Well, then you aren't Greek.

Well, then you're not Greek. 

I am considered American by birth and culture. But I am still able to, and free to, not identify as American. Even though I am part of the American culture and I was born and raised in the United States, I still identify with my lineage, even though I don’t follow many of the rituals. I am half Mexican and my other half consists of Greek, Russian, and Hungarian. I stick with saying “Half-Mexican and Greek”.  

I identify as Mexican because I am more involved with my maternal Mexican side. I am Greek but I am not as integrated in the culture as much as my Mexican side. Just to clarify, I don’t need to speak the language or practice rituals to be considered part of those cultures. I determine what gets absorbed in my sense of self and what it gets used for. 

My perspective on my identity was taken aback when I was confronted by my neighbor at a party. He told me that I was not considered "Greek" because I do not follow the culture, celebrate the rituals, and speak the language. Who was he to tell me that I am not Greek? My biological paternal grandfather was born and raised in Greece and his primary language is Greek. Therefore, I am Greek. Who is he to define my ethnic identity? 

Just because I am not as involved with my Greek heritage, does not make me a bad person. My neighbor was implying exactly that when he told me I wasn’t Greek. Yes, we are both from the same heritage but with different levels of involvement. I can identify as Mexican and Greek and not be absorbed by the cultures entirely. I define my sense of self as Mexican and Greek because it is in my blood. 

I should have spoken out by saying how I define culture. As a society, we must learn to become more accepting of one another's cultures. Thankfully, I now attend a college where acceptance of diversity and culture thrive. Unfortunately, I feel as if the United States is not a place where diversity and culture are respected. 

 I agree with Mary Louise Pratt in "Arts of the Contact Zone" when she discusses how issues dealing with acceptance of ethnicity have become more prominent in the United States and we are at least trying to do something about it. "They all live among us today in the transnationalized metropolis of the United States and are becoming more widely visible, more pressing, and like Guaman Poma's text, more decipherable to those who once would have ignored them in defense of a stable, centered sense of knowledge and reality" (Pg 5).   

I have seen more cultures speak out about respecting one anothers identities. But nothing truly significant has changed since there are more cultures demanding for their respect of their ethnicities in the United States. These ethnic groups are not being ignored since they are gaining a following from people around the country.  

Unfortunately, some cultures demands for respect are ignored. Guaman Poma was a Quecha noblemen in Peru who is famous for his writing of "Nueva Corónica y Buen Gobierno". This letter was intended for the King of Spain but it never reached him. His letter described the injustices of colonial rule and the Spaniards disrespect of Peruvian culture.  He hoped that it would convince the King to change the way Spaniards treated the native peoples.  

Disrespecting and taking over other cultures has been occurring for centuries. In Pratt's essay, "Art of the Contact Zone", she informs us that we must limit our feeling of superiority. After this occurs, we will be able to gain a new perspective on different cultures. We must learn to respect one another before the "clouds may erupt to kill us all" as June Jordan states in her essay "Report from the Bahamas" (Pg. 50). You would think that society has become more advanced to the point where we should be respecting others ethnicities. But that day has not come. But the question is, when will that day come? 

 

WORKS CITED: 

Pratt, Mary Louise. "Arts of the Contact Zone." Profession (1991): 33-40. 

 

Jordan, June. “Report from the Bahamas, 1982." Meridians 3, 2 (2003): 6-16. 

 

Poma, Guaman. "Nueva Corónica y Buen Gobierno." Art of the Contact Zone (1613).