Really, if I'm going to be completely honest with myself and the reader, I have no other choice but to admit that my last blog was a story that started out interestingly, but fell flat on its face. The fact is that I simply got tired of writing the story and dropped it where it fell. It's like Gabriel Márquez said, a story either works or it doesn't. When a story doesn't work, the writer should recognize that it doesn't and either scrap it or revise it, not share it (oops). Well, my only excuse is that I really wanted to make a point with that story; let's see if I can achieve that here instead.
I haven't always been able to keep as politically unbiased as I should in these blogs, and I recognize that I might touch on some topics that are politically important. I can't ignore the fact that it's an election year, and I probably won't be able to avoid addressing some subjects that make up a big part of the kinds of problems that we are currently facing in this country. Furthermore, I think that the kinds of things that I am going to talk about are issues that neither party, Republican or Democrat, are really addressing. On the other hand, even though it was most likely a move for votes, I was impressed to see President Obama pass major immigration policy reform. We still need to do much more. Really, I don't think that any of us can turn on the news and listen to these politicians and say honestly to ourselves, "These people are being real, speaking from the heart, only stating the facts and addressing only the serious talking points." As a matter of fact, I'm guessing that most of you, like me, listen to these folks and say, "These are seriously crazy people." Well, maybe I can talk through some of the craziness and get a little real, we shall see.
The argument I was trying to make with my awful story was that most of us in this country are due for some much needed perspective in our lives. Have you ever heard of the Racial Threat Hypothesis? In case you didn't know such a thing existed or you need a refresher, essentially, this hypothesis, which I recall having learned back in freshman Poli. Sci., states that the degree of racism that people express goes up in areas where there are larger numbers of minority populations. So when you are part of a majority race, but there are large number of individuals from a minority race living in your area, you might have feel, irrationally, threatened by the minority. Based on my experiences, I would like to point out that this is a ridiculous reaction. The truth is, it's the minority that, justifiably, feels threatened.
Before I went to Ecuador, I had already had experience abroad, living in Argentina and traveling to surrounding countries, but that experience, nonetheless, did not prepare me for Ecuador. The time I spent in Ecuador was quite eye-opening in terms of my own racial threat hypothesis. You see, in Argentina, the majority of the population is made up of European immigrants and their descendants (just like in the U.S.), which means that most Argentine people are white. In other words, if I didn't open my mouth in Argentina, I was most often taken for one of them. The demographic picture in Ecuador, on the other hand, is much different. The Ecuadorian population is dominated by mestizo (a combination of Spanish/European blood with native roots) and indigenous peoples, which means that I STOOD OUT.
While it would be ideal for diversity and cultural differences to be truly celebrated, these values are often just required, but not truly felt. The truth is, it was very strange, challenging and often exhausting being so entirely different from everyone around me. It was eye opening for me to step on a bus and have everyone immediately shift their attention to me, sometimes it was a very insecure feeling to know that everyone can look at you and make a series of generalized assumptions based on your looks. My skin color in Ecuador meant many things, for one, it meant that I was most certainly gringo, it meant that I was a tourist with money (which wasn't true, especially the latter) and it often made me a target (for would be thieves, small children asking for money and vendors). Some would say that it's not so bad for everyone to think that you're a rich gringo, but the truth is it can make you feel pretty awful in a country as poor as Ecuador. Firstly, it's not fun, but rather quite sad, for people who have nothing to think that you can help them financially (I hate the idea of the white savior). On the other hand, it is also kind of scary to know that you are identified as a better choice for criminals because you're not from the country and, by default, that means that you have more money or valuables than anyone else (something that is definitely not true in my case). Don't get me wrong, I've always kind of stood out (I was definitely an outcast in school), but this was the first time that I experienced people making many assumptions about me based solely on my color, it really was an amazing perspective gained.
