# Why are all people of Latin American descent looked at as minorities? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835 "2012-04-04T17:40:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835/41 "2012-04-08T15:35:35Z")
> [@lokpikr999](#): > > I’ve spoken to numerous people who grew up in a time before the terms Latino/Hispanic(Or should I say the misunderstanding of those terms as a race)came into play.One is a gentleman who told me that in his day unless they were black or fully or predominantly Amerindian,all the people he knew considered people of Latin American descent to be just another white ethnic just like Italians,Germans etc. another being a Mexican-American who told me that on his grandfathers service military records from WW2 it listed his race as Caucasian(aka white) That is what we call an anecdote. This is what we call data: > [@](#): > > [url=]Mendez v. Westminster > > Mendez, et al v. Westminster School District, et al, 64 F.Supp. 544 (C.D. Cal. 1946), aff’d, 161 F.2d 774 (9th Cir. 1947) (en banc), was a 1946 federal court case that challenged racial segregation in Orange County, California schools. In its ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in an en banc decision, held that the segregation of Mexican and Mexican American students into separate “Mexican schools” was unconstitutional. We didn’t start using the term “Hispanic” until recently, but that doesn’t mean people of Mexican heritage were treated as white. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835/42 "2012-04-08T15:59:09Z")
**joebuck20** was giving data, from military records. He didn’t say how big his sample size was, but there’s no a priori reason to think it wasn’t representative. It just means the picture is not neat and clear: it can be true that some federal bureaucracies considered Mexicans white at the same time as Californian institutions were discriminating against them as ethnically other. In fact, the inconsistency is probably as good a reason as any that the current classification system has Latino as a race but not a race. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835/43 "2012-04-08T16:05:47Z")
> [@lokpikr999](#): > > Mexican-American who told me that on his grandfathers service military records from WW2 it listed his race as Caucasian(aka white) How is that different from the situation today? I don’t believe there’s anything stopping a Mexican-American from being considered white by the US military or any other US government agency. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835/44 "2012-04-08T17:30:12Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I think lots of white-looking Latinos or Hispanics aren’t thought of as Latino or Hispanic and just thought of as “white” as much as an Irish or an Italian ethnic. And oftentimes even white Latinos are _cultural_ minorities while most white ethnic groups are fully assimilated to American culture. IME, if a blond(e) or paler person is named “Gonzalez” or similar, people act with incredulity. “B-b-but… you’re white!” Some people can’t decide how to classify them. The media’s reporting of Zimmerman keeps calling him “white Hispanic,” as if that means anything. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835/45 "2012-04-08T18:20:03Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > IME, if a blond(e) or paler person is named “Gonzalez” or similar, people act with incredulity. “B-b-but… you’re white!” Some people can’t decide how to classify them. The media’s reporting of Zimmerman keeps calling him “white Hispanic,” as if that means anything. Except Zimmerman is the opposite (looks Hispanic, doesn’t have a Hispanic name). More like the former Gov. Richardson of NM. ---
**Author:** ![lokpikr999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@lokpikr999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokpikr999)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835/46 "2012-04-08T19:21:37Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That is what we call an anecdote. This is what we call data: > > We didn’t start using the term “Hispanic” until recently, but that doesn’t mean people of Mexican heritage were treated as white. The guy I spoke to,did indeed mention that in some areas they faced discrimination and were considered nonwhite(Particularly the southwest)(Just like some Italians were placed in black schools)but were considered white ethnics by the majority of American society. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835/47 "2012-04-08T19:46:10Z")
> [@lokpikr999](#): > > The guy I spoke to,did indeed mention that in some areas they faced discrimination and were considered nonwhite(Particularly the southwest)(Just like some Italians were placed in black schools)but were considered white ethnics by the majority of American society. So you say. You have yet to give a cite to back up that claim. I grew up on the east coast in the 60s and never saw a person of Mexican heritage other than the Frito Bandito or Speedy Gonzales. I suspect a large number of Americans had a similar experience. ---
**Author:** ![lokpikr999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@lokpikr999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokpikr999)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835/48 "2012-04-08T22:36:55Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > So you say. You have yet to give a cite to back up that claim. > > I grew up on the east coast in the 60s and never saw a person of Mexican heritage other than the Frito Bandito or Speedy Gonzales. I suspect a large number of Americans had a similar experience. What do you mean by a “cite”? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835/49 "2012-04-08T23:12:08Z")
> [@lokpikr999](#): > > What do you mean by a “cite”? Reference to a recognized, authoritative source to back up your claim. Given the nature of your statement, though, I doubt there exists such a cite (short for citation). ---
**Author:** ![lokpikr999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@lokpikr999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokpikr999)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835/50 "2012-04-09T00:33:37Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Reference to a recognized, authoritative source to back up your claim. Given the nature of your statement, though, I doubt there exists such a cite (short for citation). I doubt it to LOL.But shouldn’t the testimony of people who grew up before those terms came into play,that Mexicans were viewed as different ethnicity and not as another race(As in the case of blacks or full on Amerindians)be enough?IMO asking for a cite to prove this,is the equivalent of someone asking for a “Reference to a recognized, authoritative source to back up the claim” that in the past the French were considered by the majority of Americans to be white ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835/51 "2012-04-09T00:45:15Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That’s because minority includes the idea that the grouping is not by choice. But it doesn’t negate the post you were responding to. The word minority has always been used for ethnic groups that are not in a majority. That’s technically true, but emphasizing the “numerical minority” aspect is misleading, since that’s not at all the essence of the term nowadays (see my Malaysia example). > [@BigT](#): > > Why they are considered one group is just because we tend to want as few minorities as possible and they have something in common: they speak the same language and didn’t migrate here from Europe. BTW, that’s the commonality of white people, if you didn’t known, except that all of Russia counts as Europe. Agreed! In fact, that’s the most succinct and accurate definition I’ve come across so far. Thanks! > [@BigT](#): > > Why do we want as few minorities as possible? Mostly because people generally don’t like to be a minority, and so they like to group with whichever group they can. Everyone seems to want to assimilate as much as possible. That’s rather a broad statement, is it not? Two broad statements, in fact. But this is GQ, so we’ll let 'em slide. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835/52 "2012-04-09T00:47:05Z")
> [@lokpikr999](#): > > I doubt it to LOL.But shouldn’t the testimony of people who grew up before those terms came into play,that Mexicans were viewed as different ethnicity and not as another race(As in the case of blacks or full on Amerindians)be enough?IMO asking for a cite to prove this,is the equivalent of someone asking for a “Reference to a recognized, authoritative source to back up the claim” that in the past the French were considered by the majority of Americans to be white Well, in this forum, we’re supposed to ask questions that have factual answers and to stick to factual answers. Your questions starts out with an assumption that can’t be shown to be true, and that I suspect isn’t. Like I said earlier, that might be a better topic for a debate thread in GD. That’s the way things work around here, as you’ll probably discover if you stick around long enough to be a regular poster. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-people-of-latin-american-descent-looked-at-as-minorities/617835.md?page=2)