What did you read in today's headline? We mainly hear about police brutality, politician speeches, terrorist attacks overseas and celebrity gossip. When was the last time you read a news article that didn't highlight an individual's nationality, ethnicity or race?
The culture of the US is one of individualism. In other words, if you want something done, you have to do it yourself. How does that mindset affect minority groups? Is our voice heard over the noise of the world? Minority groups have long fought for liberties, but what is the difference between groups? Culture and heritage differs from person, but is that factor big enough to make one life superior than the other?
I am Hispanic. For some, this means of or relating to Spanish-speaking countries, especially those of Latin America, whereas others believe it to be a Spanish-speaking individual usually of Latin American descent living in the US.
My Hispanic heritage is very different from traditional American heritage. Instead of watching baseball games, dancing to country music and speaking English, people watch soccer, dance to cumbias and speak Spanish. At least that is the assumption most people have when they think of Hispanics or anyone of Spanish decent. However, American culture has impacted the way Hispanics follow tradition.
We are used to watching football during super bowl season, celebrating a quinceanera with a barbecue while dancing to Tejano music, and occasionally speaking both in English and Spanish or commonly known as Spanglish. Overall, it’s a crossroads of cultures. Being Hispanic doesn’t only mean I can relate to American culture, but that I see the world from two different perspectives. Perspectives that are not limited to certain traditions or customs. It symbolizes my incorporation of both cultures and heritages into one.
However, I had the opportunity to attend a school that offered its students a unique opportunity to learn about different cultures. The teachers at the time were from all over the world: China, Turkey, Korea, Spain and the U.S. Throughout the school year they would hold a multicultural festival. All the staff would come together and work with students and parents to build booths of cultures from all over the world. Just like our teachers, the staff was very diverse. I remember one year we had booths from Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippians, Turkey, Spain, China and Korea.
Through experiences like those, I learned that Puerto Rican coffee is strong. In Turkey, Ebru is beautiful artwork made in water and Spain has beautiful textile designs in architecture. Guam only has one military base, the Philippians has the best food and it's hard to write in Mandarin Chinese. Although, the most important thing I learned was that despite our differences we could come together in unity. We were all the same.
So when I read an article titled "Black Lives Matter" or "Minority Ethnic group Supporters," I am appalled. Social media is segregating people by their characteristics. We shouldn't be singled out as one thing or another. Yes, we are what is stated, but that does not define who we are. Social media filters don't inform us of the things that really matter.
