So, I have this friend, or at least I though we were. This friend of mine is Hispanic, and darn proud of it. She posted this on a certain social networking site, "Do you think white people could work all day on the fields in the hot sun? I think not." After that, a bunch of her little Latin friends posted whole-hearted agreements which furthered the insult.
Now, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but, even though I'm and African American, I do not fir in to the "black" culture in any way. At my school, people think of me as the "whitest black person they've ever known". And I am many times known to be more "white" than the rest of them are. Note, I'm also one of two black kids in my school-out of 250. Due to that psychological profile, I was quite offended at the remarks mentioned earlier, and went to the defense of the Caucasian population.
Also, it is worth noting, before I go any further, that the only non-racist post in this string was made by a white girl (another one of my peers at school). She played the stereotypical, "We're all human beings, we all just do different things, have different cultures. We're all equal no matter the color of our skin." Along with this, she begged for the hate to stop. Now, I am all for the anti-racism movement, but I was very hurt, so I proceeded with an air or belligerence.
Their general argument seemed to be that America needed Latin immigrants, and they needed us. This being because the white American is to lazy to do any of the manual labor that the Latin population is willing to do. After the "white" girls comment, I said this:
"I hate to keep up the trend, but I fight on the white people's side. Anyway:A bit of background: according to my last post, you readers should know that I really like spell-check. Let's just say that the Hispanic posters weren't, and it was making it very difficult for me to understand what they were trying to say. And, like I said, I was proceeding with an air of belligerence.
It's not a matter of need, it's a matter of convenience. Sure, I will admit that a lot of white people are unwilling to do the work that you generally attribute to being done by the Latin/Mexican population. However, if you were to all...oh, I don't know, leave...we'd make due. We don't need you. We like you and you make life easier, but we don't need you.
On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that the things that you all come to America for are pretty difficult to find anywhere else. Granted, you could find the benefits other places (possibly) if you tried hard enough. Like I said, it's not a matter of need, it's a matter of convenience.
On top of everything else, you guys only further my views that the non-white population is generally more racist than the white population. Yes, that includes me. Oh, and I wouldn't go thinking that "Latin people are the best." At least the white people can use just one language when they talk, and the Nigger can at least spell."
Female Latin Team Poster #1 (from here on "Maria"), proceeded to call me ignorant, try to use similar examples to prove her "we need each other point), and pull some pretty ridiculous statistics out of who-knows-where. Male Latin Team Poster (from here on "Jose"), proceed in a joking tone to tell me that I had made Maria angry. At this point, I could tell that they weren't going to listen to me unless, possibly, I hurt them. The defeated will more often concede that the strong. My next post consisted of two things. Firstly, a translation of Maria's post into proper English (or, at least, as best as I could). Secondly, my return argument:
" Many Americans are ignorant. However, I am not. At least not to the degree or the methods that you accuse me of. I put "Latin/Mexican" to place a distinction between the two, while still showing that they are similar. Or, more specifically, that they fulfill similar roles.I wish to note that I am not generally prone to this level of racism. Like I said, I wanted to try and hurt them, to see if that would make them more likely to listen. In short, it didn't work.
Overall, your arguments leave out the possibility of people, or peoples, changing. This is demonstrated by your thought process that concludes that if circumstances change, people will not adapt. Have you ever read a history text book? Any excerpts? Have you ever had a parent or teacher tell you a story about history? Although certain people are stubborn and unyielding, history is a story of the way humankind has changed over time. This is an undeniable fact, so don't even try to dispute it.
(A comment on a ludicrous statistic cited by Maria)
In closing, I would like to make this conclusion: From your arguments, and, more specifically, their lack of reason, fact, and grammatical correctness, I am not surprised that you and your kind are working on the farms, while the white people and I will be doing all of the thinking."
Jose proceeded to scorn me for insulting Maria's misuse of the English language, along with noting that I probably only spoke one language, while she speaks three. (Note: this is true. I only speak English. I can read and get a basic knowledge of correctly written Spanish.) He also went on to boast on the quality of Latin schools. Saying that they were better than American schools, seemingly based on the fact that they generally have no Summer break.
Then Female Latin Team Poster #2 (known from this point on as "Anna") tried to write this all off as a matter of misunderstanding. Then she said that I wasn't American because my ancestors were immigrants, then accused me of being "Hitler-esque" towards the Latin population.
Maria then basically said that she was smarter than me, and that the farm Latinos were smarter than me. Also, she stated that I was pathetic for trying to look smart in front of them.
Jose agreed with both Maria and Anna, telling me I was wrong, that they had no bad grammar, and that I had to use Google Translator (Which, for your information, I didn't. It's also worth noting that Google Translator doesn't include incorrect English in it's list of languages. And, if it ever able to translate the posts these users placed, I would applaud those software mechanics.) Please note, that I did not see either of the last two posts before I posted my next response. They must have appeared in the meantime.
I'm gonna summarize my stuff from here on, too. I'm getting sick of transcribing the account. I responded with an apology for being so inconsiderate against her incorrectly written posts, and explained my views on incorrect English. (In short, I strongly dislike it. Not small mess-ups, but when proper use of the language is entirely disregarded.) I also went on to say that my school was better than theirs, and that I was smarter based upon the quality of content in their posts. I also said, quote, "This has nothing to do with Hitler. You guys seem to hate us (whites) as much we hate you." This is, of course, using "hate" as an exaggeration.
Anna then proceeded to explain that we are all equal, all human, and that our race doesn't matter. But...they (Latinos) don't need America (although she never said that we didn't need them...).
I went on to say that her and I were very different, based on our apparent though processes.
Jose then told me that he didn't want to use correct English. (Who know why, maybe an act of rebellious nature.) Then he attempted some Black comradery. (Which I didn't take to well. I'm not part of the Black culture.)
Anna then said that I was being selfish and rude, and that I should give thanks to her kind because they clean my bathrooms and whatnot.
At this point, I decided that there was no hope of getting my point through: they were no willing to listen to me. So, I left, courteously.
Now, at the beginning of this post, I questioned the original poster and I's friendship. I shall tell you why. After this, she proceed to tell her little friends that I was an idiot gringo and I didn't know what I was talking about. She then deleted the post, to cover up the evidence. Yeah, great way to support your friend...
Since then: Anna and Maria both hate my guts, and Jose would like to know where I live so he can beat me up. Gotta love when two worlds collide....
So, this is it. Until next time my friends.
