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subscribeDiagnois: Hispanophobia
posted: 06.11.09 at 09:00 PM
filed under: personal
“I don’t see many white people around here.”
The remark didn’t carry a tinge of spite or racism; it was simply an honest observation.
As I waited for my cheeseburger in a fast food restaurant, I struck up a conversation with a Mexican girl who appeared to be in her early 20s. I was in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood – a short walk away from boqueen’s palace.
Little Village is a predominately Mexican neighborhood. Census records indicate that 83% of residents are Hispanic and nearly 13% are black. White people are an anomaly, comprising less than four percent of population of the borough.
I laughed at the girl’s comment, acknowledging my unusual status as a minority. I explained that I was spending the weekend at my girlfriend’s apartment. As she awkwardly chuckled in response, it became clear that she was slightly disappointed. Apparently, the girl was attempting to flirt with me – and I can’t blame her.
::
One of my coworkers decided to befriend me, due to our mutual admiration for a good old-fashioned smoke break. Tryad and I got along well, despite of his fundamentalist right-wing beliefs. I am the type of person who can appreciate different viewpoints, even if I don’t find them entirely agreeable. In addition, Tryad was an affable fellow. We got along well.
At one point, I explained that I was considering moving to the suburbs. The long commute from the city’s Northwest Side to our suburban office had become unbearable, and I was willing to sacrifice the excitement of Chicago nightlife for the convenience of a shorter ride to work.
I explained to Tryad that I was considering Waukegan as a potential destination. Waukegan is a relatively large suburb located near the Wisconsin border. The combination of the city’s urban sensibilities and low rent prices were appealing to me.
Tryad lived in Zion, a suburb just north of Waukegan. I turned to him as an authority on the lifestyles of those who live in Lake County, Illinois.
“You don’t want to live there,” Tryad said, “too many spics and niggers.”
I was utterly appalled. Tryad’s comment left me speechless. His response was inappropriate for any social situation, let alone the workplace.
I abruptly ended the conversation and returned to my office. I recalled my previous conversations with Tryad.
Had he forgotten that my high school’s graduating class was comprised of nearly one-quarter native Spanish speakers? We had spoken at great length about our pasts, so I am certain that the topic had come up.
Had he forgotten our conversation about my young, half-Cuban nephew’s naïve attempts to help him better understand Spanish? I had told him the story only days earlier and we both found my Spanish-language ineptitude comical.
Had he forgotten about the picture of my sister and her black fiancée on my desk? He dropped by my office at least twice a day, so there was no way that he missed the five-by-seven glossy print.
I found the similarities between our backgrounds and the discrepancies between our worldviews incredibly ironic. We both were born and raised in areas with a burgeoning minority population. While I grew to accept the fact as a part of life, Tryad resented blacks and Hispanics as an infringement on his boring, gun-toting, white-boy lifestyle.
In many ways, I am delighted by the fact that 53% of the population of Zion is white. The other 47% keeps Tryad’s fat racist ass awake at night.
::
My friends are frightened by boqueen’s neighborhood. Granted, she lives a half a mile away from Cook County Jail, but crime rates are not exceptionally high by Chicago’s standards. When boqueen hosted her birthday party a few weeks ago, most of my friends were no-shows.
I attempt to explain that Little Village is a peaceful neighborhood populated primarily by families. My efforts are futile, because white people are scared of brown people.
Unfortunately, the South Side of Chicago has earned a bad reputation. Residents of Lincoln Park believe that the South Side is a crime-ridden war zone characterized by stray bullets and random muggings. Many North Siders consider the South Side as unsafe as Fallujah. This is a terribly myopic perception of the South Side.
The mere presence of white people does not guarantee a safe neighborhood. During my relatively brief stint living in Rogers Park on the North Side of the city, I saw witnessed the killings of two people in broad daylight and watched an open-air drug market get pinched. The 31% of whites that make up the population of the neighborhood were unable to heroically keep the neighborhood safe.
Conversely, boqueen and I rarely witness crimes in Little Village, despite the fact that the neighborhood is populated by the Hispanics that Tryad found so untrustworthy.
Little Village is a lively neighborhood. Last Saturday, I stepped outside of the palace to find a mariachi band and a man selling freshly-blended fruit drinks from a cart. I walked to the corner bodega – they can be found on nearly every other corner of residential streets – to buy a two liter of pop. As I walked back to the palace, I encountered a man letting his pet chicken get some exercise and another vendor selling fruity popsicles from a cart.
The North Side lacks such vibrant character. Neighborhoods are completely indistinguishable from one another, marked only by the number of yuppies and hipsters staggering between bars. On the North Side, ethnic neighborhoods have been virtually eradicated. Mexican, Italian, German and Polish families have been displaced by rising home prices. Blacks were never really allowed into the club. Today, most of the North Side is comprised of young professionals who are fortunate enough to afford a condo priced at upwards of a half a million dollars.
The North Side lacks personality, while the South Side is the final bastion of the unique diversity that once defined the city.
I encourage my frightened Caucasian friends to continue to toil away in their uninspired existence among the vast army of blonde girls and Volkswagen Jettas.
Hitler would be proud.
Meanwhile, I am going to the corner to grab a taco.
6 responses to 'Diagnois: Hispanophobia'
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“and I can’t blame her.”
You’re funny.
It’s true. If I had a dime for every time I was asked, “IS IT SAFE?” I’d be a millionaire. What the hell!
It’s actually a racist question: they’re asking because it’s not a white neighborhood, right? Nobody moves to Lakeview or Wicker Park and asks, “Is it safe?”
Funny- living in Mexican neighborhoods for the past 5 years; I’ve never had issue. But the two people I know who have been jumped were in LINCOLN PARK and UKRAINIAN VILLAGE.
Also, I love Guillermo. He’s my Twitter buddy.
boqueen
06.11.09 09:28 PM
Hysterical . . . what the heck kind of name is “Tryad”?
I’ll ask a Grandma question: What nationality is he?
I have an idea, but let me know.
Ma
06.13.09 06:21 AM
@boqueen – Ironic that you mention that. I was mugged in Lincoln Park and my apartment in Ukrainian Village was robbed by two heroin addicts.
@Ma – I believe that “Tryad” is an Aryan name.
bokeen
06.13.09 10:43 PM
Ironically, Tryad just added me as a friend on Facebook.
bokeen
06.15.09 12:12 AM
Every time I (accidentally) watch the news, it’s about little kids killing eachother and random shootings on the south side. But I’m thinking, after having read this, that maybe “South Side” is a little too general a title. Perhaps I do not have to be afraid of literally everything south of the loop? Methinks “Kellee’s South Side Adventure” may not be in the too distant future.
Either way, I have a very inspired existence.
Granted, I’m brunette and drive a mini.
leelee
06.15.09 01:48 AM
Yes #1-that is so true!
C Hedspeth
06.17.09 12:33 PM