In my High School most of the latinos were viewed as not being intelligent or smart, also as perverted and dirty, not trustworthy and lazy. This stereotypes were satted because most of the latinos in school acted this way, they stole, they passed four years in ESL classes without achieveing any kind of progress, they took basic classes failed some of them. I remember walking with some of them down a hallway and they would just stare at girls one of them even grabbed one once, they asked me once why I didn't stare at them like they did and I told them I found that to be disrespectful.
What I did to overcome this stereotypes was not dress or act like any of the latinos that acted in such ways. I also challenged myself at school and took as many hard classes as I could, I also got out of ESL classes as soon as possible. My senior year I was one of two, if not the only latino, that was attending those classes, I played tennis and most latinos didn't practice a sport.
I would like for more latinos to act in a more educated way so they don't harm the image of all the other latinos and we don't have to put up with these stereotypes.
I like how you chose to be yourself and let them know the truth that you are not like them and you have more manners and respect compared to them....good for you
ReplyDeleteIf i could i would stand up and applaud you for saying this because abiding by a stereotype will not only damage your image but also many others as well.
ReplyDeleteNice work Emiliano! I respect your mature approach to the issue. I also like the fact that you address the issue of truth in some stereotypes; generally, stereotypes are true to a certain degree, but it's then taken to the extreme and applied to everyone, ignoring any nuance or difference.
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