Exploring My Own Ethnicity - Term Paper Example

? Exploring my own Ethni al Affiliation I am partially from the Arabic and Hispanic ethnicities. My father is from Dubai while my mother is from Mexico. The Arab people, popular as the Arabs, are a primarily pan-ethnicity who mostly live in the Arab world located across the Western Asia as well as North Africa. They are mostly identified on various genealogical, cultural, or linguistic grounds based on the tribal affiliations as well as intra-tribal relationships that play critical roes in the Arab identity. The term ‘Arab’ bears a number of different, but rather overlapping meanings across the previous centuries and today as well. In addition to the inclusion of all Arabized people in the world (language being the acid test), it has been exclusively used where Arab nomads once were sometimes used and the current focus shifting towards the entire settled descendants. It is also used in a colloquially similar way especially today in the American community. Townspeople previously popular as ‘sons of the Arabs’ within the case of various ethnicities or nations help in the identification of people as ‘Arabs’ to different degrees. This might not be the primary identity of an individual as it tends to remain rather compete in terms of the country, religion or sect. this is irrespective of the emphasis placed on them based on the audience at hand. Arab identity is independently defined as religious identity as it pre-dates since the rise of Islam (Maleh, 2009). This was the definition that was popularly used across medieval times like it was the case with Ibn Khaldun even though it later decreased in relevance across time due to the fact that a better portion of the Arab ancestry continued to lose their respective links regarding their ancestors' motherland. On the other hand, Hispanic is more of denoting an extensive relationship to Spain and ancient Hispania comprising the Iberian Peninsula and the modern states of Andorra, Spain and Portugal. Other definitions also mention the inclusion of Morocco (Hispania Ulterior Tingitana) and the British Crown Dependency in Gibraltar. Currently, organizations around the United States continued using the term for purposes of referring to individuals with a thoroughly established historical and cultural relationship irrespective of Spain and Portugal and regardless of race. However, in the perception of the US Census Bureau, Latinos or Hispanics are from of any race, any country of origin, or any ancestry (Marger, 2008). The term is broadly used in referring to due culture where peoples and nations develop a strong historical link for Spain with regards to the countries that were previously colonized by Spain especially those that Latin America had sought in colonizing. Spain remained a geographic territory residence to various kingdoms (Muslim and Christian), with separate religions, governments, languages, laws, and costumes and was actually the historical Hispano-Gothic unity remnant. It was not until much later that Spain became a political entity while referring to Middle Ages which are confounded with today’s nation-state dimension (Klich & Lesser, 1997). The Spanish Empire expansion between 1492 and 1898 proceeded to bring in many Spanish migrants towards the conquering of lands establishing settlements mainly along the American lands and in other distant parts producing various multiracial populations. History of "your people" Coming to The USA Hispanic and Latino Americans essentially refer to one of the many ethno-linguistic groups cross the United States which has substantial origins in the Iberian peninsula or the countries of Latin America. Further, it includes people from the United States having self-identifies as Latino or Hispanic. Reflecting on the history of this ethnicity with special focus on the Latin American population, the Hispanics/Latino Americans are essentially racially diverse. This is because their origins were sourced from all the continents as well as many ancestries. As a result, they formed an ethnic category instead of a race. Even as the two terms were sometimes interchangeably used, Hispanic was actually a narrower term that only referred to persons of Spanish-speaking ancestry or origin. On the other hand, Latino was frequently used in referring to people of Latin American ancestry or origin such as the Brazilians. Hispanic in turn included Spanish-speaking Latin Americans and persons from Spain with the exclusion of Brazilians speaking Portuguese (Kanellos, Weaver & Fabregat, 1994). Further, Latino excludes people from Spain while still including both Portuguese-speaking and Spanish-speaking Latin Americans. In the United States, Hispanics was a broader term that encompassed more people. The application of social activities between the Latino and Hispanic across the Spanish-speaking origins was also associated to the location where persons of Spanish-speaking origins continued to reside within the eastern United States and tended to prefer the Hispanics, whereas the people in the west preferred Latino. On the other hand, one of the factors across the differentiation of various dialects in the Arabic ethnicity was the influence resulting from the many languages which were previously spoken within the areas. Based on the history of this ethnicity, food and family formed the foundations of both Arab and Arab American cultures. With respect to Arab immigrants in America, the family remained the single most critical economic and social institution. On the other hand, the early immigrants continued to work very hard while frugally leading due lifestyles as a way of send money to their respective relatives across their initial countries of origin based on ‘the old country’. Immediately social security was achieved, the Arabs brought their extended and immediate families to the U.S. In other cases, the entire Arab villages became reunited based on American shores (Jamal & Naber, 2008). The establishment of immigrants came in handy in helping the newcomers continue adjusting to life across the United States through the provision of social cushions that helped them in finding due jobs as well as places that focused on living until they turned self-sufficient. Food became one of the integral elements with respect to cultural identity. The specificity of foods marked important religious and cultural events. Sharing of meals allowed families in the Arabic ethnicity to easily gather and socialize. It also ensured that they were always prepared in large quantities in the event that the unexpected and always welcome, guests came along. Reception by other Americans Evidently, there is a considerably deeply