“Today, eight years after my departure [from Mexico], when they ask me for my nationality or ethnic identity, I can’t respond with one word, since my “identity” now possesses multiple repertoires: I am Mexican but I am also Chicano and Latin Americanl At the border they call me chilango or mexiquillo; in Mexico city it’s pocho or norteño; and in Europe it’s sudaca. The Anglos call me ‘Hispanic’ or ‘Latino,’ and the Germans have, on more than one occasion, confused me with Turks or Italians. My wife Emilia is Anglo-Italian, but speaks Spanish with an Argentine accent, and together we walk amid the rubble of the Tower of Babel of our American post-modernity.”
–Guillermo Gómez-Peña
Guillermo Gómez-Peña causes me think about how one is named, classified and identified by others. Or I maybe I should say misclassified, misidentified, and misnamed by others. Who controls “your” identity?
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Technorati Tags: multicultural, Netherlands, Holland, Dutch, iEARN, learningcircle, race, heritage, identity, Guillermo Gómez-Peña
22 Comments
March 3, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Hey Mrs. Brownstone. It’s Marlenis. I cant wait 2 get startd on our project calld the richness within.
March 3, 2007 at 8:50 pm
After reading this passage written by Guillermo Gómez-Peña, I started thinking more deeply about how we are perceived as different things through eyes other than our own. Sometimes the images that other people make of you, don’t really fit what we really are. Because of this, I can say that two things control your identity, how you see yourself and how other see you.
March 4, 2007 at 10:00 am
After reading the passage by Guillermo Gómez-Peña , I thought about how people sterotype others. We automatically think that all latinos are spanish, which is a misconception and it shows how narrow minded people are. I agree with Stefani when she said that two things control your indentity, how others see you and how you see yourself.
March 4, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Everyone in this world is considered different by everyone else. Nobody has a true identity because it is changed whenever you meet someone else and Guillermo Gómez-Peña proves this with his statement.
March 4, 2007 at 8:30 pm
After reading the passage I think people control our identity. People choice to label us with what they think we are. People like in the passage share different opinions of what we are. I think only we know our truly identity.
March 4, 2007 at 8:35 pm
after reading this quote or passage as everyone said i think this is all about streo types. like evryone is know or labeled to a certin type.
March 4, 2007 at 8:35 pm
amen
March 4, 2007 at 8:36 pm
After reading this, I thought to how I identify myself and how other perceive me. Many times, the image others have of me are wrong, and yet sometimes, the image I have of myself is also wrong. Your own image of youself, other’s images, and what you really are. Because, your own self imposed image has the ability to be flawed, just like others. There are alwasy misconceptions, so there is no identity that is truly yours.
March 4, 2007 at 8:40 pm
I believe that others control your identity. How they veiw you is how you are percieved, and thus are how you are.
March 4, 2007 at 9:56 pm
i believe that no one actually controls your identity. A person can have so many identities according to many different people. For example if a person is half black and half white.Some people might call this person black some might call them white.
March 4, 2007 at 10:55 pm
After reading the passage by Guillermo Gómez-Peña , I began to think more about how conformity affects us all. Those who surround us influence us most, and this is evident through clear observation. The author seemed to have lost his identity because of his location change. It is important to remember where you come from, but do not stick to your old self, for then you will feel like an outsider, and be treated as such. It is important to stick to who you are on the inside, but essentially not live the same way for ever, and conform partially.
March 4, 2007 at 11:27 pm
after reading this, and after our class last time, i sorta realized you dont really have one true identey. You may think of your self and your identy as one, and then another person might change it into what they think you are. So really this got me to think, do we really have our own identy?
March 4, 2007 at 11:53 pm
After reading the text, I believe that your identity builds over time and all these labels and stereotypes are obstacles in the path to your true identity and you have to control what society thinks of what you should be. You have to think of yourself because people will smile if you smile but will not cry if you cry.
March 5, 2007 at 8:34 am
After reading this passage, I came to the conclusion that other people control our identity. People like to label us with what they want us to be.
March 5, 2007 at 8:37 am
I don’t believe that identities are controlled. An identity is what you are known by and it definitely does not stay constant for everyone. Who you think you are is what you only think your identity is and the way people perceive you is only what they think your identity is. In the end, your identity is everything in the world because different people in the world perceive you differently. One person thinks your kind and caring, while another thinks that your arrogant and self-centered. There are just too many people in the world who will have a different say about who you are and what your identity is, so it’s just better not to have one or base one on mere facts that no one can debate.
March 5, 2007 at 8:38 am
I believe that no one can identify others. I believe that we, ourselves, can only identify ourselves. So we shouldn’t feel discriminated by others just because they have a different name(s) to call us in their own language.
March 5, 2007 at 8:43 am
I agree with Tayyab that identity does take time to build. Time creates wisdom and with wisdom people are able to identify themselves as they what to. And I think if people identify themselves, there would be less confusion between them. that would make life easier.
March 5, 2007 at 8:43 am
After reading this passage,i believe that you can identify your selves by different ways.There are a lot of ways to identify your selves.If you meet with different people in a day, you are going to have different indentity. I think no one has control in your identity.Only you are the one who has control on your own identity.By giving your identity to the people who know you like not to close or whom with you often meet,they will really think about you very deeply and they will know you very well.So,YES i think no one controls your identity.Only you are the one who controls your identity.
March 5, 2007 at 8:59 am
I believe i can fly around the world and i love to save
the world but first late me introduce mu self well my name is oussama terrab i’m a freshman in b.s.g.e well i love to play soccer and baseball thank you for reading my comments.
March 8, 2007 at 5:49 pm
After reading the passage by Guillermo Gómez-Peña, I thought about how we are sometimes identified and stereotyped by our appearance or by our nationality and this is often a misconception.
March 9, 2007 at 8:26 pm
from reading the passage of Guillermo Gómez-Peña i understand that each person has identify and a stereotype but the improtant thing is that each person have an identify to control it and i agree with Elies and Tayyab view point
Thank you fro reading my comment.
March 13, 2007 at 9:29 pm
After reading this passage, I think that everyone is identified by being stereotyped or separated into their own cliques. I agree with Theresa where she had said that we all have one true identity and it is based on what you, yourself believes in and no one else can tell you otherwise.