The village was very poor. Most of the people there were poor. When I say "poor", I don't mean like "poor" in Ohio or Wisconsin. I mean poor using the ratio of Dominican average income to U.S. average income (one to ten). The first afternoon I got to the village, I was led to a nightclub where a dance was to be held later on (I went to that too). In the parking area were people of various ages and colors. If they looked at me with any envy at all it may have been because they knew I could enter the U.S. any time I wished. But it wasn't that noticable in any case. The people all were, for the most part, socialized to feel part of Dominican society, poor that they were.
During my time in the U.S., I have often reflected on the sense of deprivation felt by minorities (especially "blacks"). I have seen and felt bitterness by them about their lot in the United States. And I know that few of the complainers have seen anything to rival the grinding poverty of that Dominican village. I also know why minorities complain here. It is not the idea of deprivation per se. It is the idea of deprivation relative to other North Americans, specifically "whites". It is a legitimate complaint. No one wishes to be left behind in his/her own country. One would be an absolute ass to not insist that one is treated, in every respect, with dignity and fairness. Yet, to focus too much on the privileges of others is to miss the bounty that is at hand -- and to spend the majority of one's life "looking at the hole instead of the doughnut".
So how does one balance an appreciation of what one has (compared to others on this earth) while at the same time relentlessly advocating (and justly so) for one's fair share? Part of the answer to this two-part question is simple: one should always insist on having one's civil and legal rights upheld. But the question also contains subjective notions of "appreciation" of one's lot in life, as well as a sense of deprivation relative to others.
These are concerns that we all have to address individually and there is something that can help which I can perhaps offer from the discipline of sociology: reference group.
As a person who is not, for the most part, looked upon as "white" in the United States, I am aware that, if I insist upon using "whites" as my reference group 24/7, I run the risk of incurring certain situations which can leave me dissatisfied at the end of the day. At the same time, since I speak English like a U.S. white and mostly grew up with them as a child, there are certain ways in which "whites", in fact, are a reference group of mine. The idea of reference group not only applies to the relationship of myself and "whites", but also myself and Latinos, myself and "blacks" and myself and Asians, not to mention myself and U.S.-born, English-speaking multiracials or myself and native Africans.
In point of fact, when I get up ready to face the day, I am usually aware that I will be dealing with a number of reference groups.
As per usual, since I am an opportunistic S.O.B., I will use my reference groups in such a way so as to maximize how well people make me feel during the day (and I usually do an excellent job of that, since I like myself and would rather feel good than bad).
I'll tell you one thing.......I am economically and educationally (and, hopefully, spritually) better off than the overwhelming majority of the earth's humans and nothing is going to make me live my life as though it's the other way around.
"Minority" is largely what one makes of it, and I have a hunch that most of us are subconsciously multiple-referencing anyway.
William Javier Nelson, Ph.D.
A buddy of mine is from a small village in the Dominican Republic. Some years ago I tagged along when he went home for a visit. I was there for three or so days and for the most part I had a good time -- the highlight was an after-dinner discussion where a guy named Ramirez had me in tears (of hilarity) describing the nature of Dominican politics.
Also of interest by William Javier Nelson:
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