In this country, there are two ways of seeing things, two ways of thinking, and two interpretations of reality: the Hispanic way, and the other way.

I say this, because it seems to me that many Hispanics interpret the world in a very peculiar way. It’s a very myopic interpretation of events, in which every bad thing that happens to someone can be attributed to the fact that the person happens to be Hispanic.

It’s as if Hispanics were condemned, by some kind of malignant spell, to live all the misfortunes that humanity must endure.

Is there’s something denied to us, then it must be because we are Hispanics, if a law is approved that affects us, it’s because we are Hispanics. If a hurricane hits, it must be because we are Hispanics.

This auto-discrimination is impacting us, denying us the possibility if advancing and progressing, not only as individuals, but as a group as well.

I do believe that we are important, but not to the point that the whole universe is plotting against us.

It isn’t necessary for the reader to agree with me. All one has to do is to look in the media, tune into radio and television, and right away you’ll notice that it seems so-and-so’s roof has caved in and she’s getting no help because she’s Hispanic, or that so-and-so is unemployed simply because they are Hispanics, or that the deaths in the war in Iraq are only being suffered by Hispanics.

These are incomplete and ill-intentioned interpretations put out by information providers that have profit as their main goal.

But this information, instead of informing us, is doing us terrible harm, since it impedes us from seeing beyond our “Hispanic” noses, leaving us blind in a dead-end alley, which only leads to the loss of opportunities for improving our quality of life.

Let’s realize for once that the worst discrimination can be that which we inflict on ourselves when we believe the whole world is against us because we are Hispanic. Let’s have the bravery to see ourselves first as people, as citizens, as human beings without labels that classify us according to appearances, cultures, languages.

Our existences don’t depend on the fact that we are Hispanics, they depend on the effort that we invest everyday in bettering ourselves as people. When we dare to cease being Hispanic to become individuals, to become active citizens of this country that is when we’ll more easily be able to attain real progress in life.

Let’s leave behind the entanglements of labels, let’s be intelligent and live without the imposed label of hispanicity. The condition of being Hispanic doesn’t benefit us at all. Actually, it limits us and can impede us from reaching our own potential.

We must stop living our lives thinking about the supposed state of affairs of a particular group that in reality exists only on paper and was invented only to alienate us. Say no to Hispanicity!

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