attitudes

[sennomo la Esperantisto]

I'm sorry for taking us further off-topic, but I think this is an important
issue, and it is certainly related to the desire to learn nahuatl.

I'm a gringo living in Mexico City.  From my experience in a few countries
(counting the U.S., as well), I've found that there are always people who
want to feel superior to others, and many who believe in some kind of racial
"purity".  When you're mixed like majority of American (both continents)
inhabitants, you'll always run into the line "you're not really Spanish
(English, German, whatever)".

I think too many of us, in our quest to discover ourselves, look to others
to tell us, or to dead ancestors to guide us.  I've met quite a few people
(my relatives included) who go on genealogical quests and try to learn
nearly-extinct languages to recapture something they feel they have lost (or
has been stolen from them).  This bugs me because it tells me that people
aren't accepting themselves for who they are.  I have met very few Americans
or Mexicans who fully accept that they don't fit into the old-world racial
or national classifications.  For example, a number of (visibly indigenous)
Mexicans refer to themselves as "Spaniards" while my relatives in
Pennsylvania call themselves "English".  A lot of us still have yet to get
over the shame of being the product of rape or being the descendants of
slave-owners.

So, to try to sum up (I could go on for quite a while), I'm no more English
than my girlfriend is Zapotec...and no less.  I think we should keep that in
perspective.  I hope I'm making sense.

--Ben

>From: Odilia Rodriguez <xochiquetzal at earthlink.net>
>Reply-To: nahuat-l at server.umt.edu
>To: Multiple recipients of list <nahuat-l at server.umt.edu>
>Subject: Re: Not really about Spanish "Gods"
>Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2000 21:37:55 -0600
>
>I am not sure about your comments about Spain or Spaniards.  I am a Chicana
>living in California and am proud of my Mexican ancestors.  Sometimes while
>in Mexico, Mexicans too have an aditude like, "We don't really consider you
>to be Mexican--you are American."  I just think--people come in all shades
>and colors and from many geographical places with all kinds of ideas and
>ways of thinking.  It is good to be proud of who you are where you come
>from
>and especially who your ancestors were but not to the point where it causes
>problems.  Like war!


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