JE#4: El Paso’s Cultural Schizophrenia-A Hot Mess

The Chinese Exclusion Act, the Mexican Revolution, and the Bath Riots contribute to El Paso’s identity crisis because they highlight the racism, xenophobia, and hostility between different racial groups and/or within racial groups. Disconnect between El Paso Anglos and “others” made El Paso culturally schizophrenia. How could it not? Is El Paso Mexican? Is El Paso Chinese? Is El Paso mixed? How do you define El Paso? Its not a surprise El Paso has an identity crisis.

              In Entry Denied: Controlling Sexuality at the Border, Eithne Luibheid emphasizes that the “immigration service's changing constructions of Chinese identity drew on existing U.S. racial taxonomies" (Luibheid, xi) formulated by Anglos especially El Paso Anglos who believed it was their Manifest Destiny to purify the human race and Chinese people would only inhibit this destiny. Before the Mexican Revolution, thousands of Chinese entered Mexico while they were excluded in the U.S.; yet, despite the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 implemented by the U.S., the Chinese continued to enter El Paso, sometimes, donning Mexican “qualities” and claiming Mexican ethnicity. However, David Romo points out “Anti-Chinese sentiment cropped up almost as fast as Chinatown itself” (199) making it clear that they faced more problems beyond the border. During the Mexican Revolution, the Chinese community was stuck between two hostile countries since Pancho Villa started an expulsion act similar to the United States. Xenophobia and racism drove Chinese underground in El Paso. Thus, the Chinese were not wanted anywhere. The lack of acceptance and degradation of Chinese has left an ugly scar on El Paso’s history because Chinese presence cannot be denied. Instead, it only aids the identity crisis of El Paso.

              Relativity small, the presence of Japanese still contributes to the confusion of El Paso’s identity. Apparently, wealth earns an immigrant admission into the U.S. but extreme wealth did not guarantee admission since Senator Ricard M. Dudley “passed legislation prohibiting Japanese colonization near El Paso” (Romo, 201) after they became way too rich for their liking. This is the same mentality some Mexicans had about the Chinese. Again, it seems like someone is always unwanted or wanted when it convenient. Its not surprising that El Paso has an identity crisis if it cannot completely accept another racial group i.e. the Japanese.

              Even more telling is presence of the African American community and their role in the Mexican Revolution. Blacks were discouraged by Anglos to not fight against segregation and most El Paso Blacks responded well to this message. I found this outrageous considering Anglos could not accept relations between a black male and a white female while black women could have relations with white males. Again, Manifest Destiny rears its ugly head in El Paso. Wouldn’t want white females having a black male’s children, right? In Ringside Seat to a Revolution on page 205, there is a picture of an ad for a dentist featured in the El Paso Herald on March 15, 1912. The ad blatantly states “I Don’t Work For Negroes” so talk about racism. I may be exaggerating but those Anglos sure know how to make Blacks feel accepted enough to not protest against segregation. This ad does not surprise me at all; instead, it makes me sad to know that the Chinese were not the only oppressed group in El Paso. Segregation was very real which may be the reason that at the beginning of the Mexican Revolution African Americans were sympathetic to the revolutionary cause. However, just like there was tension between Mexicans and Chinese, there was tension between Mexicans and African Americans but this time at the scheming hands of the Anglos. According to David Romo, the 10^th Calvary with Blacks in the front lines was used against Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution, at least twice. This is a classic game of pitting two oppressed groups against each other so they forget their common oppressor (the Anglos!). Whew! El Paso is a mess. Again, El Paso is definitely culturally schizophrenic because racial groups cannot coexist.

              Now, El Paso is not complete without acknowledging Mexicans. Sadly, intraracial tensions between Mexican Americans and the Mexican community were already present before the Mexican Revolution. For example, Mexican Americans would call Chihuahuita-Mexicanos Chicanos as derogatory term and look down on them. Funny enough, the Anglo press was mostly oblivious to intraracial tension (a Mexican is a Mexican, right?) while the Mexican press wrote about it. Mexican nationals were hostile towards Mexican Americans, who were in a state of nepantla between America and Mexico, because they were seen as traitors to their Mexican race. Maybe they had a point since Mexican Americans either joined the Mexican Revolution or completely disregarded their identification with Mexico and joined forces with the U.S. Wow! Talk about internalized racism because if these Mexican Americans were honest to themselves they’d see that Anglos who founded the oh so wonderful America don’t really care about them.

              According to David Romo, “as soon as whites felt sufficiently secure in their new surroundings, they moved quickly to erase the city’s Mexican identity” (216) to make it clear that white is right. However, Anglos still needed Mexicans for votes and business. Again, some Anglos only accommodate to “other” races when it’s useful for them. Sure some Anglos were friends with Mexicans but there was still white supremacy; and the Mexican Revolution deepened the divide between Anglos and Mexicans. And Mexicans weren’t the only people the Anglos despised either. As previously mentioned, the Chinese, Japanese, and African Americans also faced xenophobia from Anglos. Racism still exists so I strongly believe El Paso will always be culturally schizophrenic. There is too much interracial tension to solve El Paso’s identity crisis.

              The Bath Riots indicate that the only way a racial group can claim their freedom (identity) in El Paso is by protesting. Nothing is ever won with silence and obedience. I knew about the border disinfections, but I never heard of the brave mujer Carmelita Torres refusing to take a degrading and dangerous bath enforced by racist Anglos, especially Tom Lea who was the mayor of El Paso. She started a huge protest giving Anglos hell for claiming she was just another “dirty Mexican” or “greaser” who needed to be disinfected. I’m happy she started the Bath Riot. In Ringside to a Revolution on page 238-239, David Romo has added a picture of “Braceros [undergoing] medical inspection [by Anglos] before being sprayed with pesticides”. These braceros, who are really Mexican immigrant workers, are standing together naked holding only a white piece of paper to cover their private parts. These men are being inspected like a herd of animals and their naked bodies leave them completely vulnerable in the hands of the Anglos who are demonstrating their superiority over these Mexicans. This picture does not shock me; instead, it makes me angry. Actually, this entire section of David Romo’s book makes me angry and only reinforces Eithne Luibheid’s statement that “Immigration control is not just a powerful symbol of nationhood and people but also a means to literally construct the nation and the people in particular ways” (xviii). Even more disconcerting, is that Hitler praised the American nation (really the racist Anglos) for purifying the American race and the use of Zyklon B at disinfection plants at the border inspired the its use to massively murder Jews in Germany. El Paso has a dirty history and its cultural schizophrenia is a serious problem.