Mixed

Having a father of mixed German/Irish descent (standard white-american) and Puerto Rican mother (white) has it’s benefits. I’d like to think that being a sort of mutt has many, many more benefits than downsides.

It’s hard to go into detail about the perks of being straight/white/male simply because it’s already so damn obvious here in the USA. It’s not arrogance, it’s a fact: I’m more likely to be treated with greater kindness by any branch of the government, I’ll make more money, I’ll have a greater chance of being promoted to positions of power, etc. If I was black, or more obviously Hispanic, or any sort of middle-eastern or Asian, I could be shunned from many communities. Hell, you could scream nigger in the streets here and no one would hesitate to stop. The few Indian men in this town are looked at as “creeps” simply because the townsfolk think they speak funny. All Hispanics are immediately thought of as Mexican, any “darker skinned folk” are referred to (quite negatively) as hodgies. I’ve oft stuck to keeping my mixed heritage hidden, not that I would lie about it, but I won’t go around letting people know that have my family doesn’t speak English.

Being half-puertorriqueno gives me no immediate advantages, but I’m able to experience the fear that many white people have for people of other cultures. My own mother told me about a conversation she had with a new girl at her job that would frustrate most people. Being lighter than myself, she’s a full-blooded Puerto Rican. She’s the manager at a fabric store, and her short talk with this girl had gone something like this:

Sorting through glittery shirts, Girl: You know, I know of a few dark-skinned people who’d really like this stuff. You know, with all this glitter and glitz.

Mother: You know, half my family is black.

Girl: Well! I didn’t mean black people! I meant–

Mother: You mean like those Caribbean people? Like those dark-skinned people?

Girl: Yeah! Just like them!

My mother is a good woman, she understands how stupid some people can be (considering this new girl doesn’t realize that her boss’ surname is Santiago). My mother, like myself, is not afraid to state her heritage, but she also knows to play along with the stupid if it means getting a leg up.

Being Puerto Rican, and seeing how people keep themselves isolated from the rest of the world, has opened my eyes. I don’t care much for someone’s preferred sexuality, color (or lack of), accent, religion, or anything else that’s secondary to the person. Being part of the minority makes me appreciate people beyond simple prejudices and stereotypes. I can see things from multiple angles, and that makes people much, much more bearable.