JE#4El Paso Cultural Schizophrenia

The Chinese Exclusion Act, the Mexican Revolution, and the Bath Riots all contributed to the disconnect between Anglo ‘Americans’ and ‘other’ ‘American’ minorities by increasing the volume of stereotypes/racial profiling and pitted the ‘other’ against each other. Controlling sexuality at the border and the Chinese Exclusion Act targeted against the Chinese immigrants and Chinese-‘Americans’ in the United States cause waves of prejudice and stereotypes against this newly arrived labor force under conditions not so different from what was done to the Mexicans and Africans in the United States. Despite this fact however, even Mexican Americans expressed anti-Chinese racism labeling them under the common derogatory slang term, ‘jornaleros chinescos’ (Romo, P. 200). The Chinese often found themselves ‘stuck in the middle of two hostile countries’ during the midst of the ongoing Mexican Revolution, when they themselves, similar to the Anglo-immigrants, were just trying to find their own way to attain the ‘American’ Dream.

The Mexican Revolution itself caused disconnects between the Mexican-American and Mexican nationalists communities, with one side screaming for the side of Mexico and other side screaming against the land of their fathers. This strong internal disconnect with the Mexican community was overlooked by the ruling Anglo-class, however, shows how cultural schizophrenia disease constructed a social divides and opinions going on during the time. The Bath Riots added to the fires of cultural schizophrenia by creating the identity of a dirty Mexican as an excuse for the heinous delousing and cleansing of the Mexican immigrants before they entered into the country. Carmelita Torres and the others who refused to fit this racial perspective were keen on overthrowing this crucial case of cultural schizophrenia.

The phrase a picture says a thousand words, speaks profoundly to me throughout Romo’s novel. It depicted to me that the racial stereotypes and prejudices existing today were cultivated during the ‘founding’ of our great nation. The photo with the caption ‘Anglos and their Mexican prisoners after the Boquillas, Texas raids along the corder, 1916’ on page 196 showed one aspect of how the dirty Mexican image was created. A gang of Anglos, probably Texas Rangers, rounding up three Mexicans, chained at the neck like dogs all hold sombreros. To me this image expresses how the white Anglos justify their vicious treatment towards Mexicans and Mexican American citizens during the early 20th century. Another photograph on page 203 of an African American cowboy presents one blatant oxymoron and clear example of cultural schizophrenia. No matter how you dress, a ‘nigger’ is a ‘nigger,’ you can dress him up like a cowboy, with a hat, handkerchief, boots, but he will be no ‘whiter’ than the dirt on the ground.