FLASH MEMOIR:

BEHIND
DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST COLOR
BY A N A G O N Z A L E Z

A LITTLE ABOUT
ME.
Over the years, my last name, and
skin color revealed the mixture in
my DNA. My father had Lebanese
descent and my mother had
Spanish and French roots. His
Arabic face and dark hair along
with her green eyes and pale skin
resulted a genetically confused
child. Ironically, all of my history
helped my success but also caused
many of my obstacles. It kept me
wondering how many people
actually go through this during
their lifetime? How many mixed or
colored children receive mild
discrimination on a daily basis due
only to their skin color?

M Y F I R S T E X P E R I E N C E W I T H D I S C R I M I N A T I O N I S A V E R Y V I V I D M E M O R Y. M Y A U N T W A S E N G A G E D T O A N A M E R I C A N M A N . S O W H E N
W E A R R I V E D T O T H E U . S . I T W A S T H E P E R F E C T O C C A S I O N F O R T H E F A M I LY T O O F F I C I A L L Y M E E T . M Y F A T H E R ' S F A M I L Y C O N S I S T E D
O F H I S PA R E N T S , H I M S E L F , A N D T H R E E O T H E R S I S T E R S . AT T H E T I M E , W E W E R E A T O TA L O F F O U R G RA N D C H I L D R E N , T W O BOY S A N D
T W O G I R L S . O N LY T H E G I R L S W E R E T O P A R T I C I P A T E I N A S E T O F W E D D I N G P I C T U R E S O F H E R C H O I C E A N D M Y A U N T H A D D E C I D E D
T H AT M E , A N D M Y C A N A D I A N -B O R N C O U S I N W O U L D B E T H E P E R F E C T A D D I T I O N . W H E N W E A R R I V E D T O M E E T H E R H U S B A N D ' S
F A M I LY , O N E O F H I S S I S T E R S W A S P A R T I C U L A R LY I N A W E W I T H M E A N D M Y C O U S I N . I N H E R I G N O R A N C E , S H E O P E N LY S A I D M Y S K I N
C O L O R W A S B E A U T I F U L , M A K I N G I T H A R D T O B E L I E V E I W A S F U L LY M E X I C A N . S H E T O O K O U T A B A S K E T O F C H O C O L A T E S A N D S A I D
" K N O C K YO U R S E L F O U T ! " . I D E C I D E D T O WA S T E N O T I M E . I M O V E D M Y H A N D T O WA R D S T H E C H O C O L AT E S , T O F E E L T H E W O M A N ' S
H A N D S M A C K I T A W A Y. " N O T Y O U . " , S H E S A I D W I T H A S T E R N S M I L E . I L O O K E D U P A T H E R , W I T H A N E X P R E S S I O N I H A V E N O N A M E
F O R . I D I D N ' T S P E A K E N G L I S H , B U T H E R R E A C T I O N WA S A ' N O ' I N E V E RY L A N G U A G E K N O W N . I S TA R E D AT T H E B A S K E T A S M Y
C O U S I N S A N D A L L O T H E R K I D S R E A C H E D I N F O R A H A N D F U L . I L E F T A N D S AT N E X T T O M Y M O T H E R . I WA S T O O L I T T L E T O
R E C O G N I Z E T H E A T T A C K , A L T H O U G H I F E LT I T S C R U E L T Y.

ARE YOU SURE YOURE MEXICAN?

Growing up, I would encounter similar

situations long after graduation. Even
after I started my first job, I received
a certain kind of treatment and praise
at first, but as soon as my coworkers
or supervisors would find out my
race, their attitude towards me
changed. My skin color and facial
features served as a mask to
American society, but every time I
noticed the way they changed
towards me I could feel the woman at
my aunt's wedding stare on my face
all over again. Why so much hate?
Throughout the world we have
different types of people with
different races, body style, religion
and dozens of other factors.
Generally, these categories that
humans fit into have different
connotations associated with them
and most of us fit into several of
these categories ourselves. I don't
believe people are born knowing
about stereotypes. We often catch
different stereotypes from our
parents, the media and the
environment around us. Its when
people take their beliefs too far, that
they begin to become discriminatory

