Sore Thumbs
So it all comes down to a tale of two specific events and one generality.
The first happened two weeks ago at the local park Yacucalle. I am now a regular for Saturday and Sunday morning basketball, which is one of my favorite parts about the culture here. So two Saturdays ago I was waiting for my turn watching a group of gents battling out a pretty close game. All was well and normal except for one small factor. One of the players on the team shooting at the north basket was what Ecuadorians call ¨Un Chino.¨This gentleman was very short, not super coordinated, but hustled and cheered on his buddies if they made good plays. More simply this gentleman was a mediocre player and a good teammate. I would play with this type of guy any day. Guys who hustle, care, and try hard, even though they might not possess a ton of talent are worth all the talent in the world. I honestly believe that weekend sports are probably 90% hustle. I mean Schlongbert gets by and he´s what, 99.8, 99.9 percent hustle? Granted this is grade A brand patented Idaho hustle which counts for something but he still possesses very little talent and can be counted on to catch a couple touchdowns and miss several layups.
Anyway as I watched the game unfold I immediately noticed a glaring fact. Throughout the course of the game some players were setting up ¨Chino¨perfectly to get swatted, trampled, or basketball humiliated. One gentleman even had an open lay-up and gave it up so that ¨Chino¨could get worked by a gigantor. After setting up the poor guy to get worked he put a finger to his lips with an ¨I just swiped a cookie from the pantry¨look on his face. Though some guys cheered on the Chinese man, most jeered him even when he did make good plays. I am also willing to bet that this man was probably one of maybe 2 Chinese people in all of Ibarra. Divide 2 by 100,000 to find the percentage.
I hate blatant racism, but it occurs on a daily basis here, as it does everywhere. One of the most troubling demonstrations of such behavior are the price quotes I get at stores just for the color of my skin. My host family has even warned me against buying a guitar (which I still haven´t purchased chucha) because Ecaudorian vendors jack up prices as much as 50% when they see gringos in their stores. I have experienced multiple times a price quote from a young boy working his father´s tiendita, only to have a different price quoted when the owner walks out from the back. Thus I have started starting every transaction with phrases like ¨I am a teacher here a local school and...¨, ¨I live here and ¨, or my favorite ¨Guess what? You are going to see me a lot so let´s not get off on the wrong foot all right pal?.¨
I am sure people commit the same acts in the states. Blatant racism that maybe does not affect people directly, but is ingrained into our minds. I wonder how many times in the past I have spoken to a person of color in a slow and clear voice assuming right off the bat that they knew little English. It really is amazing to be on the receiving end of such treatment to understand the awkward feeling you get in your stomach. I hate it when people assume I cannot understand Spanish (Except those times when they think they can talk behind my back. Nothing makes me smirk more than calling people out on trying to sneak things by me).
Which brings me to my next story. Last Friday I went to a late night salsa dance club called ¨Chocolate.¨When my Ecuadorian friend mentioned the name I had no idea the lengths that this place has earned the name ¨Chocolate.¨When I walked in, I acted out that scene from every movie where music is playing in a bar, something out of the ordinary happens, the music makes that ¨wrrrrt¨sound, and everyone stops to stare. Unbelievable. Though my first renactment, as described in my blog about a night out in quito, of this scene was funny, last Friday was scary. Literally 75 pairs of eyes bared at me up and down and every single pair of those eyes belonged to a person of African descent. I no longer was ¨Mount Kane¨ as I am everywhere else, but pretty much just ¨Kane that snow covered hill.¨Some people glared, some people straightened their collars, and some just looked shocked. At that moment I contemplated grabbing my Ecaudorian friend and asking him what kind of sick sense of humor he was trying to demonstrate.
But then something crazy happened. Some people started smiling and some starting taking pictures. By the end of the night I was sweaty, exhausted, and exceedingly happy. I had an absolute blast at Chocolate and will definitely be a returning customer. The people at the club were incredibly friendly. Within minutes a middle aged heavy set black woman grabbed my hands and started taking me for a spin around the dance floor. Not pushy, not judging, just an excellent good old fashioned welcome to the party dance. Next I was approached by a striking young girl who showed me some of her moves and the party started. People were buying me drinks, toasting Ecuador, and having a grand old time. No snarls, no machismo, just a relaxed evening that lasted until 3:00 in the morning. The owner of the club even offered to give me salsa lessons in exchange for some English classes. Not even going to pretend that I will not be taking her up on that offer. Salsa is a very cool dance: very athletic, very sexy, and very difficult. I think my no rhythm concrete foot heritage as a gringo suits the dance perfectly don´t you?
