[Sca-cooks] odd

Daniel And elizabeth phelps dephelps at embarqmail.com
Sun Feb 20 10:07:31 PST 2011


Clipped items to explain the inexplicable to Ana are included below.

In the United States, the term Latino is in official use in the ethnonym "Hispanic or Latino", defined as "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race."

The term "Latino" was officially adopted in 1997 by the United States Government in the ethnonym "Hispanic or Latino", which replaced the single term "Hispanic": "Because regional usage of the terms differs – Hispanic is commonly used in the eastern portion of the United States, whereas Latino is commonly used in the western portion."[7]

Neither "Hispanic" nor "Latino" refers to a race, as a person of Latino or Hispanic ethnicity can be of any race.

Oddly enough at least to me, "Latino" does not include Brazilian Americans, and specifically refers to "Spanish culture or origin". Also, since Hispanic or Latino origin is, like race, a matter of self-identification, any Brazilian American wishing to do can presumably report as being Hispanic or Latino. However, the Brazilian American group is not included with Hispanics and Latinos in the government's population reports.

"Though often used interchangeably in American English, Hispanic and Latino are not identical terms, and in certain contexts the choice between them can be significant. Hispanic, from the Latin word for "Spain," has the broader reference, potentially encompassing all Spanish-speaking peoples in both hemispheres and emphasizing the common denominator of language among communities that sometimes have little else in common. Latino refers more exclusively to persons or communities of Latin American origin. Of the two, only Hispanic can be used in referring to Spain and its history and culture; a native of Spain residing in the United States is a Hispanic, not a Latino, and one cannot substitute Latino in the phrase the Hispanic influence on native Mexican cultures without garbling the meaning. 

Daniel who self identifies as Caucasian, ancestors dating back to the 17th century in New England on my mother's side are buried in Boston, and native American, albeit by only 1/16th on my father's side. 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ana Valdés" <agora158 at gmail.com>
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2011 11:16:28 AM
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] odd

I have always being puzzled for that question in the inmigration form to
enter the US. Am I Caucasian? Definitely, very white skin :) But Spanish
grandfathers from dad's site and Italian grandfathers from mom's side make
me definitely "Latino". But in Europe the definition "Latino" doesn't exist,
yes, Italy, Spain and France are "latin countries", it means countries were
Latin was spoken.
The "Latino" word as an opposite to a vague and confusing Northerner's, WASP
identity it's an US invention.
Ana

On Sun, Feb 20, 2011 at 4:37 PM, Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius <
adamantius1 at verizon.net> wrote:

>
> On Feb 20, 2011, at 10:02 AM, Huette von Ahrens wrote:
>
> > What a ridiculous and bigoted thing to say.  Both Hispanics and Middle
> Easterners are Caucasians/white and culturally known to eat goat.  What race
> does he/she think they are?  Being Hispanic or Middle Eastern is an
> ethnicity, not a race.  And by the way, Hindu Indians are also Caucasians,
> even though some have darker skin than Africans.
>
> No comment on the original statement; the poster surely was not espousing
> the view, merely reporting it.
>
> Our local Major League Baseball franchise has been, for the past few years,
> accused of some sort of cultural nepotism, let's say, based on the large
> number of Latinos on the team roster. It is an interesting point, and I
> won't argue it.
>
> Until, as almost invariably happens, the plaintiff in the case juxtaposes
> the word "Latino" versus the word "white" in a sentence. It's a rhetorical
> death sentence on so many levels.
>
> I also note with some amusement that da Mets are no longer, demographically
> speaking, Los Mets...
>
> Adamantius
>
>
>
>
>
> "Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls, when we
> all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's bellies."
>                        -- Rabbi Israel Salanter
>
> _______________________________________________
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>



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