D O I N G A B I T O F R E S E A R C H O N T H E T O P I C , I R E A L I Z E D S I T E S M O S T LY J U S T O F F E R E D L I N K S T O F O L L O W I N C A S E Y O U E X P E R I E N C E D
D I S C R I M I N AT I O N . A N A RT I C L E N A M E D O U R C U LT U R E O F F E A R O F D I F F E R E N T C U LT U R E S ( S O U R C E :
H T T P : / / W W W . C H R I S T E N A C L E V E L A N D . C O M / 2 0 1 3 / 0 1 / O U R - C U L T U R E - O F - F E A R - O F - D I F F E R E N T - C U L T U R E S /) I N S I S T S T H A T M O S T O F O U R H A T E
S T E M S F R O M F E A R. " W E R E A F R A I D T H AT T H E I R D I F F E R E N C E W I L L B L U R T H E C U LT U R A L D I S T I N C T I O N S T H AT W E H O L D S O D E A R . " S H E
M E N T I O N S A U T H O R T O RY H I G G I N S , A S O C I A L P S YC H O LO G I S T W H O S AY S M O S T I N D I V I D U A L S A R E P R O G RA M M E D T O A C H I E V E A N I D E A L I M A G E
O F T H E M S E LV E S A N D A V O I D A N Y D A N G E R T O I T. T H E T H E O RY C A N B E U S E D I N S E V E R A L C I R C U M S TA N C E S , B U T I N S H O RT , D I S C R I M I N A T I O N
G O E S H A N D I N H A N D W I T H S E L F - D I S C RE PA N C I E S . S E L F - D I S C R E PA N C I E S , A R E B A S E D O N I N C O N S I S T E N C I E S B E T W E E N I N D I V I D U A L S S E L F C O N C E P T A N D P E RT I N E N T S E L F - G U I D E S . S O S O M E O N E W H O C O M E S F R O M A D I F F E R E N T C O U N T RY , S P E A K S , D R E S S E S , A N D LO O K S
D I F F E R E N T , A U T O M A T I C A L LY R E P R E S E N T S A D A N G E R T O T H E C U LT U R E Y O U H A V E G R O W N I N . W I T H T H A T I N M I N D , A P E R S O N C A N M A K E A
G E N E R A L I Z A T I O N A B O U T A N E T H N I C G R O U P T H A T H A S N T B E E N P E R P E T U A T E D I N S O C I E T Y. S A Y A M A N E N C O U N T E R S I N D I V I D U A L S F R O M A
PA RT I C U L A R E T H N I C G R O U P A N D F I N D S T H E M T O B E P R E T T Y G O O D AT G A R D E N I N G . B A S E D O N H I S E N C O U N T E R S W I T H T H I S G R O U P , H E M AY
OV E R S I M P L I F Y A N D C O N C LU D E T H AT A N YO N E F R O M T H I S E T H N I C G R OU P M U S T B E A N E XC E L L E N T AT G A R D E N I N G .

STEREOTYPES? WHERE?
Both negative and positive stereotypes exist and hardly allow
individuality. While making friends during high school, I found
that most friendships I formed reached the same peak. Friends
started feeling comfortable enough to make strange questions or
comments about me. I remember once during class we were put
into groups. One of the girls was particularly observant and
quiet, until she finally asked if I was ADOPTED. I laughed and
responded with a matter-of-fact "No." Her expression was serious
and she insisted, "Well, what color are your Parents?" I didn't
even know how to answer that question. I gave her a long stare.
"You don't look like you speak Spanish...", added a guy sitting
next to her. I opened my eyes wide. I couldn't help but wonder,
what DOES a Spanish speaker look like? Nonetheless, I took a
deep breath, accepted their curiosity and explained my roots.
After all, all Asians are smart. Arabs are all terrorists. Native
Americans run around fires and scream like savages. And here I
was, being Mexican and NOT wearing a sombrero or being dark.
That fact caused an existential crisis for them. None realized that
asking those questions caused me a good amount of frustration.
I knew deep inside they asked mainly out of curiosity, but I
couldn't help and feel bothered by the ignorance behind it. I
practiced tolerance and eventually accepted the fact that people
can't help but wonder.

ADULTS SHOULD KNOW BETTER

RIGHT?

No one ever stops and sees discrimination as a big deal.

After all we have war, economy, poverty, etc. But it
DOES affect all of its victims. People that have
experienced it first hand, have a hard time recognizing
when they have been directly or indirectly affected. We
unconsciously add more insecurity to our self image and
go through life with that longing of acceptance from
others. Somehow this HAS affected my self esteem and
continues to keep me on a "defensive" posture whenever
meeting other races or cultures. I could overlook the
damage towards me, but to think about my future
children, or other people's children going through this
terrifies me. Being little, I never told anyone about my
experiences. I thought it was silly to tattle tell on kids my
age, let alone on a responsible adult. After all, adults
know better, right?

THE END