JE#4 BarbaAlexandra

In, A City Divided- A Racial Geography of El Paso, David Romo illustrates the racial tensions and relationships that emerged when Mexicans, Mexican Americans, Chinese, Anglos and other ethnic groups came into contact in El Paso, Texas. The chapters, A City Divided and The Bath Riots, really illuminate how "other" races were treated by the Anglo Americans in the state of Texas. I've learned that our wording and our choice of words are a very powerful form of propaganda and in many cases, the Anglo Press manipulated their words to demean the "other" races and moved people to discriminate various minority groups. The Anglo press went as far as putting races against each other, like the Mexican Americans and African Americans, which disallowed these oppressed groups to unite and fight against white supremacy and other injustices caused because of it. It is clear that more important than race, was class and only those who were wealthy and pertained to the higher class of their ethnic groups were accepted and welcomed, although even in some cases they were still kicked out of El Paso, like the Japanese for example. The only times these minority groups were welcomed was when the Anglo Americans needed help during wars and battles or needed labor for railroad construction, etc. Time and time again, minority groups were used and came to be seen as disposable.

The first image that disturbed me was the 'Up-to-date El Paso Chinaman' drawing that was published in an article of the El Paso newspaper. According to Romo's findings, it was not uncommon to find xenophobic images of Chinese men. The image shown on page 199 portrays a Chinese man with a long, black braid and large hat riding a relatively large and unrealistic sized bicycle in comparison to the man riding it. Much like the image that shows the small Chinese man, the topics in the newspaper concerning Chinese men served to belittle them in society. I did not find it shocking that the El Paso newspaper was blatantly discriminating against the Chinese, but what I did find surprising was that these men were being discriminated against for simply trying to make a living and succeeding in the best way they could, which was opening up their own laundromats, for example. Neither Americans nor Mexicans favored this competition and so the Chinese were inevitably discriminated against. What I found ironic was that America is a capitalistic nation and while many Chinese men tried to accumulate capital by opening up their own businesses, they were bashed on by other groups and some even came to say, "They work.. but they also destroy, because their only desire is to make, create, or spend". Was this not the positive purpose of immigrants? To populate and spend in order to make more capital for the U.S., to make and create in order not to depend so much on the U.S. government? It was saddening that the Chinese were excluded from fear that they may become too wealthy and later hold too much power. In order to live in El Paso Chinese men also had to find ways to cross illegally and did this by contracting Mexican workers whom could cross the international bridge freely. Not only did they have to pay for a "coyote" but they had to dress in traditional Mexican clothing in order to appear Mexican and learn the Spanish phrase, "Yo soy Mexicano".

The second image that was most striking to me was the image on page 238 that shows rows and rows of naked men, probably of Asian or Mexican descent being inspected by men in white robes at the inspection and disinfection plant on the border. These men had nothing but a piece of paper to cover their genitals while they stood together, which was pretty stupid to me since these men had to be sprayed in their private areas with dangerous pesticides and expose their genitals to strangers any way. The image brings tears to my eyes because these men look humiliated and demeaned, one man looks down as another is being inspected. My mother told me that when my grandfather came to the U.S. as a bracero, he too had to be inspected and "disinfected" with harmful sprays in the nude. Much like the author who had trouble believing her aunt's story about being humiliated and feeling like a "dirty Mexican"and even repressing it, I too repressed this story because it hurt too much to believe that something so degrading could happen to someone so valuable in my family. My grandfather was an extremely hardworking and respectable man, as I'm sure many of these men were, and so it is unbelievable to think that they had to undergo such terrible and dehumanizing inspections and conditions. And to think that they underwent such conditions only to cross into a country that demeaned them at every opportunity they could.

The Chinese Exclusion Act, Mexican Revolution, and Bath Riots all contribute to the identity crisis felt by Mexicans and other ethnic groups because while these groups tried to make a living and express themselves freely, they were restricted by white supremacy. All three of the historical events listed above prove that the individuals who made these "other" ethnic groups had to undergo a long and hard process to stay in the U.S. which involved a lot of suffering and blatant discrimination. These individuals suffered through an identity crisis because they were not allowed to express themselves freely culturally and were majorly discriminated against when they did, by Whites and other groups as well. Who would want to identify with a group who is called a "Chink", who would want to identify with a group that is thought of by the dominant society as "dirty and infectious"? Who wouldn't internalize a cultural schizophrenia because of these experiences?--it's inevitable. It is inevitable to start believing that your culture is not good enough and that your culture is not valuable when you are so painfully discriminated against. And it wasn't just words, obviously it was institutionalized, in your face racism. When those around you who assimilate seem to be more accepted in society, why wouldn't you feel a desire to do the same? Both photos that I described earlier perfectly exemplify why these groups suffered from cultural schizophrenia. Living in a world, or should I say trying to live in a world, where you don't belong and are dehumanized because of a difference in your culture. Cultural schizophrenia stems from trying to hold on to and express your own cultural values, but being restricted by the dominant societys' culture and being forcefully swayed into assimilating to that culture, which is exactly what these groups in Texas were experiencing.