MarisolEnPlayas
Nov 12, 2002, 10:23 AM
Post #18 of 120
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Re: [Randy in AGS] My question was a rhetorical question posed to me by the ex-presidente...
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Hello there,
Thank you for your explanation. I’m glad it isn’t assumed that Mexican police are as corrupt as the general public in the U.S. tends to believe, because just like in America, corruption exists within the individual and there are many honorable individuals that live by high moral standards in both the U.S. and Mexico…police included. My problem with some of these sites, is that more American opinion is rendered than actual fact about Mexico. Also, as a Latina, I realize that many of these opinions are based primarily on personal limited experience and a biased perception, much as many Mexicans who cross to the U.S. approach social aspects of the U.S. in the same way.
Sadly, this tends to create a fairly inaccurate view of the subject. For instance, I’ve seen Americans interpret songs done by Latin artists in a completely inaccurate manner, thinking that since they spoke Spanish, they truly understood. Yet, the literal interpretation is so different than the actual meaning. I’ve even read posts here referring to Latinos as a “violent” culture, with some pretty humorous reasoning behind it, and the person posting sent me a private message to “explain further” the reasons he felt we were more violent. What he didn’t assimilate, were the root causes behind some of the violence, such as many of the disparities in lifestyle, economic levels, housing, education, and such a myriad of OTHER reasons that it would paint a clearer picture and make his analogy look rather silly.
Sometimes a site like this is similar to a painting. If you paint a canvas with too few lines, the interpretation of the painting can be based on the observer and vary greatly. Colors in the painting can even be interpreted by various individuals as different moods and change the meaning. I would suggest to you that those of us that grew up with Latin parents might perceive parts of our culture from a very different perspective than an American that even lived in the area for a lengthy time. For instance in the U.S the color yellow, is interpreted as a primary bold color, that often makes people uncomfortable when used in homes and the Latino community often finds the color yellow to be a warm, inviting color, that provides a sense of comfort. Given the two different cultures, the interpretation of a painting using this color could be vastly different. While I feel it’s wonderful that Americans learn our culture and spend time assimilating into it, I think you might find that most psychologists would tell you, that your perspective would often be quite different than ours. This is wonderful though, as we gain the opportunity to see our culture through a whole new set of eyes and learn about ourselves.
This is precisely why I would like to see Mexico explained to others by Mexicans rather than Americans. I think the reality would be vastly different. I do like an American perspective, because it provides an opinion that many other Americans may reach, due to a limited exposure of Latino culture through their life. But I would love to see more Mexicans involved in this site with factual information as well. As an American with Mexican family, I feel I could certainly learn a great deal about Mexico as well. Presently, I’m finding that the clubs I belong to who are primarily Latino, present such a vastly different approach to Mexico, that it’s quite educational.
Marisol
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