Friday, August 15, 2003

Hispanics vs. Whites
Here is the problem with this article about housing discrimination. I am 1/8th Latino. My Great Grandmother was from Panama/Columbia. She was "white." So, like most others out there, the Enquirer wants to paint Hispanics/Latinos as one monolithic group to compare with monolithic whites, a nice simple "black and white" story. I would surmise that most of the Hispanics in question were Mexican, and were mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white). So what are we trying to compare here, ethnic groups or races? There is no "Hispanic Race," and comparing race is really a no win action. Ethnic discrimination would have required the disclosure of the white people's ethnic groups, unless they are some how considered falsely blanketed as "ethnic Americans." I therefore find this report to be comparing apples and oranges. I would consider without much evidence that Mexicans and other Latin-American ethnic/nationality groups are treated poorly by landlords and often discriminated against. I wonder how many non-white landlords treated the Hispanic people differently than white landlords.

UPDATE: Similar treatment in the Post.

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