Scholarship hall has Cinco de Mayo party

Oh, man! What an insightful headline! Really lets me know what's going on in the story! Seriously, whoever copy-edited this story really blew me away with the head. Great work, guys.

The writer of this article should be pissed the copy-editor couldn't spend five more seconds thinking of a better headline. Headlines are important.

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• Posted by The_Matt on May 7, 2007 at 8:10 p.m.
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Scholarship hall has Cinco de Mayo party

What is a Hispanic or Latino anyhow? The terms are mostly used in the U.S. Does it mean that you speak Spanish or that one of your ancestors did? It's certainly not a race distinguished by a unique gene pool as Latin American itself is a diversity of not only decedents of Spanish Europeans and many others from other European countries, but also a multitude of various Native American tribes, and people from India and Africa (whose ancestors were indentured servants and slaves respectively).

There is also not a homogeneous culture in "Latin" America or in any one of its countries. So what is a Latino? Someone from Latin? Oh right, that's not a place but an antiquated language whose geographical center was modern day Italy. So why are Italian Americans lumped into the "white people" genera when Spain and Portugal are further from the old center of Latin speakers. Yet Spanish and Portuguese have Latin as a foundation as does French, but the French are also deemed "white people".

The Roman Empire is world renown for its great power so causing the world to identify a group of countries as Latinos can be used as a cultural marketing tool to reinvent a group of third world countries and their peoples. Coming to the United States, you no longer have to be from a poor country like El Salvador or Mexico. You are now Latino! You are a Hispanic and a minority at that, who can command special funding and services from America's government. If you are ever denied or anyone should question this status, then certainly it could only be because they're racist or at least that's how the power is maintained. Demanding silence to any questions or debate using the 'R' word is ironic because it is America that has granted many freedoms like the freedom of speech, but to gain power for one's Raza even freedom of speech must be put aside.

The terms Hispanic and Latino are as ridiculous as if there were a special word like Englishian for someone whose ancestors once came from an English speaking country like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the U.K. or the U.S. before migrating to a Spanish speaking country.

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• Posted by SomePeopleWorryMe on May 8, 2007 at 6:49 a.m.
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Scholarship hall has Cinco de Mayo party

The ignorance is all yours linguo_the_grammar_robot.

Firstly, if you're as educated as you'd like us to believe why don't you respond with actual arguments to what I posted instead of derogatory taunts (i.e. calling me ignorant) or fear mongering (i.e. pulling out the racist accusation with NO basis which is exactly what I was criticizing and what I meant by "Demanding silence to any questions or debate using the 'R' word").

NO WHERE in my post did I mention or imply anything about illegal aliens. In fact, the only place on this entire web page that the word "illegal" was mentioned (before my response to you) is YOUR post!

The only item in your post that resembled a legitimate response to mine was your question, "What makes you assume that someone who identifies as Hispanic or Latino in the US is an immigrant?". I'll assume you misunderstood my point, when I tell you that my criticism was of the special interest groups who have gone out of their way with special funding and agendas to promote the terminology of 'Hispanic' and 'Latino', so of course many people in the country today would associate their identity with these concepts.

However, Hispanism/Latinoism is not an ethnicity as you've mistakenly pointed out anymore than Englishian is which was one of my points when I stated that "There is...not a homogeneous culture in 'Latin' America". 'Hispanic/Latino' are umbrella terms in an attempt to congregate multiple ethnicities into one grouping which effectively aggregates a more populous demographic and thus commands more POWER which is what it is all about!

Now if you'd actually like to become as educated as you've assumed than I suggest reading the reports and papers of policy and special interest groups which deal with the issues of economic integration and how to achieve it where you'll find the themes driving our contemporary, controversial policies relating to the issues I brought up.

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• Posted by SomePeopleWorryMe on June 2, 2007 at 9:55 p.m.
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