rooted and centuries-old distaste by the Anglo-Americans for Spanish culture which has caused various citizens to remain alert and concerned on issues of mixing of Hispanic and Anglo cultures. The aspect of misunderstanding as well as the overall lack of scholarly formal work has contributed to the due antipathy surrounding the Hispanic heritage in wholesome even though this was not entirely uniform. Some of the Americans romanticized both Spain and its cultural provisions within the considerations of its backwardness. Attitudes started shifting towards the late 19th century as well as the early years of the 20th century. The shift slowly unfolded and subsequent stages and eventually resulted in the birth of both Latin American and Hispanic which were recognized as independent scholarly fields. On a similar note, the additional cultural institutions that were led by The Hispanic Society started emerging. The institutions evidently fostered greater understanding across Latin American and Hispanic cultures and their individual contributions to the entire American history (Barreto, 2010). The scope of ‘Hispanism’ started with the definition of being the study of literature, language, as well as the history of Spain through distinct foreigners. It was during the mid 1800s when extensive research on the Spanish culture as well as influences from Anglo-American sentiments within the ties of the company to Spain was generally negative. With such additions to the United States territory, most of the Spanish and Mexican citizens became American citizens while bringing their respective traditions, architectural styles and beliefs into the expansion of the nation. It is established that there are high levels of discrimination towards the Muslim Americans especially during and after the September 11attacks. This is because most of the Americans associated the acts to terror to all sought of Islam as they were frequently portrayed by media to be intrinsically violent and intolerant. As it is beneficial to continue studying the situational attitudes towards the Muslim Americans since their arrival in the country, the raid by Muslim terrorists appeared to worsen the public’s general attitudes toward mainstream Muslim Americans. The fact that the Muslim Americans are integral parts of American society, there were negative discrimination and attitudes which would develop detrimental effects both to the recipients of such a negative expression as well as the society at large. There is need to establish greater understanding for the non-Muslims’ affective forms of responses towards Muslims which provide useful information in guiding efforts of reducing prejudice towards this group. As it stands, the effects of various situational factors regarding the attitudes towards the Muslim Americans have not been expressly examined (Marvasti & McKinney, 2004). Presently, the exploration inclines towards the form of situation-specific attitudes which are held by non-Muslims toward fellow Muslim Americans. In assessing individuals overall effect towards certain situations, it is critical to appreciate the fact that the roles of social desirability lay bias on the tendency for individuals portraying themselves in generally favorable ways. A time in which their ethnicity became less important The fact that Hispanic ethnicity is the fastest-growing ethnic minority group in the United States currently subjects the members of this community to harsh treatment from fellow Americans. The overall number of Hispanic in the nation's public sector is increasing gradually from 1990 to 2006 (Marvasti & McKinney, 2004). Even as the majority of Hispanics live across traditional Hispanic states, most of the populations developing from the Hispanics within the nontraditional Midwest and Southeast states continue to rise on a daily basis. Irrespective of the level of growing numbers as well as the evolution of the geographical presence, most of the Hispanics continue facing financial difficulties where some of the policymakers, activists and scholars continue attributing this to the a lack of educational attainment as well as limited access to due resources. On the other hand, there exists strong urgency for the education system in the U.S. to provide the Hispanics with essential educational resources as well as the support necessary in moving forward in their personal attainment through ensuring economic success both in the short and long run. Bilingual education programs have since been proven a productive way of transitioning English-language learners into English through teaching children substantive content in the Spanish language. The increased quality within education for the Hispanic-Americans has also been the priority both in providing equity and providing a level playing field for all the Hispanic-Americans (Hanania, 1996). This is due to the heavy investments made in the development of intellectual potential for the young Hispanic-Americans through the utilization of widely untapped human resources across the United States. On the other hand, fueled by foreign policy as well as public ignorance on the Arab American population, there were widely spread negative stereotypes relating to Arab Americans blossoming across American pop culture ever since the later 1970s. On the other hand, the Arab characters used in movies were often perceived to be the ‘bad guys’ or terrorists as well as greedy sheiks or barbarians. However, the prejudices were not only spread by the media. Crises across the Middle East continued to invite backlash over various mosques and Arab-owned stores across the years. With respect to the Gulf War, the FBI especially targeted the prominent politicians and activists of Arab descent for questioning on the pro-Iraqi terrorism on the U.S. to a period of three days succeeding the Oklahoma City bombing, up to 200 hate crimes were committed over American Muslims and Arab Americans. The same case was noted within the days that followed September 11. After 9/11, the country introduced anti-terrorism policies for airline passenger in profiling travelers which later disproportionately affected Arabs as well as Muslims (Gualtieri, 2009). Some were not allowed to board or later taken off planes on the grounds of their ethnicity. Anti-terrorist policies and programs singling out the people with Arab descent also contributed to the creation of negative bias over the public eye. This has also been fueled by fear of the police and the hesitation to report the hate crimes committed by Arab Americans. Characteristics of ethnic background It is prudent to appreciate the fact that Latino or Hispanic is not a race. In reality, the classification of