Jessica Alba: "I'm American"
Well, duh!
But I guess that's not acceptable to say to the multi-culti p.c. crowd who demand that this non-Spanish speaking, third generation American woman embrace her Mexican-ness. She notes that no one talks about Cameron Diaz's Latino-ness because she's blond. Alba's right. It's the multi-culturists who divide people by race, color, language, culture and ethnicity.
No melting-pot, America is more a vegetable stew with every ingredient screaming for recognition.
So many of my multi-ethnic friends lament the assumptions--they look dark-haired and have honey skin, so they must speak Spanish. Personally, I'd like to be multi-lingual and speak Spanish, but why should it be assumed? Alba drew ire from "Queen of All Media " Cuban-American (not just American) blogger Mario Lavandeira, aka Perez Hilton for saying this:
"My grandfather was the only Mexican at his college, the only Hispanic person at work and the only one at the all-white country club. He tried to forget his Mexican roots, because he never wanted his kids to be made to feel different in America. He and my grandmother didn't speak Spanish to their children. Now, as a third-generation American, I feel as if I have finally cut loose."Alba's grandfather is part of a long American tradition. My husband's Italian great-grandmother refused to speak Italian. She was an American. She chose, and was grateful for, America. And in America, you speak English.
"My whole life, when I was growing up, not one race has ever accepted me, ... So I never felt connected or attached to any race specifically. I had a very American upbringing, I feel American, and I don't speak Spanish. So, to say that I'm a Latin actress, OK, but it's not fitting; it would be insincere."
"My grandfather was the only one in our family to go to college. He made a choice not to speak Spanish in the house. He didn't want his kids to be different."
Our Hindu Indian neighbor decorates his house for Christmas every year even though it's not part of his religious practice. He said that Christmas lights were American and he wanted to be American.
While I would happily teach my children their language of origin, what's wrong with embracing America and it's culture? This culture was deemed superior to the one they left, otherwise, why come to America?
More: Wendy Wayrad says Alba is "shaming her own people".
"Jessica Alba is gradually making the queer transition from sex symbol to self-loathing, Mexican sex symbol." --Mollygood
And this racist rant, "Will Someone Tell Jessica Alba She's Not White" This intelligent post ends thusly:
If she doesn’t wanna be called a “Latin actress,” what the eff should I call her besides stupid?!You could call her "actress". You could call her "American actress" if you want to be really edgy. Boots and Sabers says:
That’s how it’s supposed to work. You come to this country legally. You work our ass off and assimilate into the culture.How long until the Left will let go of the one-drop rule?
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Welcome, Conservative Grapevine readers! Thanks, John, for the link. You might also like to see Harry Reid's twin separated at birth. They share mental characteristics, too. And, in honor of Father's Day, some research about why dads are so important.
16 comments:
Miss Alba's detractors are divided among the terminally envious, the politically obsessed, and the simply crazed, albeit in unknown proportions. Of the three, the politically obsessed are the most dangerous. Their absolute insistence that "the personal is political" has gone a long way toward destroying both privacy and decency in these United States. For confirmation, one need only ask any American who wants only to be left in peace. Thankfully, there are still plenty of us...but never fear, the POs are working on it.
My respect for Alba just increased considerably. I'm sickened to see this kind of blatant racism in her detractors.
That's how it was in my family too. Is it self-loathing that I don't speak German or Norwegian, that I don't fly those flags on their holidays, that I don't insist that America is rightfully Norwegian because Vikings settled here for a time, MUST I eat sauerkraut and lutefisk? Ok, I did buy a few Norwegian sweaters, but so do a lot of people. My ancestors became functional in English during their lives here and many of their children never learned the language of the 'old country.' In some cases they had to speak German to the kids, but made the kids answer back in English. In some cases there were foreign language newspapers and religious services, but these were regarded as training wheels to be abandoned ASAP. And, unlike many recent 'immigrants' my ancestors obeyed the rules and filed the proper papers, of which we still have copies.
Ok well I am also a third generation mexican american that grew up in orange county,ca. So I get Jessicas whole never accepted by either "group" thing. However lets not deny the obvious. Come on you have to relize what you are. I have been decriminated by mexicans and others but I have never denied my Mexican rootes. Why? what for ? Oh and you cant tell me that in what we refer to as the "909" she didnt see anyone like her. And the cameron Diaz comment she's cuban we are talking specific here about you you you ok MEXICO stay focused!
