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Friday, May 15, 2009

Bottom Man

An affluent Hispanic with no accent and the name "Mike Jones" would be seen as white.
His place on the totem pole would be as high or low as he could assimilate the norms of that particular pole (different poles have different standards).

An affluent Asian with no discernible accent and also named "Mike Jones" would be seen as Asian.
His place on most totem poles would be capped by the social norms of that pole as well as his perceived race.

An affluent Black guy who speaks in perfect SAE and also named "Mike Jones" would be assumed as aspirational (or bourgeoisie) or someone pretending to be white.
His place on the totem pole would be capped by the expectations of (and by) his race.

Here in a small town in the South - Mexicans are the low man.
The town is 49% Black and 48% white.
The dynamics still suggest a "whites as superior" mindset (almost regardless of socio-economic classification).
Then the better off Blacks,
Then the better off Hispanics,
Then the other Blacks,
Then the other Hispanics,
And the low man is the white guy who hangs out with Blacks.
Everyone knows that the bottom guy is the one being fucked.

My question is;
Who owns your pole?
And who decides who gets to be on top?

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