The White man Can´t Dance stereotype is probably the most prevelent in Ecuador. Guess it´s rubbing off on me.
Here´s the thing. In the states I have learned that a white dude dancing with people´s girls at an all African descent club is a big no-no. I think that was probably lesson 5 of street smarts right after dont tape five dollar bills to your face and hold up the middle finger to everyone you see. However, is this a racist belief or one that is forged out of real life experience? Could this scenario ever play out at home in San Francisco succesfully without conflict?
My guess is probably, but I couldn´t tell you the place, and I don´t think I know anyone who could. I do know however that it is not at the corner of Post and Polk streets.
It´s amazing when you think of how the 60´s were just a short 40 years ago. In my high school physics class I learned that if the volume of liquid in a can of coke represented the time of earth´s existence, human existence is the volume of the spray that is released when one pops the top. Thus 40 years is hardly a major depost in the bank.
By experiencing these racial interactions, I also received a reaffirmation of how cultural racism is in every country. I would argue that all skin color vs. skin color conflicts arise out of cultural circumstances, which never really occurred to me in the states. I assumed that the racial tension in the States existed for the same reasons everywhere else. Maybe this is a ¨no duh¨realization, but still an important one nonetheless. Ecuador´s history is obviously different from the US´s and thus some of the norms are adjusted considerably. I bet that other countries have different conflicts between races depending on certain circumstances.
Thus I arrive at what I hope is starting to look like a point. In Ecuador, Ecuadorians are extremely biased against Chinese people playing basketball and White people buying things. Two jumping points of racisms that I have not observed to exist in the States. In the US anyone who plays hard and makes decent plays in a weekend pickup game will be accepted on a basic level and no one will try to loose purposely to humiliate a certain race. In the US also strangers receive equal price quotes as far as I have noticed. I certainly could be wrong, but I have driven across the country at least ten times and have interacted with many different walks of US citizens.
On the flip side, in my short experience Ecuadorians embrace gringos in a social setting, especially if the are willing to really go for it. I think that in the US people are more cautious of foreigners coming into a native party scene.
Obviously my generalities are probably off target, but I still think my main observation and focus is right on. Racism is entirely a social construct that arises out of cultural history and practices. A white person and a black person will relate SO differently depending on the cultural environment into which they were placed, just as an Ecuadorian and Chinese person will relate differently under different circumstances. I imagine that the same Ecuadorian and Chinese basketball players would find a frienship bond on a basketball court in the US as they would be the only players who wanted to play zone defense and speak in Spanish. I also would like to think that I might be welcome at an equivalent (only white patron at an all african american bar in a tough part of town), but cannot honestly say that I can name the place off the top of my head.
However, the main result of these observations is most obviously hope. If a white skinned person and black skinned person can relate to one another well in one place, the conlusion is that such a type of relation is wholly and competely possible. I have seen people of Chinese descent and people of Latin-American descent get along perfectly and I hope I can bring this knowledge to my two bball buddies from the local park next weekend. Likewise if I experience success bridging the racial gap on the basketball court or in local tienditas, maybe I can take similar strides once I return stateside.
Remember my entry about the life of a volunteer? I forgot that you also develop an unbelievable idealism.
Take care.
Kane
The first happened two weeks ago at the local park Yacucalle. I am now a regular for Saturday and Sunday morning basketball, which is one of my favorite parts about the culture here. So two Saturdays ago I was waiting for my turn watching a group of gents battling out a pretty close game. All was well and normal except for one small factor. One of the players on the team shooting at the north basket was what Ecuadorians call ¨Un Chino.¨This gentleman was very short, not super coordinated, but hustled and cheered on his buddies if they made good plays. More simply this gentleman was a mediocre player and a good teammate. I would play with this type of guy any day. Guys who hustle, care, and try hard, even though they might not possess a ton of talent are worth all the talent in the world. I honestly believe that weekend sports are probably 90% hustle. I mean Schlongbert gets by and he´s what, 99.8, 99.9 percent hustle? Granted this is grade A brand patented Idaho hustle which counts for something but he still possesses very little talent and can be counted on to catch a couple touchdowns and miss several layups.
