
Not worth making more noise than this soapbox moment I'm allowed to revel in.
Speaking soap in a box...
Spic and Span
Nice.
Hispanic speaks Spanish, right?
Yes, but there is no connection regarding negative epitaphs.
For an in-depth review of Latinos/Hispanics/Immigrants from south of the U.S. border in the cleaning industry, read this work from the New England Journal of Public Policy.
They likely use Spic and Span while also speaking Spanish while Hispanic.
Truth be told, the original phrasing is 'spick and span' and dates back to 16th century Netherlands.
The Spanish had an imperial dynasty while at its zenith in the 16th century, and the following century that effort began to wane.
Hispanic To My Glory Or To My Shame?
Back to that application, there were no Spanish instructions in the previous screens, nor Spanish language answers besides that “si".
This is why I took notice and snapped the screenshot.
At first, I giggled, and then I thought about it.
I have not filled out an application for employment in several years.
It is humiliating, for me, to be honest.
Having previously tasted a semblance of freedom (in the mind and in the pocketbook) by deriving an income on my own (learning how to be self-employed or have small businesses), the thought of having to qualify for another human being's expectations... is bothersome (to me).
My wife says I can be stubborn and a bit proud.
She’s right.
I am a man.
A man who has tasted defeat enough times, regarding things outside of my control, outside my front door, to know the world is not perfect nor fair no matter how much I aim for Perfection and think fairly.
A man who had once responded pridefully in ways built upon more pride to combat the pride prevalent around me... and found that is not the way, although many persist in this way.
Perhaps this article is proud.
But what kind of pride?
White Pride, Hispanic Pride, Latino Pride, Man Pride, Which?
Men take pride in things they had nothing to do with.
Like which family they were born into.
Or what another man had previously called something and now is called their own.
But notice how some men revel in their ideological constructs.
Fabricated ideas, formulated by words, reinforced by dominant cultural programming.
And then the blowback to that cultural programming, aiming at correction, but often times making things much worse.
More pride... leading to arrogance and people getting hurt.
The next screenshot explains at whose behest this company needs to include such data trolling information:
I clicked 'white', hoping they would call me about a suspected lie on the application (they had a screen warning me about lying or giving false information).
I would have shown them my California birth certificate then briefed them on identity issues.
I likely would have convinced them to give me a Public Relations gig.
Either way, you can't win even when handed a trophy that says ‘win'.
Upon reading or hearing your name, who knows what pops up in someone's mind regarding what they think about you.
Just like when you see someone on the street, in a store, or anywhere else, you make a snap judgment according to whatever is currently running in your stream regarding what you see.
These are things that seem fixed in society, and people's minds are fixated on popular themes in society.
Prejudices are popular, but it is not popular to openly mention them (anymore).
There is the exploration of heritage, not to derive pride from it, but to better understand Today.
At least there is policy and law attempting to address these mental strongholds.
Just like when you see someone on the street, in a store, or anywhere else, you make a snap judgment according to whatever is currently running in your stream regarding what you see.
These are things that seem fixed in society, and people's minds are fixated on popular themes in society.
Prejudices are popular, but it is not popular to openly mention them (anymore).
There is the exploration of heritage, not to derive pride from it, but to better understand Today.
At least there is policy and law attempting to address these mental strongholds.
These are cultural programmings we have been saturated in.
On the other hand, getting a job because there's a quota to me is bogus.
Doesn't seem genuine.
Like someone saying they pick you because they have to, instead of they want to.
What is a Hispanic, and according to who and why?
How is that word understood today, and how has it changed from yesteryear?
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| WikiSource |
Okaaaay.
What, then, is a Latino and according to whom and why?
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| WikiSource |
My birth certificate says "white", but people are not colors like crayons.
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| [X-Files on the dates and other private information] |
My plea is that my friends, family, relatives near and far (even you reading this) begin to move beyond labels and embrace one another for what we are: human beings.
People are not colors, nor labels that someone gave a place that somehow turned into a human identity.
Although science-fiction has long talked about Martians, when a human is born on Mars, then this identity crisis will continue to be perpetuated.
At that time, surely people on earth will become suspicious of the people on Mars, and the Martian jokes would have finally found their place.
At that time, surely people on earth will become suspicious of the people on Mars, and the Martian jokes would have finally found their place.
What is 'white'?
Sadly, 'people' is included when it comes to identifying 'white'.
Why is it sad?
Because there is no such thing as different races.
There is only the human race... and people striving to 'win' I don't know what.
The human race category designating us very different from the animal kingdom.
Why is it sad?
Because there is no such thing as different races.
There is only the human race... and people striving to 'win' I don't know what.
The human race category designating us very different from the animal kingdom.
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| WikiSource |
Depending on who I ask, they may label me as 'Latino', while another may say ‘Hispanic'.
I've heard 'Jewish', 'Greek', 'Italian', besides names I can't share here (hehe).
I've also heard 'white', but from nonwhites mostly (I hate using any of these terms but for the sake of conveying the sentiment).
Can I just be a man? (and maybe work on my pride)
Even being a man is under attack and confused as something bad.
Yes, pride plus arrogance is not good no matter if you're a man or a woman or confused.
So for the sake of correctness and to be dignified, I'll say I am Alive.
Even being a man is under attack and confused as something bad.
Yes, pride plus arrogance is not good no matter if you're a man or a woman or confused.
So for the sake of correctness and to be dignified, I'll say I am Alive.
I wonder if job applications or the like can include other letters in lieu of actual names?
Like instead of my name, you'll read MPBWYMDS.
I know that's me and speaks to me.
Others can read whatever qualifiers attached to that 'name' they'd like when reading what that name has accomplished.
Others can read whatever qualifiers attached to that 'name' they'd like when reading what that name has accomplished.
Affirm The Action To Love Everyone
A person can be known personally when they show up, instead of prejudiced based on narrow-minded and contrived labels... most of which are out of spite (for the labeled) and pride (for the labeler).
Walls already erected for us to shuffle through like a maze.
But of course, then one's address or place of birth comes into play.
Schooling (college/university) plays a major role, whether it was a private school or public.
The list is endless when we look beneath the ice, exploring how deep the iceberg is that sinks simpleminded ships.
It is understandable: we feel more comfortable around people that are familiar.
The archetype of what is best has been heavily promoted, and even when people change themselves to fit that model, they are still rejected and now, ridiculed.
So 'yay' for affirmative action for the effort, and 'nay' for still having to use the very labels it attempted to disempower.
But love still covers all of this.
But love still covers all of this.
Here's a great video delving into the similarities and differences of the terms Hispanic and Latino with great history lessons.
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