I don't think you quite grasp the outcry over her comments. It wasn't that she wants to be called an American actress over a Latina or Mexican actress, it's the fact that, first, she said some pretty distasteful things about Mexicans ("I've got cousins galore. Mexicans just spread all their seeds. And the women just pop them out." A quote from an interview.) Also, there were many people who, as Mexican-Americans looked up to her that were severely disappointed in her complete disassociation from her heritage despite strong ties to it. There's a major sense of pride and history in Mexican and Mexican-American culture and it hurts when someone completely cuts off all ties like she did.
Theres more great photos of Jessica Alba on this site:
Jessica Alba Photos
More hot beauties as well, take a look!
This culture was deemed superior to the one they left, otherwise, why come to America?
Incorrect, it wasn't the culture that brought them it was the money.
She's not a Mexican you ignorant jerks. Just like John Travolta isn't Italian. Dwight D Eisenhower wasn't German, he was an American. That is their heritage, but they were Americans born and bred in the USA. She wasn't born in Mexico and doesn't even speak Spanish, so she's not Mexican. Her parents weren't Mexican. Her grandparents weren't Mexican. Do you get it now? Dolts.
Should Americans of Scottish descent have to walk around in kilts and play bagpipes and consider themselves to be Scottish? Should Americans of Irish descent have to eat potatoes everyday and keep telling people they are Irish? Should Americans of Italian descent have to speak Italian and eat pasta all the time? So why is Jessica Alba supposed to "act" like a Latina and push her heritage? She just wants to be a regular American. I see nothing wrong with that.
You fools need to get a grip and stop being so worried about race and ethnicity. I applaud Ms Alba for not being small minded. She is an American.
Totally agree with the last comment (3:12 AM). If she must be called Mexican, why shouldn't she be called Danish or French? She is American, period. Those who know about her complete ancestry should be happy about it but don't need to worry about putting a label on her. She is a fine actress who deserves our respect.
I think the difference here that most are not getting is that America in and of itself is a racist institution so to call yourself "American" means you accept the genocide committed against the people who Columbus and all the other pirates after him found when they arrived. It also means accepting the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow and the fact that this nation has neither apologized for its genocidal tendencies, but those who are the lightest of pigmentation, regardless of their ethnic and linguistic background, benefit from this theft and humilitation of others.
Now, Jessica can do what she wants, and so can all the others who want to be labeled "american" but the truth is this vapid attitude about accepting this "nationality" comes with a price for those who are not of straight up European descent. Irish can and do call themselves Irish-Americans - when it suits them. Italians do the same, as do nearly everybody who has ancestors that emigrated here from the mid-1800's on. Why? Because they want to maintain their relationship to their motherland if not their mother tongue and that, even if they do embrace "amerikkka" is okay because they are not forgetting their origins. Most white folk in this country probably do want to be WASPy, plain old american... and there are those who will trace their ancestry all the way back to the Mayflower... meaning that they embrace England, or Britain as their ancestry.
All this to say, that Jessica can be proud of being ashamed. It is a free country and she fails to recognize amerikkka for what it is... a nation built by white people for white people. The color of law does not make for the rule of law and until people wise up and study civics, they will all be pawns in a system that operates on a divide and conquer strategy.
No need to get uptight about Jessica wanting to be white... we see that. She is not of Latin origin if she chooses not to be (despite her DNA) and she will assimilate or rather, has assimilated nicely. But herein is another problem... assimilation is violence against one's own true self and it has been mistaken for integration. In america they do not speak English... in ENGLAND they speak English and when Columbus got here there were many languages spoken. English or what passes for it here in the USA is the language of those who killed babies and committed atrocities that every white person, even the poorest of them, benefits from. There can be no justice in that knowledge and that is why most of you choose to ignore it.
I wish Jessica well and hope that one day she realizes that she is thought of by many as just another exotic spi_ who is allowed to be where she is. She may think she has earned her place, but it is on the backs of Mexicans that she is where she is... even if those Mexican ancestors of hers deny themselves as well.
