Heh, I was just joking around, but thanks for the lesson. :rolleyes: My girlfriend is Latina by the way, and has 4 names (total) but obviously doesn’t give all of them any time she needs to state her name.
It wasn’t adressed completely to you, although it did answer you. It was adressed to the other people reading. I figured someone who would think of putting diacritic marks (even if they’re in the wrong place) did know what he was talking about. So, :rolleyes: back atcha.
So do the brain of impoverished white children. But no organization will take care of them. They’re not a [DEL]risible[/DEL] visible minority.
Your understanding that there are no organizations to serve white children is flawed. Every social service organization that does not explicitly state otherwise serves white children. They are part of the dominant culture, and social justice movements have throughout history framed social problems using the dominant culture paradigm. We have countless examples of this today – many domestic violence campaigns, The Human Rights Campaign, our anti-violence and anti-drug programs are all largely modeled on the felt needs of white people. While it is true they do not exclude minorities from participation, the simple matter of fact is that there are more white people than minorities shaping policy and programming in the U.S, therefore the needs of minorities are systematically overlooked.
I recently conducted a case study analysis of expert panels that make recommendations on youth violence–of the two national panels I examined, both used data collected from white suburban schools to make blanket recommendations for violence intervention across the nation. Do you believe that violence in a suburban white school is going to be affected by the same factors and be expressed in the same way as violence in an urban minority school? Given that very obvious ‘‘no,’’ do you think the problems can therefore be fixed in the same way? That should be an obvious ‘‘no’’ as well.
Poverty is a widespread problem that I believe is only going to change if our collective attitude toward the poor changes. My goal regardless of where I work will always be to fight poverty for every race. Poverty is the reason for all of this. Immigrant exploitation affects more than just the immigrant population, it affects everyone. I don’t believe for a second I’m working within a closed system.
Also a lot of second and third generation Latinos in the U.S. go only by their father’s surname as their last name, following standard American naming conventions. And when they have kids, they don’t bother giving them multiple last names - just a first, middle and single last name.
Well, IMO, while there are some organizations very focused on being and serving a particular ethnicity/“race” (NAACP, for instance), there are plenty of others that understand that problems are only going to be solved by people working together – even if a particular problem may affect some communities more than others, we all need to be part of the solution. And those organizations definitely try not to exclude anyone for coming from a different community, as long as the individuals show that they do understand and value the community being served. Which, just based on your comments here, I think you do. For instance, in a city near me, there’s an organization based in and working with an African-American inner-city neighborhood, with an Asian-American executive director.
Sure, there are always idiots who think you need to be named Gonzales to work on immigrant rights, but well, they’re wrong.
I was the only non-Israeli and non-Jew in an Israeli business firm a couple years back. I’m sure they would have rather hired an Israeli girl, but I was the best they could find, apparently. I have blonde hair and, while I’m of Polish origin, I’m very obviously NOT jewish. The other females in the office wore skirts and wigs.
I realized that there’s a very strong Jewish culture that I’m not part of, and I got laughed at for faux pas like trying to shake a Rabbi’s hand without thinking, etc. But the worst part was that people would speak Hebrew all the time, even when I was in the room. It was like your parents speaking over your head- and I’m sure some of it was about me. It burned me up! I wound up staying for 6 months and splitting. When they began looking around to replace me, they made “fluent in Hebrew” a job requirement. So much for hiring non-Israelis.
Thanks, I really appreciate your input. I really think of it this way, too. And I would really only want to work for an organization that understands that we really are all in this together.
I’d feel someone from the mainstream would be able to see things in a different light and be a huge advantage to any minority group.
You could always change your name to olivescincodemayo too.
Olives five the mayonaise? I’m confused. 
To the OP…please don’t do this.
It is one thing to serve a minority community that you have passions about…but please don’t make it a career.
Discrimination is a terrible thing…which is why it is hated so. It corrodes your soul. Do not subject yourself to it - and you WILL be subject to it as a non-Latino. Volunteer…help what you can…but find a career that will reward you on your merit. Otherwise it will grind you down and sap your spirit.
What kind of cruel world is this, where no one cares about us poor white people? I feel so left out of mainstream American society, you guys. WHY DOES NO ONE CARE ABOUT MEEEEEEEE.
Watch American Beauty and maybe then you will understand my pain.
I think I disagree. Again, professionally I’m a white guy who mostly works with other white guys (and gals) in a non-social services setting, but I’ve volunteered a tiny bit in the almost-inner city.
I don’t think you need to adopt the culture of the community you’re working with, but you do need to understand it (and respect it). It doesn’t matter whether you’re making empenadas every night at home with Celia Cruz on the stereo, or your grandmother’s pierogi with polka music, as long as you understand why someone you work with is so concerned about their daughters quinceanera and don’t think that’s a silly thing to be concerned about. There are prejudiced people of all kinds, sure, and you’ll run into them occasionally, but most people don’t care about being imitated, as long as they’re really understood and respected.
After the community gets to know you, they will know whether you care or not.
When I was a teacher in high school, I rarely found racial differences to be a problem once teachers and students got to know each other. (This was an inner city high school.)
The last thing in the world that you should do is to start out with the dishonesty of changing your name!
Would you mind elaborating on the reasons behind your opinion here? It sounds like you’ve maybe had a bad experience yourself, and I’d be curious in hearing about others’ experiences both positive and negative.
Not me…mainly family.
Around here, for example, we have many Native American casinos. Some family would apply to work there and then get frustrated when they weren’t promoted but others were…who happen to be Native American. These people threw themselves into their jobs and it really had a bad effect on their morale and career (you spent HOW LONG as a grunt and not promoted??? You must suck).
I also had a friend who worked for the IRS in Los Angeles. He is a white male. If you are a white male…be careful of what government jobs you take because there is rampant discrimination in some of them. He could not get promoted because it was tough to get promoted and if you were a minority or a woman or whatever you would get credits to help you overcome the hurdle…but as a White male he didn’t get any. He eventually left the IRS and took a job in industry (and started to quickly move up) but he still says his career, while doing nicely, is not as far along as it would have been if he had not been held back.
I’ve had to listen to these people getting stuff off their chest many times…All I am saying is don’t fall into the same situation.
Just thought I’d provide a little update (I’m bursting with excitement, I have to get it out somehow.)
Today I met with this organization for an interview and it went amazingly well. I felt at home the moment I stepped into the building. Even though I’m rather introverted, I found myself introducing myself to people left and right. It was a very warm and accepting environment (and quite diverse, actually–staffed by many different races/ethnicities.)
My (future) supervisor was actually looking for someone outside the community to come in and evaluate and critique the programming and policy of the organization. It’s not my whiteness that is viewed as an asset, so much as the fact that I’m new to the organization and community, but nevertheless, it never occurred to me there would be value in BEING an outsider when it comes to program evaluation.
I had no idea of this at the time I was assigned to the position, but this organization actually features a behavioral mental health department. So I get to combine my four greatest professional passions – Latinos, mental health, policy and research – in the most kick-ass internship I could ever conceive of.
I am a very happy camper right now.
Thanks so much for your insight and input everyone! I will definitely keep it in mind as I move forward.
Fantastic news olives - congratulations!