Originally posted 1/11/09 - Half-breed power!

OK, I haven't thought of a nice way to say "half-breed" yet, except maybe "half-ethnic." (Shucks, even "half-baked" probably wouldn't offend me, depending on the attitude behind your words. (Please see my previous blog post.)) If you've read the "About me" section of my profile, you'll see that I'm half-Hispanic, half-Anglo.

I wonder if the government will ever recognize the fact that as a society diversifies, many of us aren't minorities but half-minorities. I'm happy to see more and more surveys (that ask you to "check one" box to indicate your race/ethnicity) are asking you to "check all that apply." I have a feeling that my generation and more generations to come will see more and more ethnic diversification as time goes by.

My parents, as well as many of my aunts and uncles, crossed ethnic lines and intermarried (Hispanics and Anglos). I think maybe the Civil Rights Movement that began in the 60s had a lot to do with all this intermarriage. And it's not just my family. I know of at least 3 other half-ethnic friends who are hopefully reading this. :) And that's not even counting my brother-in-law and his sister, who are 1/4-Hispanic. Every time I sit down to do the math, it hurts my head -- technically, if my half-Hispanic sister and 1/4-Hispanic brother-in-law have children, what percentage of Hispanic would they be? 3/8? :)

Anyway, I don't consider myself to be a racist, and I truly hope my over-fascination with ethnicities isn't offensive. It's just that when you're raised by an originally Mexican mother who is extremely Americanized and an Anglo father who wishes he were Hispanic, you grow up wrestling with this issue. A friend of mine observed that we half-ethnics tend to do this pendulum swing between the ends of our backgrounds -- either we're really into our ethnicity or we aren't. And she's right.

When I was in high school and really laying down the foundation for what I would do the rest of my life, I totally embraced my Hispanicness. Almost the majority of my high school was Hispanic, so I was fairly immersed in the culture and language. In college, I was often the only Hispanic in my circle of friends, so I kind of took it upon myself to be the Hispanic chick. After college, being fairly bilingual helped me land some jobs.

But somewhere along the line, I started to get burned out. I either got tired of being forced to speak Spanish so much or the Anglo side of my roots started to scream neglect -- I'm not sure exactly what. But eventually, I started insisting on speaking English unless the other person just didn't understand it. Porque de veras no me gusta hablar tanto español. It's not who I am. I'M HALF!!

And I kind of enjoy fooling people with the diversity of my appearance. :) (Some have thought I'm Middle-Eastern.) Yes, sometimes perfect strangers will walk up to me at the store or post office, etc., and ask me a question in Spanish, and if I can't answer them perfectly, or even relate to them completely, I don't have to sweat it anymore -- I'M HALF!! I can just do my best and live my life. Hallelujah. :)

And I'm in good company. President-elect Obama, who will become the first African-American President, is actually half-black, from what I understand.

I think in a lot of ways, we half-ethnics have the best of both worlds. And in the process of finding out where we fit in this world, we learn how to adapt and relate to others. In this world that over-categorizes everything, we have to train ourselves to become maybe a little less judgmental and maybe a little more practical. Trying to find where you belong can get exhausting.

As a Christian, it helps more than anything to learn about how my place is with Christ and that I need to just walk in whatever purpose God created me to fulfill. (Incidentally, my sister and I both turned out to be pretty artsy-fartsy.)

So, open your eyes, America. Many of your citizens are half-minorities or even a patchwork quilt of ethnicities. Our Creator thinks we're wonderfully made.

And I think when you mix ethnicities like that, you get some pretty darn good-looking children. :o) LOL!