Tyrannical wrote:The melting pot analogy historically only referred to Whites. By the time significant numbers of non-White immigrants were coming into the US by the 1970's, I believe the multi-cultural "Salad Bowl" replaced the melting pot concept.

Tyrannical wrote:

Agrippina wrote:

Warren Dew wrote:

Agrippina wrote:What makes Hispanic different from Latino and Chicano? Why not simply Americans of Spanish descent?

It does include central and south American natives who have no Spanish blood, so they're not all of Spanish descent.

But if they're "Indians" i.e. pure aboriginal Americans, surely they're not "Latino."

They are. That's why I call Hispanic / Latino a social construct.

Black, White, Asian, Red, Mixed, what ever. If you are from the lands of the former Spanish Empire, you are Hispanic / Latino. Even if you don't speak a lick of Spanish. Usually, I'm sure there are exceptions.

Morien wrote:

Saim wrote:

Morien wrote:

I do it all the time; i.e., categorize people by their ethnicity but also treat them as individuals.

Sooo what is it you do all the time? Categorize them by race or ethnicity? Do you have scientifically valid definitions of either? Or - as you seem to suggest - are they interchangeable?

And when you categorize them by ethnicity, what purpose does it serve, if not to assign them some predetermined characteristics...? I think you'll find that when you do so, you are treating the person as part of a group; and, subliminally if nothing else, are expecting certain characteristics to emerge to confirm what you EXPECT from this ethnicity...If you don't, then there's absolutely no reason for the characterisation in the first place....

Well, I don't. It's the same with people's religions, hair colors, national origins, etc... I don't "expect" anything from any given ethnicity.

Asking someone about their religion is quite different from asking them about their 'national origins' or their hair colour, I'd suggest....Some things we very little control over (save the peroxide/dye bottle with regular frequency), others are of total choice and open to change....

If you don't 'expect' anything, one wonders why you'd make the point of making the classification in the first place...