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The term Anglo works well and no one in the region takes offense to it. The term "gringo" is widely used in south America. The Brazilians call Mexicans gringos. They use it in the proper form to mean you are from somewhere else.
I will leave this thread now. Thank you to all of you who have presented your opinion without being disrespectful of my right to my opinion or resorting to personal attacks.
Wow, that sounds like a lot to me too. I'm not sure that I even correspond with that many different people...
Anyway, I've been called a lot worse things than "Anglo". If I were going to be offended at something on that level, I'll be continuously offended. And I'd be the one with the ulcer.
I hear it all the time used in a non-racist fashion. Having been a white 'minority' virtually my whole life (New Mexico is by far the 'whitest' place I have ever lived) I know when people are addressing me with racist undertones.
I actually think the word 'White' is by far the worst offender in that regard.
Here is a simple analogy:
Anglo : Hispanic
Anglo is to English speaking / descended from an Anglo-centric culture as Hispanic is to Spanish speaking / descended from Spanish-centric culture
Just as not all Hispanics are descendants of Spanish (European) immigrants, their linguistic heritage, regardless of whether Spanish or English is their first language, and their cultural institutions are, in large part, influenced by Spanish European traditions.
Likewise, just as not all Anglos are descendants of English immigrants, their linguistic heritage and their cultural institutions are, in large part, influenced by English traditions.
No - because English speaking "hispanics" are not referred to as "anglo". It's a racist term.
I will go on correcting those racists who incorrectly use it to refer to anyone who isn't from Mexico (unless they correctly use it to describe Englishmen). To me it's no different than the "n" word or other racist terms used and people who use them should be corrected.
Some blacks for example might find the "n" word acceptable, or want to fit in so badly they allow people to use it on them - to me it's the same way for anyone including whites to accept racist terms. There are those who dare not criticize racists because they want to be liked - but I think with true like comes respect.
I agree with you, if someone is white and of Celtic, or Basque, or Finnish, or Irish, or Russian descent, the FACT IS they are not Anglo descent, and they have the right to assert that they do not wish to be mislabeled as Anglo. There is no question that it's disrespectful.
I personally am white and a first generation American and I am respectful of other people's cultural backgrounds. If I mistook a Japanese person for Chinese, I would not tell them they had no right to be offended! I would simply apologize for my mistake. I do tolerate the term white, even though honestly I know white is not really a race, it's just a skin color, but I'll put up with that.
So even if some folks manage to convince themselves that the term Anglo is not offensive, just remember America is not the world folks. Just try heading off to Europe and referring to all white people as Anglo. That's not gona fly folks.
Exactly right! It's all about mutual respect.
In the SW, you have to be careful what you call "hispanics" and contrary to popular opinion, not everyone with a Spanish last name wants to be called that. Some have told me that it implies a lighter skin person, someone from Spain and they don't want the label, they prefer "chicano" or "mexican-american". However don't call just everyone a "chicano" or "mexican-american" because some don't like that either. A woman from Spain told me she finds being called a "hispanic" or "latina" offensive because it refers to people from Latin America - not Spain. She said someone from Spain is Spanish or European. And you don't want to call every New Mexican with a Spanish last name a Mexican - one guy told me his family was never from Mexico, he's New Mexican Indian and some Spanish - and he prefers to be called a New Mexican or an American, he doesn't view himself as chicano because he said that has a political connotation that doesn't fit him.
So when it comes to name calling and trying to pigeonhole people - I think it's best to avoid it - and that goes for whites of various European ancestry also.
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