# Not all brown people are illegal immigrants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 4, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479 "2011-08-04T17:22:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/41 "2011-08-05T05:02:03Z")
Not all Hispanics are brown people. A little blue eyed blond boy from Argentina is just as Hispanic as Salma Hayek. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/42 "2011-08-05T06:39:41Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I have the urge to go to Red Lobster now and get those delicious biscuits. Maybe this is all a stealth marketing campaign by Red Lobster. Is it Endless Crab Leg week or something? Actually, I am pretty sure it is. I saw a commercial for Red Lobster earlier today that, if I’m not mistaken, did advertise some special on crab legs. ETA: no, actually it seems that RL discontinued the endless crab legs back in 2003. It was a big hit with customers, naturally, but a profit loss for the company, and several high-ups including, I believe, the CEO himself, lost their jobs after the debacle. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/43 "2011-08-05T09:31:31Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Part of my point is that Hispanic doesn’t indicate a nationality or even a set of them. Asian would be similar. Well if you look in the dictionary, one of the definitions of “hispanic” is “latin american,” which can be read to refer to a set of countries. And as another poster points out, there are plenty of people with blond hair and blue eyes who could be considered “hispanic” by some definitions. Heck, a lot of people would consider Alberto Fujimori to be hispanic. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/44 "2011-08-05T10:53:03Z")
I’ve always been told that Latino is better. And so what if it’s a book term? It seems to be the least offensive. In my experience, if you don’t try to affect an accent when you use it, you will not come off as offensive to anyone, unless you are stupid enough to use it on a relatively sensitive person who is not Latino. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/45 "2011-08-05T12:12:12Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > . > > I agree with the OP that not all brown people are illegal mexicans. Some of them are perfectly legal Native Americans and some other ones are just really really tan. And some are just shits! ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/46 "2011-08-05T12:28:49Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > A little blue eyed blond boy from Argentina is just as Hispanic as Salma Hayek. And little blue eyed blond boys from Brazil are just as German as… BTW, now that we’ve established that not all brown people are illegal immigrants, is it still okay to assume that all illegal immigrants are brown people? And what the hell are all these multi-hued swans doing on my desk? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/47 "2011-08-05T12:30:55Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > And what the hell are all these multi-hued swans doing on my desk? Nothing, nothing. Sleep with the lights on. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/48 "2011-08-05T14:23:10Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Using Hispanic of Chicano as a stand in illegal immigrant. > > Using Black or African American as a stand-in for criminal and/or welfare recipient and/or drug abuser. > > Using Jew as a stand-in for chiseling and/or untrustworthy. > > Using Irish as a stand-in for drunk and/or low moral character. > > Using Muslim as a stand-in for terrorist. > > Misusing the adjective illegal as a noun. One of these is not like the others. I can get behind the idea that using a particular race or ethnicity to perpetuate a negative stereotype is stupid and offensive. But I think the misuse of illegal kind of undermines your point here because it’s just sort of a trend in language. I think it just sort of waters down your point here to throw a grammar thing in there with the rest of it and put it on the same level. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/49 "2011-08-05T16:13:55Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Doesn’t “Chicano” mean Mexican? I could see why a Puerto Rican, Cuban or Dominican wouldn’t want to be called that. I’m in Philly, where Puerto Rican gente have a long history and Mexicans are establishing a strong beachhead. I think of Hispanic as referring to Caribbeans and Latino as referring to those with roots in México, Guatemala, Central and South America. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/50 "2011-08-05T16:25:27Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > But I think the misuse of illegal kind of undermines your point here because it’s just sort of a trend in language. Nouns get verbed, verbs get nouned, adjectives get nouned, etc., we’re all used to that. The objection here is not grammatical but political or, if you will, semantic: It makes no sense for a **person** to **be** illegal. A drug can’t be illegal either, strictly speaking, it can only be illegal **to** possess or use or sell it; but the usage “illegal drug” is harmless, drugs can’t be insulted or oppressed or marginalized or anything; the usage “illegal alien” is not quite so harmless. