For my investigation of oppression
in America I focused on Mexican Americans. They have a long history of
oppression and misunderstandings in America, starting when a large portion of
the western United States including but not limited to Arizona, New Mexico and
Texas were acquired through wars, treaties and land purchases around 18541.
This brought about 100,000 Mexicans into American citizenship1.
According to 2012 census research done by Pew Research Center, there was a record
33.7 million Mexican Americans in the USA with 11.4 million of these being
immigrants born in Mexico2. They account for 11% of the overall
American population2. Despite being a significant portion of the
population, Mexicans are still treated as second-class citizens because they
aren’t considered white2. Their socioeconomic status is similar to
African Americans but much lower than white American citizens3. A
2012 census showed that Hispanic Americans made $39,000 on average a year while
white Americans made more like $57,0004. More Mexicans are living in
poverty than white Americans, leaving Mexicans disadvantaged in
educational and work opportunities3.
Mexican Americans have more easily
been assimilated into American society than other ethnicities that differ
greatly from white Americans like African Americans or Chinese Americans. Some Mexican Americans were considered white Americans, usually because they had obtained higher
education or their citizenship came from the conquest of Mexico but they were
hardly treated as white citizens5. The amount of discrimination experience by
Mexican American citizens has been found to correlate with the darkness of
their skin, with darker skinned Mexicans experiencing more discrimination than
lighter skinned Mexicans5. Some correlation has also been found
between higher educational status and more discrimination but researchers
suspect this comes from the increase amount of contact with white Americans
leadings to stereotyping and discrimination5.
The confusion over whether Mexicans
were white or non-white Americans led to segregation in schools through poor
treatment from white Americans but was overthrown by white under the law racial
designation5. Eventually their status was declared as brown opposed
to white, helping separate Mexicans so that they could make better claims of unjust
treatment through legal means5. Aside from segregation in schools,
however, this mistreatment has lead to Mexican Americans either born in the U.S
or in Mexico attaining lower levels of education5. 59% of Mexican
immigrants don’t finish high school or get a diploma, but with Mexicans born in
the U.S. only 21% don’t finish high school2. This has even continued
to prove true for several generations after immigration5. Experiences
of discrimination in schools have included surprise at academic ability,
assumptions that they don’t speak English, and some offensive name calling - all these things work to hinder students’s learning. There is also discrimination
against Mexican Americans as homeowners and health insurance owners, with low
percentages of owning either2. Since 1996, Most immigrants are not
allowed health benefits till 5 years after they become citizens, but some are
never given those welfare benefits6. Another area of discrimination was in the workplace, a study shows that nearly three
in ten Mexican workers feel they have been discriminated against them in the
workplace either through racial slurs or being paid less8. Another
survey showed many felt they had been denied promotions or hire at all due to
being Mexican Americans5. Many Mexican Americans are also exploited through long work
hours and dangerous work conditions9.
The main misunderstanding that has
caused discrimination against Mexican Americans is that all Mexican Americans
are illegal immigrants, where the percentage is actually only 51% are illegally
residing in the U.S2. Immigration legislation in 1980s made legal
entry into the country nearly impossible, but it still continued without proper
documentation5. However, despite the understanding of most Americans
these immigrants, illegal or not, have boosted the productivity of our economy
and have helped create jobs for Americans6. Another common
misconception is that those immigrants who have come here illegally want to
remain her illegal, but in truth it is very hard to become a citizen once you
have entered illegally, even small children who were brought here without their
own consent could be deported and banned for 10 years before they could apply for
citizenship6. There is also a misconception that Mexican Americans
immigrants are more likely to participate in criminal activity than native-born
U.S. citizens, but only 0.7% of foreign-born Mexican men were incarcerated in
20006. This assumption changes the way Mexican American men are
treated by police officers, teachers and community members.
Other stereotypes that these
Mexicans are subjected to are being lazy, unable to speak English, drunks or
gang members7. These are not just passed down through families or
individuals but they reinforced throughout media campaigns and TV shows too.
These shows often show Mexican women as uneducated and only homemakers, but
this misconception too is incorrect. There are Mexican American women who are
educated in every field making a difference7. These stereotypes can
have a negative effect on Mexican Americans specifically causing depression, a
negative perspective on the world and deidentification of culture10.
Those oppressed through cultural discrimination have developed many coping
methods, which include confronting discrimination or avoiding discrimination in
general9. We see both of these methods in high school or college
students who either ignore the discrimination or actually drop out to avoid it
completely. We also see Mexicans cope through finding emotional supports or
trying to contribute the stress to something other racism9.
