One man's take on his culture's stereotypes

Malinche: The name of the Indian woman who served as a translator for the Spaniards as they slaughtered their way to the Aztecs during the Conquest. Mexicans turn her name into a noun – malinchista – that’s a synonym for “traitor.” Typical Mexico – blames everything on women.

One man's take on his culture's stereotypes

By Gustavo Arellano

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Dear Mexican: I was riding the local light rail when two female Mexicans sat down and start talking rapid-fire Spanish nonstop for 45 minutes! It seemed as if neither one stopped to take a breath of air. They were loud and could be heard the length of the train. Question: Is this why Mexican men are notorious for beating their women? If not, where did this notoriety originate? --Stonedeaf Whitebread

Dear Gabacho: And are you still beating your wife? Loaded question aside, Mexican men have an infamous tendency for spousal abuse in the gabacho mind partly out of stereotype but also partly out of truth. Sure, Mexican men beat wives, just like gabacho, negrito, and chinito maridos. But the Department of Justice, in its latest National Crime Victimization Survey, found that “on average from 2001 to 2005, rates of intimate partner violence were similar for both Hispanic and non-Hispanic females and males.” In other words, gabachos and wabs beat their mates at similar rates. I don’t understand the glee people take in attributing societal ills to an ethnic or religious group’s essence; that’s as weak as Chicanos blaming all of Mexico’s missteps on the U.S. theft of the American Southwest so long ago.

You have to stop calling gabachos gabachos, my man. That’s our word for when we’re talking about the whites when one’s within earshot. Whitey is far more familiar with us calling them gringos. If they become too familiar with gabacho we’ll have to move to the standby güero, ¿qué no? --Chicano Gordito

Dear Chubby Wab: I disagree. This column provides a public service by explaining and debunking Mexican culture to all interested parties, and what’s more important for gabachos to know than if we’re saying bad things about them in Spanish? Don’t believe the hype, gabachos: we don’t care caca about y’all, and the proof is in our respective slurs for each other. We call you gringo (white foreigner), gabacho (French idiot), güero (light-skinned), bolillo (French roll we love), and yanqui (imperialist); ustedes deride us as beaners, greasers, wet backs, aliens, wife beaters, and so many more. In the grand Rolodex of Racism, gabacho is as soft a jab as calling someone a scoundrel.