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/51 "2011-08-05T16:38:44Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > For what it’s worth, “Hispanic” can include Brazillians. As you point out yourself, words can change in meaning over time. That is new to me. > [@brazil84](#): > > Well if you look in the dictionary, one of the definitions of “hispanic” is “latin american,” which can be read to refer to a set of countries. > > And as another poster points out, there are plenty of people with blond hair and blue eyes who could be considered “hispanic” by some definitions. Heck, a lot of people would consider Alberto Fujimori to be hispanic. All Hispanics are Latino, but not all Latinos are Hispanic. And there is no definition by which somebody from Latin-America is not a Latino, regardless of ethnicity or appearance. MG Latina ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/52 "2011-08-05T16:48:05Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > All Hispanics are Latino, but not all Latinos are Hispanic. What about a Spaniard? Aren’t they a non-Latino Hispanic? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/53 "2011-08-05T17:03:44Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > What about a Spaniard? Aren’t they a non-Latino Hispanic? If _I_ were the arbiter of these things, they would. They speak Spanish after all. However it seems that a lot of Spanish-speaking folks disagree on this point. There is no way to get 20 (more or less) countries to agree on anything, let alone people hailing from those countries and transplanted into another culture. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/54 "2011-08-05T17:23:00Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > There is no way to get 20 (more or less) countries to agree on anything, let alone people hailing from those countries and transplanted into another culture. Heh. Absolutely true. What’s a guagua? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/55 "2011-08-05T17:48:11Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > …What’s a guagua? A baby used for mass transportation? [Point well made](http://etimologias.dechile.net/?guagua). ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/56 "2011-08-05T17:52:27Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Absolutely true. What’s a guagua? 🙂 Is it anything like a henfur? ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/57 "2011-08-05T18:06:26Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Nouns get verbed, verbs get nouned, adjectives get nouned, etc., we’re all used to that. The objection here is not grammatical but political or, if you will, semantic: It makes no sense for a **person** to **be** illegal. A drug can’t be illegal either, strictly speaking, it can only be illegal **to** possess or use or sell it; but the usage “illegal drug” is harmless, drugs can’t be insulted or oppressed or marginalized or anything; the usage “illegal alien” is not quite so harmless. I’m afraid I don’t really see the distinction here nor do I gather how you get this distinction from the usage in the OP. If it is correct to say that a particular person is has entered the country illegally and it is understood that refering to such a person as illegal is shorthand for that, other than grammatical objections I don’t see how it is harmless. I could see it being potentially harmful if it is used as a way to stereotype (eg, “illegals are lazy moochers”) or as the defining characteristic in cases where it isn’t meaningful or if it is used incorrectly to apply to another group, like in the OP conflating Hispanic and Illegal. However, when referencing immigration, I can’t see offense there. But even still, it still seems nitpicky to me to draw draw a distinction, as the vast majority of people understand what it means, the problem is with assuming that all immigrants, or even just immigrants of a particular race, are necessarily here illegally, but I don’t think that’s something that the usage of illegal, correctly or not, will have an affect on how the government or the people at large will react to them ---
**Author:** ![Plumbkrazy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Plumbkrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumbkrazy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/58 "2011-08-05T18:13:29Z")
> [@My ex's hispanic girlfriend used my ID to get a job](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-exs-hispanic-girlfriend-used-my-id-to-get-a-job/591394/1): > > Hello, > A few years ago my ex husband then hispanic girlfriend used my ID and my name to get a job at a Red Lobster in Provo, Utah. They have since married and my assumptions is she has become a citizen because of the marriage. Is there anything I can do to pursue any sort of grievance? I found this out when I tried to refi my house. Good lord, I can’t believe how disgusting this quote is. It includes references to Red Lobster _and_ Utah! ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/59 "2011-08-05T18:21:32Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Nouns get verbed, verbs get nouned, adjectives get nouned, etc., we’re all used to that. The objection here is not grammatical but political or, if you will, semantic: It makes no sense for a **person** to **be** illegal. A drug can’t be illegal either, strictly speaking, it can only be illegal **to** possess or use or sell it; but the usage “illegal drug” is harmless, drugs can’t be insulted or oppressed or marginalized or anything; the usage “illegal alien” is not quite so harmless. I would say that “illegal aliens” need to be marginalized, i.e. they should be denied employment, denied non-emergency social services, and deported. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479/60 "2011-08-05T18:31:38Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > That is new to me. And yet it’s true. > [@](#): > > All Hispanics are Latino, but not all Latinos are Hispanic. It depends how you define the words “hispanic” and “latino.” If you define “hispanic” to include folks from Spain, and “latino” to mean people of latin American descent, then there would exist hispanics who are not latino. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-all-brown-people-are-illegal-immigrants/591479.md?page=4)