Hyphenated Americans
Is this Issue Really a Problem?
By Daniel Muniz

A number of Right Wingers truly loathe the designation of “hyphenated Americans” that identifies certain ethnic groups such as African-American, Mexican-American, Asian-American, etc. Many Conservatives insist that since we are all “Americans” in the first place, this identification of ethnicity or origin is completely unnecessary and can oftentimes even be divisive.

On the surface, such an assertion seems reasonable.

We live in a society marred by class warfare and there are already too many racial arsonists who delight in creating as many divisions as possible. In addition, there are also too many political opportunists who seek to take full advantage of promoting more racial strife and racial tension instead of finding better ways to peacefully coexist.

Furthermore, nearly all “white” Americans do not hyphenate themselves like German-Americans or Polish-Americans. In fact, it would almost be silly for a white person to designate himself as such. As a result, the obvious question is why should any minority want to bring attention their ethnicity or place of origin especially if we want a color-blind society?

As a conservative Hispanic, I find the issue of “hyphenated Americans” nowhere near as threatening or as menacing as many Right-Wingers suggest. In fact, I often feel that far too many conservatives blow the entire problem out of proportion and here is why.

Contrary to the popular belief of certain conservatives, it was not minorities who first created the hyphens or made widespread use of them; it was done by white people. There are a number of Right Wingers who have a bit of selective memory loss about past discrimination and prejudice but significant cultural barriers were indeed placed in our society that segregated minorities from the white population. Some were silly while others were downright severe and cruel.

When my parents were at a young age, there were plenty of places where they could not go as well as many places that they were not welcomed at. It was an ugly and unpleasant environment that I am grateful that I never had to live through. Today, times and people have changed and I have a deep gratitude for the individuals who brought about the change as well as for the ones who accepted it.

So why can’t we drop the hyphens altogether and just be Americans especially since those days are long gone?

That is a fair question to ask since today we now live in a dramatically different environment and culture. Unfortunately, a lot of whites, including many Right Wingers, have never dropped using such designations although they insist that minorities do so.

Here is what I mean. I have been in plenty of situations in which some white people are identifying someone and they then revert to the very usage that they claim to loathe. For instance, certain whites will say something like:

“It is the Mexican (or the black man) by the window…”

Instead of a more race-neutral description of:

“It is the guy in the red shirt that is by the window…”

In fact, I have often heard the nationality of “Mexican” applied to me and to fellow Hispanics by so many whites and even by plenty of Right Wingers. Most don’t even bother with saying Mexican-American but just Mexican. If I was Florida, then the term would be Cuban or if I was New York City then it would have been Puerto Rican but regardless of the place of origin, the identification is rarely of an ethnic-neutral term.

In other words, there are plenty of whites who do not go out of their way to include minorities as Americans yet they insist that minorities drop the tags that identify themselves.

None of my family members are from Mexico and neither are my parents or any of my aunts and uncles. Of course, the further back into my family history, then my ancestry does originate from Mexico but that was over 100 years ago. Yet many whites seem to have no problem identifying me as a Mexican. I find that point rather interesting because a number of my relatives have fought in foreign wars including my father who was in Korea. And many of my relatives were very proud of being in the service and they are just as American and as flag waving as my Right Wing brethren.

I have also been in a number of Conservative Republican political campaigns where I am often the only Hispanic present (or any other minority for that matter) at a meeting and I have heard the word Mexican tossed around so casually. And many conservatives are not even aware of their usage and are a bit indignant if I point it out to them.

For many white people, there is no malice intended on their part when they use the nationality of Mexican to identify me and for the most part I don’t have a problem with that because no spite is involved. However, this misidentification is nothing new since it happens all over the country. For instance, like in New York City there is a segment of the population that is often referred to as Italians even though many of them are American citizens and their family members have been in this country for over 100 years or longer. And there are plenty of other similar examples.

But as I said before, many individuals are simply unaware of how they employ the usage of such designations.

Likewise, there is no malice by many of the people who consider themselves as Mexican-American or African-American or by any other hyphenation. As for myself, I do not use the designations of Mexican, Mexican-American, Latino, or Chicano but I do prefer the term of Hispanic and I only use it when the occasion warrants it.

I personally believe that it is counter-productive for certain conservatives to insist that minorities stop using hyphenations or designations when they are not fully prepared to stop the practice themselves. For most Right Wingers, it is the wrong battle to fight because many whites are not anywhere near as “race-neutral” as they imagine.

But in all reality, it is not really much of a problem to start off with.

Conservatives should not get bent out of shape by the hyphenations that some minorities use because most of the people who do use them are of good character and mean nothing divisive by it. And perhaps that is the distinction that Conservatives ought to make. That is, respect the people of goodwill who hyphenate themselves because most of them mean no malice by it and it is really a non-issue.

Overall, I would like to live in a world that is totally race neutral in which nobody makes a big deal out of what you are and how you identify it. But on the other hand, there are people who do think otherwise. Every race and culture has its share of miscreants and it is a shame that in this day and age where so much racial progress has already been made that there are the racial arsonists and the political opportunists who want to exploit racial strife and create more problems. It is unfortunate but I suppose that the world is always going to have stupid people in it regardless of skin color.

However, so much has been accomplished in race relations and I am truly grateful for that. Perhaps in the next generation, we can live in a much more color-blind race neutral environment where it is easier to get along and to coexist in a more peaceful society.

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