What Do You Mean, I “Look Hispanic"?

Recently, I wrote about the concept of self-loathing among immigrants. My thesis was that some immigrants want so badly to be considered “American” that they will join in on hatred aimed at newcomers.

As we know, all immigrants are not Hispanic, nor are all Hispanics immigrants. However, it’s safe to say that immigration and Latino culture are closely linked. Therefore, you will be delighted to know that self-hatred can transcend citizenship status and careen right into questions of ethnicity and race.

For example, a few weeks ago, the GOP candidate for governor in Nevada, Brian Sandoval, endeared himself to his fellow Latinos during an interview with Univision.

Sandoval expressed support for Arizona’s infamous SB 1070, which wasn’t too surprising for a Republican, even a Latino one. However, things got ugly when the interviewer asked how Sandoval would feel if his children were stopped and asked for their papers.

According to Univision, Sandoval “answered, with a note of pride in his voice, ‘My children don’t look Hispanic.’ ”

Now I hate to break it to Mr. Sandoval, but if the pictures accompanying the article are any indication, his children most certainly do look Hispanic (whether they will ever be pulled over and asked for papers is open to debate). Still, that’s not the point.

Sandoval has apparently adopted the colonizer mentality, which holds that the darker the skin, the more worthless or inferior the person. If Sandoval is indeed ashamed of looking Hispanic — and by extension, of being Hispanic — he would naturally want his children to avoid that terrible fate.

It is an underexplored issue in the Latino community that many Hispanics simply want to be white. I don’t mean “white” in the sense of racial classification, which is a whole other post.

I mean they want to avoid any aspect of Latino-ness, in the hopes that people will think they are members of the majority culture. This is the essence of self-loathing, and of internalized shame.

When African Americans do this, they are lambasted with such derogatory terms as “Oreo” and “Uncle Tom.” To my knowledge, there are no corresponding phrases for a Latino who tries to pass as white. The funny thing is that it’s a lot easier for a Hispanic person to succeed in the endeavor, so one would think there would be a handy insult available.

In any case, Sandoval has given the classic excuse that he doesn’t remember saying anything like that during the interview. He added, “If I did say those words, it was wrong and I sincerely regret it. I am proud of my heritage and my family."

Apparently, being proud of one’s heritage now includes the act of denying that your children resemble people of that culture. It’s a unique interpretation.

Lost in this, by the way, is the fact that Sandoval never addressed the original question, which was how would he feel if his kids got hassled. He just assumed that his privileged position would insulate him from any problem that millions of lower-class people might face.

Well, if his goal is to be a powerful white conservative, he seems to have the right mindset.

Photo Credit: B. Sandoval