Anyway as I watched the game unfold I immediately noticed a glaring fact. Throughout the course of the game some players were setting up ¨Chino¨perfectly to get swatted, trampled, or basketball humiliated. One gentleman even had an open lay-up and gave it up so that ¨Chino¨could get worked by a gigantor. After setting up the poor guy to get worked he put a finger to his lips with an ¨I just swiped a cookie from the pantry¨look on his face. Though some guys cheered on the Chinese man, most jeered him even when he did make good plays. I am also willing to bet that this man was probably one of maybe 2 Chinese people in all of Ibarra. Divide 2 by 100,000 to find the percentage.
I hate blatant racism, but it occurs on a daily basis here, as it does everywhere. One of the most troubling demonstrations of such behavior are the price quotes I get at stores just for the color of my skin. My host family has even warned me against buying a guitar (which I still haven´t purchased chucha) because Ecaudorian vendors jack up prices as much as 50% when they see gringos in their stores. I have experienced multiple times a price quote from a young boy working his father´s tiendita, only to have a different price quoted when the owner walks out from the back. Thus I have started starting every transaction with phrases like ¨I am a teacher here a local school and...¨, ¨I live here and ¨, or my favorite ¨Guess what? You are going to see me a lot so let´s not get off on the wrong foot all right pal?.¨
I am sure people commit the same acts in the states. Blatant racism that maybe does not affect people directly, but is ingrained into our minds. I wonder how many times in the past I have spoken to a person of color in a slow and clear voice assuming right off the bat that they knew little English. It really is amazing to be on the receiving end of such treatment to understand the awkward feeling you get in your stomach. I hate it when people assume I cannot understand Spanish (Except those times when they think they can talk behind my back. Nothing makes me smirk more than calling people out on trying to sneak things by me).
Which brings me to my next story. Last Friday I went to a late night salsa dance club called ¨Chocolate.¨When my Ecuadorian friend mentioned the name I had no idea the lengths that this place has earned the name ¨Chocolate.¨When I walked in, I acted out that scene from every movie where music is playing in a bar, something out of the ordinary happens, the music makes that ¨wrrrrt¨sound, and everyone stops to stare. Unbelievable. Though my first renactment, as described in my blog about a night out in quito, of this scene was funny, last Friday was scary. Literally 75 pairs of eyes bared at me up and down and every single pair of those eyes belonged to a person of African descent. I no longer was ¨Mount Kane¨ as I am everywhere else, but pretty much just ¨Kane that snow covered hill.¨Some people glared, some people straightened their collars, and some just looked shocked. At that moment I contemplated grabbing my Ecaudorian friend and asking him what kind of sick sense of humor he was trying to demonstrate.
But then something crazy happened. Some people started smiling and some starting taking pictures. By the end of the night I was sweaty, exhausted, and exceedingly happy. I had an absolute blast at Chocolate and will definitely be a returning customer. The people at the club were incredibly friendly. Within minutes a middle aged heavy set black woman grabbed my hands and started taking me for a spin around the dance floor. Not pushy, not judging, just an excellent good old fashioned welcome to the party dance. Next I was approached by a striking young girl who showed me some of her moves and the party started. People were buying me drinks, toasting Ecuador, and having a grand old time. No snarls, no machismo, just a relaxed evening that lasted until 3:00 in the morning. The owner of the club even offered to give me salsa lessons in exchange for some English classes. Not even going to pretend that I will not be taking her up on that offer. Salsa is a very cool dance: very athletic, very sexy, and very difficult. I think my no rhythm concrete foot heritage as a gringo suits the dance perfectly don´t you?
The White man Can´t Dance stereotype is probably the most prevelent in Ecuador. Guess it´s rubbing off on me.
