Puerto Ricans Racist against their own?

[vannie]

i had a question and this is not meant to offend anyone, i just want to get some opinions about it. me and my friends were having a big discussion and this subject came up. now fyi all my friends are latino but they are all dark skinned and they are all from different countries, some are Puerto Rican. we were all discussing the way some other hispanics discriminate against them. for example they all had stories about being on line at a store or in the train and the other (light skinned) latino was talking about them to someone else, from minor to major (i'm going to skip that black girl in the line, or i can'tt stand black people) and they all do double takes when my friends answer them back in Spanish.

then these same people turn friendly, "oh, you speak Spanish, did you learn it in school... no, are you dominicain?" stupid things like that. then we got into this discussion how Puerto Ricans don't consider the dark skinned Puerto Ricans really Puerto Rican, i'm, like wow we get into big discussions about these things. as far as this goes i can't understand how latinos are racist or predjudiced against their own kind when we all know that latinos come in all different colors, from whitest white to darkest brown. also me and my friends go to the Puerto Rican parade every year here in NY and we bring our radio so we can hear music while were walking up and down, i mean we play everything from Ricky to Ashley to Ednita to Fulanito and we all sing along off key, because were just bugging out and you'd be surprised how many Puerto ricans stop us and ask do you speak Spanish and are you Dominicain? my 4 other friends that are Puerto Rican, when they tell them that they are not from Loiza but from other parts (one is from Santurce, the other Guanica, the other 2 Cabo Rojo) they give them this disbelief look, like stop lying you've never even been to PR. then they want to give them an exam to see if they really speak Spanish. i'm serious, this seems to be an everyday thing with my friends, every day someone stops them and asks something stupid. the only thing i could come up with is that most of these Puerto Ricaans in NY are born right here in NY and have never been to PR so they know nothing about their roots, they know what they see in NY. so they don't even know about their own culture! what do you guys think? do you have any dark skinned latino friends that go through the same thing?

[Taik]

wow...looks like you're friends have had similar experiences to Ecua's...for me it was completely the opposite of what your talkin about...well almost...i grew up in the city and the "ideal" puerto rican was trigueno...nice medium brown tan, dark hair, etc....if you were too light people would think you were white/cuban/argentinian and too dark... i dunno, i guess dominican/black....but yeah there was that whole idea of what a puerto rican looks like...kinda like the US has a set standard for what a hispanic looks like...i dunno, i think the whole "oh, you're not..." happens to everyone....it's not just puerto ricans on puerto ricans...everyone (apparently) or a good majority of people assume...so you can tell your friends that there are plenty of others goin through the same things they are...peace

[J-Rod]

In my opinion, those who choose to discriminate against anyone just because of the color of their skin or because religious preference, are insecure individuals with an advanced inferiority complex. Though I myself discriminate, as does everyone by nature, I discriminate against individuals, not Races or Groups. Discrimination against individuals because of something they do, or the way they are, (I still respect their right to be or do), but I don't have to like it, (which is also my right). Anywayz, in Puerto Rico, as far as I can remember, discrimination is not an issue. As a Nuyorican myself, I learned it, (Discrimination), here in the states. The best thing to do, (as it has worked for me), is to ignore it, eventually it will go away, or, do not frequent places where you know that it will be an issue. Saludos cordiales...JRod...GO YANKEES!!!!!

[Stanley]

Racists or those who discriminate others are generally crappy insecure people. This is simply done so they can feel better about themselves. It is a very old mechanism of defense that many humans use to elevate themselves. Anyone who is a real honorable person with no complex of inferiority is not a racist.

It is a Freudian mechanism of defense that helps them deal with their inferiority complex. Within this mindset the person subconsciously elevates his own status by putting others down. It is a very primitive human response that generally goes unrecognized by the ones who practice this unfortunate behavior. No one is born this way. To get to this point the person has generally been rejected by someone and therefore they do the same to others to lessen the inferiority complex.

You must understand one thing. There are some differences between Nuyoricans and Puerto Ricans. The former are looking for an identity, a place they can go back to find their roots. The upbringing in the USA also causes these folks to think in terms of race at all times. Remember the USA is obsessed with racial classifications. In PR these things are not an issue and we all know there is a rainbow as well as quite a mixture of three racial groups.

The Dominican issue has to do with a greater preponderance of African influence in DR than in PR. In DR 85% of folks could be classified as African whereas this percentage may be less in PR. BTW, when Trujillo was in power he was worried about further Africanization of Dominicans by the crossover with Haitians. I have no doubt that racists Puerto Ricans are worried about the same thing from the Dominicans.

Is there racism in PR? Of course there is, but it is of a different variety. For example the winners of the Miss PR contests are always Euro looking. Check out the wife of Marc Anthony. However, there are many in PR with Euro features and they are as Puerto Rican as the black person from Loiza. In PR no one would ever say you don’t look Puerto Rican if you are too dark or too light. This is something we learned from the Anglo Saxons. BTW, I have been told by Nuyoricans I don’t look Puerto Rican, however a Puerto Ricans from the island have never told me I don’t look Puerto Rican.

[vannie]

i definitely will pass these comments along to my friends, it's just that it happens so often it really pisses them off, you know. i'm glad (in a way) that it's what i thought (the Nuyoricans and their way of thinking even thought some have never stepped foot in PR). thanks guys/ girls. i try to tell my friends to ignore them but like i said it's an everyday occurence for them.

[Stanley]

Vannie:

At some level there is some racism in PR and as J-Rod said it is sometimes hard for the least racist person to always do the right thing.

As a kid growing up in PR race was never an issue in the streets. However, I could tell that the folks who were more affluent and educated looked more Euro than the poor. This is the legacy of colonialism and is present all over Latin America.

The original settlers from PR into the States were mostly poor folks who were struggling to make it. These folks encountered severe racism never experienced on the island. It is hard to overcome this and some take revenge on others (see my prior post).

Unfortunately racism will go on for a long time, but it will only get better over time as all the races start to blend and we end up with just a single race. The blending is inevitable and in fact started hundreds of years ago. In the beginning when man did not move around in the planet there were pure races everywhere. As soon as man migrated around the planet the mixing started. In some counties in Maryland it is extremely common to see Nordic women with African looking men. This was a rarity, not that long ago. At some point everybody will be mixed and then there will not be racism.

[Ecuajey]

Originally posted by Taik
wow...looks like you're friends have had similar experiences to Ecua's...

Not as severe, but similar, lol.

vannie, I don't think it's all Nuyoricans who are like that. I'm a Nuyorican and I've been to the island, I know our culture history, and try to perfect my Spanish. However, in general, many of the diaspora (I've experienced the same thing with Chicagoricans.) don't know much about their culture. It's sad and sometimes I wonder if we can really teach our diaspora generation after generation since they're going to remain in the USA where there are many different cultures. TV and music and other ways of mass communication influences them and introduces them to different cultures and ways of thinking, so where will "puertorriqueñidad" come in place and stay? A little bit of it will always remain, but soon it will come to them saying that they're Puerto Rico or have a little bit of it in them, but not knowing a word of Spanish nor a bit about our people and island. I don't know, what's your opinion?