Thursday, February 13, 1997
CULTURE:
Amount of a person’s pride in ethnic group cannot be judged by
appearances, namesBy Vickie Euyoque
Friday, Dec. 7, I sat down with the Daily Bruin to relax after a
long day of class and work. I was hoping to read something
interesting or at least amusing. Instead, I became furious,
embarrassed to call myself Mexican because of the article
"Assessing the impact of social geography" by Mimi Guzman. Don’t
get me wrong, I’m proud to be Mexican  I wouldn’t change that
if I could, but I’m embarrassed to be part of the same ethnic group
that Mimi is.
"No, I am not white washed," as Mimi would say. It’s just that I
think there are more important things in life than skin color. I
don’t categorize people by what color they are or where they come
from. Who really cares as long as you get along? I’ll be the first
to admit that I don’t get along with everyone, but it has nothing
to do with their skin color.
In her article, Mimi says that Hispanics or "white-washed
Latinos," as she calls them, name their daughters Jennifer or
change their name from Guillermo to Bill  I have only one
question: Since when is Mimi a Mexican name? If I wanted to, I
could say that Mimi’s parents must have become "white-washed" at
some point, but that would be stupid and naive on my part. I don’t
know her parents, nor do I have the right to make accusations
without any concrete evidence so, unlike Mimi, I’m not going to
judge people’s "brown-ness" by their name.
Mimi also writes that Mexicans who consider themselves to be
"Caucasian" change their hair and their eyes to pass for white.
Both of my parents are light-skinned and have green eyes and they
were both born and raised in Jalisco, Mexico.
Mimi, since your grandfather was the mayor for a pueblo in
Jalisco, you should ask him or your mom about how many
light-skinned, blond-haired, blue-eyed Mexicans live there. Let me
give you a clue: plenty. I have family there, so I know what I’m
talking about.
Much like Mimi’s parents, my parents can at times be considered
to be "sooo Mexican." My father didn’t let me spend the night at a
friend’s house when I was younger, but what’s the big deal? I
didn’t really miss out on anything.
My parents are old-fashioned, traditional and still strict
 my dad more than my mom  but many parents are the same
regardless of their ethnicity.
As for Mimi’s dream for the future, I hope it never becomes a
reality. The future should be about making progress, not about
regression. I would never want to live in a world where everyone is
segregated. It doesn’t make sense to hide your children and only
let them see certain people.
The only way to teach your children that they are as good as
anyone is by allowing them to interact with people of all colors.
Only by living life can they learn that everyone has strengths and
weaknesses, but that’s all right. Nobody is perfect, but everyone
is equal.