So, I would like to close with a sentiment that I have always had, but that was certainly reinforced by Ecuador. That sentiment is as follows, people are people; it's that simple, there are good people and bad people and that is it. What's decent anymore? People, they are decent or they are not. The thing is, we have to get to the point where all of us realize that someone's race, sexual orientation, religious views, etc. don't matter at all, you're either a good person or a bad person. Everything else about a person that makes them different, unique or makes them stand out, is an opportunity for personal enrichment on the part of someone that meets them, it's an opportunity for gained perspective. My experiences in Ecuador were nowhere near as negative as the treatment many minorities or foreigners experience in this country. The worst thing for me was that everyone assumed I was a rich white target for robbery. In the States, on the other hand, minorities are often assumed to be poor, uneducated, prone to illegal activities, and altogether lesser peoples. Don't even get me started on the way immigrants are treated; just look at what they're doing in Arizona, saying it's okay to ask people for their citizenship papers because of the way they look. They call it "probable cause to doubt the individual's citizenship," which is a nice way of saying, "This person is tan-skinned so they must be Mexican." If I, at times, felt uncomfortable in Ecuador because of my skin color, just imagine how minorities and immigrants must feel in the states, and that's the perspective I wanted to share in my terrible story.
Before I went to Ecuador, I had already had experience abroad, living in Argentina and traveling to surrounding countries, but that experience, nonetheless, did not prepare me for Ecuador. The time I spent in Ecuador was quite eye-opening in terms of my own racial threat hypothesis. You see, in Argentina, the majority of the population is made up of European immigrants and their descendants (just like in the U.S.), which means that most Argentine people are white. In other words, if I didn't open my mouth in Argentina, I was most often taken for one of them. The demographic picture in Ecuador, on the other hand, is much different. The Ecuadorian population is dominated by mestizo (a combination of Spanish/European blood with native roots) and indigenous peoples, which means that I STOOD OUT.
While it would be ideal for diversity and cultural differences to be truly celebrated, these values are often just required, but not truly felt. The truth is, it was very strange, challenging and often exhausting being so entirely different from everyone around me. It was eye opening for me to step on a bus and have everyone immediately shift their attention to me, sometimes it was a very insecure feeling to know that everyone can look at you and make a series of generalized assumptions based on your looks. My skin color in Ecuador meant many things, for one, it meant that I was most certainly gringo, it meant that I was a tourist with money (which wasn't true, especially the latter) and it often made me a target (for would be thieves, small children asking for money and vendors). Some would say that it's not so bad for everyone to think that you're a rich gringo, but the truth is it can make you feel pretty awful in a country as poor as Ecuador. Firstly, it's not fun, but rather quite sad, for people who have nothing to think that you can help them financially (I hate the idea of the white savior). On the other hand, it is also kind of scary to know that you are identified as a better choice for criminals because you're not from the country and, by default, that means that you have more money or valuables than anyone else (something that is definitely not true in my case). Don't get me wrong, I've always kind of stood out (I was definitely an outcast in school), but this was the first time that I experienced people making many assumptions about me based solely on my color, it really was an amazing perspective gained.
So, I would like to close with a sentiment that I have always had, but that was certainly reinforced by Ecuador. That sentiment is as follows, people are people; it's that simple, there are good people and bad people and that is it. What's decent anymore? People, they are decent or they are not. The thing is, we have to get to the point where all of us realize that someone's race, sexual orientation, religious views, etc. don't matter at all, you're either a good person or a bad person. Everything else about a person that makes them different, unique or makes them stand out, is an opportunity for personal enrichment on the part of someone that meets them, it's an opportunity for gained perspective. My experiences in Ecuador were nowhere near as negative as the treatment many minorities or foreigners experience in this country. The worst thing for me was that everyone assumed I was a rich white target for robbery. In the States, on the other hand, minorities are often assumed to be poor, uneducated, prone to illegal activities, and altogether lesser peoples. Don't even get me started on the way immigrants are treated; just look at what they're doing in Arizona, saying it's okay to ask people for their citizenship papers because of the way they look. They call it "probable cause to doubt the individual's citizenship," which is a nice way of saying, "This person is tan-skinned so they must be Mexican." If I, at times, felt uncomfortable in Ecuador because of my skin color, just imagine how minorities and immigrants must feel in the states, and that's the perspective I wanted to share in my terrible story.