Reading all this material and
considering what these students in my class will go through in my school and
community has made me really solemn. How many prejudices do I have against
Mexican Americans and how do I personally oppress them? The biggest thing I
have learned from this experience is the truth about Mexican Americans. It was
good for me to read about most of them not actually being illegal so I don’t
make this judgment automatically with my students. I think it was healthy to
read about the most common stereotypes and how they are incorrect so that I
don’t make those assumptions as a teacher. I should not expect my Mexican
American students to be lazy or disinterested in school. I can expect that most
will actually speak English and speak it well. In reality they are no different
than my other students aside from their skin tone, but even that doesn’t really
matter.
More importantly, how can I change
their learning experience in my classroom? I read a couple of different
articles about how I as a teacher can change my classroom environment and
ultimately the environment of my school. First, I have to stop laughing at
demeaning jokes or encouraging racial stereotypes and encourage my colleagues
to do the same10. This article also emphasized stopping these jokes
in my own home to help stop them spreading to my work environment too. Another
important thing I read that I think will make a big difference is actually learning
about Mexican American culture compared with the differences of my own culture. This
article mentioned specifically the difference in how Mexican children are
taught to respect their elders as opposed to white American children. Mexican
children are taught to lower their eyes when in the presence of an adult or
person with authority, while in America this can be seen as disrespectful or
even suspicious to do11. We also have to consider the fact that
these students may not be familiar with technology or with the sensory overload
of decorated classrooms11. Learning about these important aspects
of their culture in relation to ours is going to be very important for my
classroom and me in the future. The most important thing I can do though, is to
encourage the communities I am a part of as a teacher, white citizen and women
to work to better understand Mexican Americans so that we can allow them to
have the education and life they deserve.
Cultural Artifacts:
Here I have collected a few things to represent the culture of Mexican Americans or what we assume is their culture through media exposure and incorrect stereotypes.
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| I especially liked this image because it shows that we all have certain expectations for members of the Mexican culture, but in reality many have become assimilated into our cultures and are similar to us. |
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| This was another stereotype I found often in my research - that Mexican families were large and the women were primarily homemakers but this is not necessarily true. |
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| I chose this meme because this is another stereotype that Mexican Americans have to deal with. They are seen as lazy but really they are very hard working and trying to provide for their families too. Many Mexicans don't come to America to find the American dream, but instead they are just looking for ways to provide food and comforts to their families. |
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| I chose this picture because this is another common stereotype that also affects Mexican men and teenagers. They are not all criminals or part of gangs but they are misrepresented in the media for being dangerous when white Americans are really the ones who fill up jails. |
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| I chose this picture to represent another media representation of Mexican Americans. This is a new Mexican soap opera that is very dramatic, shows sexually entangled, criminally active and illegal Mexican immigrants. It misrepresents the majority of Mexican Americans who are no different than white Americans other than being bilingual and having a different skin tone. |
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| I chose this last picture because it is another popular film that misrepresents Mexican Americans. It shows Pedro as having a heavy accent and speaking poor english when in reality most immigrants are not this way. Pedro was also not a great student in school and was socially awkward for not knowing American culture - this last aspect may be true but studies have actually shown Mexicans assimilate into American society very quickly and easily. |
Footnotes:
1.
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/mexican-americans/
2.
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/05/01/a-demographic-portrait-of-mexican-origin-hispanics-in-the-united-states/
3.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1781361/
4.
http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-median-income-in-the-us-by-race-2013-9
5.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3846170/
6.
http://www.equalrightscenter.org/site/DocServer/REPORT_FINAL_WEB_7.pdf?docID=151
7.
https://culturalmisconceptions.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/stereotyping-mexicans/
8.
https://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=6051
9.
https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/cou-a0036591.pdf
10. https://psychologybenefits.org/2013/09/26/how-latinos-experience-subtle-racism/
11. http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/brdglangbarriers/4486
Picture credits:
Stereotypes: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/301037556312388252/
Lazy Mexican: http://imgur.com/YXihlQi
Family reunions:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/380554237234775022/
Pedro: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/470978073504587455/
Jane the virgin:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2q9gric&s=8#.V_sKvjKZMcg
Gang members: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/05/06/mexican-cartel-allegedly-hired-ms-13-to-carry-out-torture-operation-in/
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