Hispanic was partly created to define the group of people who are unable to classify them as otherwise. Saying that my mother is are Indian in Latin America could prove derogatory which is a belief coming from the Spanish colonial times while the Indians were at the bottom of social hierarchy. More importantly, when the businesses, governments, or academic form term Hispanics as a race to mean American Indian is surprisingly is not apparent to be an inclusion of Aztecs and Mayas coupled with Caribbean or South American natives. While I am not focusing on arguing that many differences are in existence among the Hispanics segments, the fact is that there are a number of very strong commonalities (Gracia, 2007). For the most part, it is evident that we share the same language and similar values with regards to family as well as tendencies of being religious or spiritual. The passion for food is also undisputable even as the foods remain fundamentally different. The Hispanics wit and sense of humor which is often different from that developed by Anglo Americans has a similar immigration experience for the emotional nature including the unique way of linking with each other relying heavily on instincts. On the other hand, family and gender constructions are critical considerations for the Arabic ethnicity. Gender differences in most of the Arab neighborhoods in America remain strong while the social structures are male dominant. In the American setting society, women are essentially perceived to be physically and mentally weaker as compared to men. Particularly in Muslim society, ethnic Arab women are viewed as rather powerless, subservient as well as submissive (Walker, Spohn & DeLone, 2011). The males are the leaders and have the highest authorities within in the household, the polity, and the economy. In other Arab societies, the women's social status becomes strongly contingent upon marriage to rearing children, mostly boys. Arranged marriages are mostly the case, and the women will be expected to continue devoting most of their time towards caring for their respective families. It is a common attribute woman not having careers other than their homes (Chen & Jeung, 2012). Most career women in the Arab ethnicity as well as those attaining high success degrees defer to families or spouses on major decisions. The fact that the issue of social work practice with various Arab peoples remains a complex and due to the fact that the literature disparate presents articles that concentrates on the analysis of Arab major faith traditions (Druze, Christian, or Islam) living across both rural and urban regions have communities which are intensely immersed for the broadest traditional spectrum of modern values and norms. Strengths The major strength of the Hispanics rests on family ties. The family remains at the core of all forms of Hispanic life. When individuals become very friendly with Hispanic people, they are treated as como familia (like family). When Hispanic people want to welcome people into their homes, they are told to feel en familia (in the family). The overall tendency of Hispanics maintaining close ties with their extended families has even been a source of jokes as well as racist stereotypes. This becomes an unfortunate bit due to the fact that large families will actually develop great strengths for the immigrant populations (Bean & Tienda, 1987). It is essential to appreciate the fact that due to economic need, the religious beliefs (with Catholicism being by far the dominant religion for the Spanish-speaking people), coupled with cultural tradition, it is probably the case that some large Hispanic families place much relevance on the need to maintain good relationships due to the fact that all relationships are personalismo (interpersonal relationships). Further, after many years of difficult political climates, the overall Arab-American community continues to experience an entirely new approach to community activism while addressing the long-standing stereotypes developed by Arab Americans. Issues of strategic philanthropy are part of the powerful ways of promoting positive Arab-American participation images within the country’s civic life. Across the entire scope of philanthropy, Arab Americans continue telling their respective stories with respect to about their individual contributions as Americans as well as the building of institutions aimed at offering due support to Arab-American history, leadership and culture. They have also become strategically positioned in strengthening the whole community through starting giving programs at their places of work that include grants to Arab-American organizations as well as related non-profits (Barreto, 2010). This has been enhanced by the establishment of private foundation for the family while focusing on giving. The established charitable trusts are responsible for the designation of several non-profits and educational institutions which are the ultimate beneficiaries. References Barreto, M. (2010) Ethnic cues: the role of shared ethnicity in Latino political participation. New York: University of Michigan Press Bean, F. D., Tienda, M. (1987) The Hispanic Population of the United States. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, Chen, C., Jeung, R. (2012) Sustaining Faith Traditions: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion Among the Latino and Asian American Second Generation. New York: NYU Press Gracia, J. J. E. (2007) Race or ethnicity?: on Black and Latino identity. New York: Cornell University Press Gualtieri, S. M. A. (2009) Between Arab and White: race and ethnicity in the early Syrian American diaspora. New York: University of California Press Hanania, R. (1996) I'm Glad I Look Like a Terrorist: Growing Up Arab in America. New York: Lulu.com Jamal, A. A., Naber, N. C. (2008) Race and Arab Americans before and after 9/11: from invisible citizens to visible subjects. New York: Syracuse University Press Kanellos, N., Weaver, T., Fabregat, C. E. (1994) Handbook of Hispanic cultures in the United States: Anthropology. New York: Arte Publico Press Klich, I., Lesser, J. (1997) Arab and Jewish immigrants in Latin America: images and realities. New York: Routledge Maleh, L. (2009) Arab Voices in Diaspora: Critical Perspectives on Anglophone Arab Literature. New York: Rodopi Marger, M. (2008) Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives. New York: Cengage Learning Marvasti, A., McKinney, K. D. (2004) Middle Eastern Lives in America. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Walker, S., Spohn, C., DeLone, M. (2011) The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America. New York: Cengage Learning Read More