not Hispanic or Latino

[Orion Montoya]

The basic idea is that Hispanics came [to the US] or descended
directly from the Iberian peninsula, and Latinos came by way of Latin
America.  But since these identity politics can be either sensitive or
complicated, it is polite to offer both rather than just saying
"cilantro-eater" or something.

My dad's family came from Spain and settled in what is now
southwestern Colorado.  I'm not sure whether that land was called New
Spain or Mexico or something else when they got there, but that's as
far as they ever went, so I don't think I can consider myself Latino.
But my sister, who is actively involved in the Latina community in her
area, does call herself Latina.

In case you or someone else is wondering, the reason your card says
"white -- not Hispanic or Latino", and not "white -- not Hispanic or
Latino or Asian or Black or Native American or Pacific Islander or or
or" is that some Hispanics/Latinos (probably more Hispanics) consider
themselves white, while others consider themselves black.  And others
call themselves brown, but that's not usually an option.  This
distinction is interesting to demographers, and whenever I take a poll
and indicate that I have a hispanic background, the followup
inevitably asks me to choose a color.

I once saw a t-shirt that said "I am a Mexican" and on the back
disambiguated Mexican from Latino, Chicano, Hispanic, etc., but
unfortunately I was too far behind the person wearing it to see what
kind of funny or earnest things it said.

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