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NR: I am going to be little softer spoken on this than I thought I would be…time and a hectic day helps.
No. It is not a self-fulling prophecy. I don’t expect to be treated disrespectfully, and I have a strong enough sense of self-respect to fight it.
Here’s an example of a common occurance: I meet someone, talk with them a while, and they ask my name. I tell them, and they ask, “oh, French?” I will explain that, no, it’s Spanish, and I am Chicano…and I either become the spokesperson for everything Chicano (or Mexican, and my family has been in the US since the US invasion of Mexico in 1848, so that is difficult to do) OR I get to hear every stereotype in the world, or become less educated, less intelligent, less… Does it happen all the time? No. It happens enough.
One thing interesting is the relationship that lighter skinned people of color have with white privilege. Do I have it? Yes, most of the time. I “pass and am passed over” as a friend (identifies herself as “hapa”) of mine states. I found it scary to see that my father, who never stole a thing, would be followed in stores…and he was frequently challenged as my father. (Brown men don’t have green-eyed beige children, I guess. There’s a story there, and ask me nicely, buy me a beer, and I will tell you.)
Honestly, that’s part of the reason I made the career choices I did…I can speak for the communities I serve, and in fact, it’s my job to do so.
(I might seem mild-mannered, but rage is my fuel…rage is the lever than can move the world, if channeled properly.