Here´s the thing. In the states I have learned that a white dude dancing with people´s girls at an all African descent club is a big no-no. I think that was probably lesson 5 of street smarts right after dont tape five dollar bills to your face and hold up the middle finger to everyone you see. However, is this a racist belief or one that is forged out of real life experience? Could this scenario ever play out at home in San Francisco succesfully without conflict?
My guess is probably, but I couldn´t tell you the place, and I don´t think I know anyone who could. I do know however that it is not at the corner of Post and Polk streets.
It´s amazing when you think of how the 60´s were just a short 40 years ago. In my high school physics class I learned that if the volume of liquid in a can of coke represented the time of earth´s existence, human existence is the volume of the spray that is released when one pops the top. Thus 40 years is hardly a major depost in the bank.
By experiencing these racial interactions, I also received a reaffirmation of how cultural racism is in every country. I would argue that all skin color vs. skin color conflicts arise out of cultural circumstances, which never really occurred to me in the states. I assumed that the racial tension in the States existed for the same reasons everywhere else. Maybe this is a ¨no duh¨realization, but still an important one nonetheless. Ecuador´s history is obviously different from the US´s and thus some of the norms are adjusted considerably. I bet that other countries have different conflicts between races depending on certain circumstances.
Thus I arrive at what I hope is starting to look like a point. In Ecuador, Ecuadorians are extremely biased against Chinese people playing basketball and White people buying things. Two jumping points of racisms that I have not observed to exist in the States. In the US anyone who plays hard and makes decent plays in a weekend pickup game will be accepted on a basic level and no one will try to loose purposely to humiliate a certain race. In the US also strangers receive equal price quotes as far as I have noticed. I certainly could be wrong, but I have driven across the country at least ten times and have interacted with many different walks of US citizens.
On the flip side, in my short experience Ecuadorians embrace gringos in a social setting, especially if the are willing to really go for it. I think that in the US people are more cautious of foreigners coming into a native party scene.
Obviously my generalities are probably off target, but I still think my main observation and focus is right on. Racism is entirely a social construct that arises out of cultural history and practices. A white person and a black person will relate SO differently depending on the cultural environment into which they were placed, just as an Ecuadorian and Chinese person will relate differently under different circumstances. I imagine that the same Ecuadorian and Chinese basketball players would find a frienship bond on a basketball court in the US as they would be the only players who wanted to play zone defense and speak in Spanish. I also would like to think that I might be welcome at an equivalent (only white patron at an all african american bar in a tough part of town), but cannot honestly say that I can name the place off the top of my head.
However, the main result of these observations is most obviously hope. If a white skinned person and black skinned person can relate to one another well in one place, the conlusion is that such a type of relation is wholly and competely possible. I have seen people of Chinese descent and people of Latin-American descent get along perfectly and I hope I can bring this knowledge to my two bball buddies from the local park next weekend. Likewise if I experience success bridging the racial gap on the basketball court or in local tienditas, maybe I can take similar strides once I return stateside.
Remember my entry about the life of a volunteer? I forgot that you also develop an unbelievable idealism.
Take care.
Kane
posted by ecuadortraveler at 5:21 PM
3 Comments:
Riz-I am so pumped that you can use some of these entries in your classroom. Thanks for the good tidings.
Chandra-You old chap. What a pleasant suprise. It´s funny how much I talk about you and Blaire here. Yesterday I was talking playing volleyball at hotels across America.
As for the Annie are you Ok part the only thing that is missing is a ridiculous sprint around an oval shaped dining table. Take care.
Yo man, reading this stuff makes me miss you. I'm glad your writing this. While the finger remains on the pulse, the eyes must be wide open, scanning the horizon, always thirsting for knowledge. I'm sure you are a great ambassador and I can't wait to hear more. Actually, you've inspired me to step up and write in my blog more. Keep checkin back and I'll do the same. Much Love, Donny.
P.S. Scholongbert is 85% hustle, 15% schnoz. Glad I could clear that up.
Ok fellas. I have a big nose. I realize that. Here is lesson Mr. Traveler. It doesn't matter if you are white, black, or chinese. If you have a big nose your friends will make fun of it. You try making a layup with that thing on your face. Jeez. Chuta.
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