DIFFERENTIATING

According to the article, Ethnicity & the boundaries of race: rereading Directive 15, Hattam suggests, “ I think we should remove the formal distinction between race and ethnicity from the federal classification system, but we must also remain alert to, and seek to change, the complex ways in which ethnic privilege has long been secured by defining ethnicity against race.” I agree with Hattam suggestion. In the article, she discusses the issues of Directive 15 of standardizing racial and ethnic categories in the Census conducted for the government statistics. In my opinion, Hattam believes that we should eliminate the sharp distinction of what may be considered as a race and ethnicity, but we have to do more than just eliminate the distinction of the two terms. We also must acknowledge and recognize the complexity of the different degrees of privileges among groups-to-groups on basis of race and ethnicity in society. Then we should evaluate the situation as whole and find an alternative way to help bring equality of privilege that is not on basis of where within the system you are categorized in.

In the reading, The Latino Imaginary, there were three approaches that were suggested to understanding the Latino community. First, the demographic approach suggests that the establishment of the people existence is on the basis of numerical counting. Measuring the diversity of community as one, “count them, therefore they are”. The second approach is the analytical view; it recognizes the multiplicity of Latino community and tires to differentiating with correct terms of labeling. Lastly the imaginary view, it is how an individual self-identify themselves regardless of others perspective/belief. It is important to understand and look at the community with these three methods. Although each method alone does not give us an accurate account of the Latino community it may help enlighten the limitation and issues of each viewpoint. More importantly, aside from the seeing the limitation and issues, the three approaches shines a light in understanding the Latino community of how there are misrepresentation of the community as a whole. Also, the three methods illustrate that there is no one single approach that is will help define and understand the Latino community indefinitely; instead we must view the community from an array of approaches.

 -367W