Mexican-American Stereotypes

The Stereotyping of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans

Stereotypes have existed in different forms throughout history. Although they are prevalent in all areas of the world, most countries have overcome name calling various ethnic groups to a degree better than the past. However, people in America still place several racist connotations on minorities. This is ironic because the United States is considered to be a giant "melting pot" of different cultures, and Americans still are racist toward diverse ethnic groups. Hispanics are one minority Americans constantly categorize and even degrade with derogatory names. Hispanics are consider to be from large families, dirty, not born in the US, unable to speak English, uneducated,
The governor, sheriff and the rich have come to the conclusion that all Mexicans are criminals and should be deported just like the U.S. government did in the 1920’s with the mandatory deportation of all Mexican people whether they were legal or not. Nativist scholars and politicians feared "mongrelization" as a by-product of contact with Mexicans, and in 1925 a Princeton economics professor even spoke of the future elimination of Anglo Americans by interbreeding with Mexicans.They were considered at that time by Congressman John Box called for restrictions on Mexican immigration because the Mexican was a product of mixing by the Spaniard and "low-grade" Indians. And as late as 1969, a California judge ruling in an incest case reiterated similar racist beliefs. He stated in court: "Mexican people ... think it is perfectly all right to act like an animal. We ought to send you out of this country.... You are lower than animals ... maybe Hitler was right. The animals in our society probably ought to be
They also did increasing violence perpetrated by Anglo Americans made Mexicans and Mexican Americans intensely aware of their subordinate status within the American Southwest. They did not have equal protection under the law, despite the guarantees of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the U.S. Constitution, and several laws were passed to specifically control their way of life. According to Griswold del Castillo: "A Sunday Law imposed fines ranging from ten to 500 dollars for engaging in `barbarous or noisy amusements ' which were listed as bullfights, horse races, cockfights, and other tradition California amusements. At the same time, a vagrancy law called `the Greaser Law ' was passed.... This law imposed fines and jail sentences on unemployed Mexican-Americans who, at the discretion of local authorities, could be called vagrants" They are doing these things again here in Arizona. They have done it with SB1070 and have put fear in a lot of Mexican-Americans and Mexicans because this law is Racial Profiling or Stereotyping against all the Hispanic people here.They have ripped so many families apart by deporting one of the parents or even both leaving the children alone or with a parent missing. This law is like having Hitler here going after the Jewish people the only difference is that Arizona is not exterminating