If you look at it, we are all americans, but unfortunately you never forget your roots and your heritage. The difference between cameron diaz, jennifer lopez, lynda carter, vicki carr and linda rondstat is that they do not forget who they are and where they come from. Jessica Alba can deny her heritage all she wants, but deep down genetically she is still mexican and mexican blood runs thru her veins. wheather Jessica Alba denys her roots, she must be gung ho about the celebrity status she has obtain. Also, there is no true american, but the native american, that is the REAL TRUE AMERICAN in this country. Jessica Alba, her father and grandfather can deny their heritage, but realistic they are of mexican decent. Yes, mexicans have gone thru prejudice and racism, but we are not the only ones. Yes I am american first of mexican decent, which is why I call myself 100% CHICANA. My maternal grandmother was from Spain, maternal grandfather mexican indian, my paternal great grandmather was from France and I don't go around saying I am French or Spaniard, so it means that we are all mutts. Get over it Ms. Jessica Alba, you are mexican, because you are certainly not white, you are too brown.
Jessica Alba: It takes a secure attitude to stick to what you believe, so I hope you don't change. There are many of us who were raised in a home where our parents were proud to be Americans. Don't feel pressured to call yourself Hispanic when you are secure in embracing being an American.
What made this country strong is that people from all over the world settled in this melting pot and focused on bettering our families, and in turn, felt loyalty to one nation, the one we live in and that gave us this opportunity. What also makes this nation strong is focusing on this "unity" rather than focusing on our differences. So be proud to be an American, that's awesome. The irony is that the ones that feel they have to impose their obsession with their heritage on others are the insincere and 'insecure' ones. They have to get approval from their so-called brothers and sisters of their heritage. You are obviously secure enough to not have to focus on NOT being white.
The additional irony is that these outspoken people who insist on being recognized for their difference in heritage are the same ones who insist on 'equality'. Hypocrites. If they want equality, learn to live in one nation being called by one name: American. If they can't accept that unity they need to seriously ask themselves if this country is the one they should be living in. There's all kinds of countries (eg: the middle east) where people are so proud of their heritage or tribe they spend most of their lives figuring out how to get rid of the other--that's what this reasoning eventually boils down to. That may be the environment they are looking for. I say, go there they--there are no walls here forcing you to stay in America. I love the sound of that...."America".
plus in my opinion, it would be more accurate to define her as an American actress before a Latina actress coz she racially diverse! If ya'll demand she ba called a Latina actress first then maybe the Danish and the French should also claim her as A Danish or French actress first. Man is she a even Mexican citizen?? No. is She a Danish/French citizen? No. Get over it! She is first, American, since she seems to understand the concept of citizenship. Then she must be a whole lot smarter than ya'll! She is not danish/french/mexican she is American. America is Not white it is multi racial!
I get her, I am very racially ambiguous. I am composed of 9 ethnic backgrounds, and like when alba drew from perez and said no race has really accepted me as a whole, i can relate to that. So sometimes i do offend people when i say i'm american, they say but ur italian or Hungarian or filipino and i say yes. but first of all I am American. Plus that was the point of America back in the day, people from all countries and of all ethnicities came together to look for a better life, it's not about race or color. It's about a group of people who formed and alliance with one another and created a great country we now call home. The United States of America.
I created a theory for this issue that Jessica Alba & her family have. I call it 1st,2nd & 3rd generation Mexican/American oppression theory. First off,
I have German American friends who do not speak German so i get their point about not speaking German.
The more generations of a family that are in the U.S. the least likely they are to speak their old country language because this is the U.S. where English is the main language. But they always identify themselves and do not hide from saying that they have German roots.
Not all Mexican Americans are ignorant of their own roots but you would be surprised by how many there are that do. People who are racist against them make them try to forget about who they are.
You see it is different for Mexicans because unlike the European's who migrate to the U.S. Mexican's experience oppression because of their Mexican nationality.
The problem with Alba is that she labels herself as strictly "American" without calling herself Mexican/American.
Her grandfather experienced oppression growing up because he looked different because he was not white. So he gave his children Americanized names like Marc instead of Marcos and refused to speak Spanish because he wanted to forget about his roots. Her father did the same thing and passed on this attitude on to her.
They do not fit in because they do not look European so they feel that they have to talk, act and give their children Americanized names to be accepted.
But the fact is you can't change your DNA. Her father tried to by marrying a French/Canadian women & they got a brown looking Mexican girl. Bottom line you can deny your Mexican roots but they are embedded in your DNA. You can never fully get rid of them.
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