Ethnic Groups

Ethnic Groups

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Ethnic Groups

Mexicans

The second largest Mexican Community is found in the United States. The interesting part is that the Mexican population stats in America are second to Mexico itself. It is also a fact that they compromise of 24% of the complete Mexican population in the whole world. Mexican families have called the United States home for the past 15,000 years. It should also be put under consideration that the Mestizo Mexican history in America dates back to 400 years ever since the Spanish New Mexico was founded. According to an estimation, around 10% of the Mexicans that are settled in America are the descendants of the early colonial settlers, who started living as citizens back in 1848 through the Treaty of Guadelupe Hiadalgo which was the reason why the Mexican- American war came to an end. 11.2% of the American population consists of Mexicans, which means that Mexicans comprise 36.3 million populace of the United States.

Majority of the Mexican population are Roman Catholic. The official language that they all speak is Spanish, but they are all well versed in American English as well now. There is also something that is witnessed that the younger generations Spanish are more Americanized now. What I really admire about the Mexican society is their staunch belief in family values, the family is in the center of the social structure. Their family structure is usually quite big and they go all lengths to help a family member as it is considered to be their responsibility and duty. The Mexicans usually follow patriarchy as the father of the family is considered the head and the one who makes all the decisions. The mothers are more on the reserve side and their role is usually secondary to their husbands. Their society also follows a hierarchy and someone who is above in the hierarchy must be treated with respect. They believe in giving gifts and their certain etiquette's to be followed, coming a little late is always appreciated. All in all Mexican society is close-knit and family oriented (Noel, 2015).

Chinese

The Chinese community that resides in America is the largest Chinese Community that lives overseas apart from Asia. It should also be kept in consideration that it is the third biggest community in the Chinese dispersion right behind the Chinese communities that are living in Malaysia and Thailand. The Chinese people make up 3.8 million of the United States Population. The majority of the Chinese population is living in New York and California. In accordance with the United States records the first ever Chinese immigrant arrived prior to California Gold Rush. This also drew in the initial large number of Chinese laborers who helped mine the gold and completed basic labor. Chinese workers initially migrated to the United States to get jobs in mines, grab the agriculture jobs, work in the garment industry, making railroads and working in the factory. They ended up becoming very successful in the United States because of their labor work.

There are five main religions that are being followed by Chinese; Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, and Catholicism. Chinese culture reflects Taoism, they believe in simplicity. They also love their festivals, the jieqi. They believe in clarity of thinking and refinement. Zen Buddhism also has a great following in the Chinese way of life. They are also very cautious about healthcare and try to find herbal ways to preserve health. After thousands of years of establishment, Chinese Cuisine has also reached perfection. Their food is not only pleasing to the eyes but delicious as well. I admire Chinese cuisine a lot. I also like that the seniors and elders of the family are treated as the most important guests (Hwang, 2016).

Irish

Irish take around 10.5% of the United States population. About 50% of the Irish immigrants originated from the province of Ulster, dating back to the colonial era. The other 50% of the immigrants came from the other three provinces of Ireland. There are various approximations given by scholars, but the most accurate would be that 250.000 of the Irish people migrated to the United States in-between 1717-1775. Approximately 400,000 Irish people had moved to the United States by 1790.

The Irish community has been present in the United States for hundreds of years now. Their biggest advantage was knowing the English language. Irish people have the reputation of being very pleasant, which is quite true. Traditional Irish people have large families and are closely linked to their community and church. Their community was the first to allow gay marriage. When it comes to religion the majority of the people are Roman Catholics. Saint Patrick's Day is probably the most celebrated of the Irish culture and is known worldwide and to me, it is the most admirable part of their community. Irish Halloween, music, and dancing shows just how colorful their community really is. There favorite food to consume is potatoes, no meal is Irish without potatoes (Cogliano, 2016).

Cubans

Cubans make up 0.71% of the United States population. There are many communities who are heavy with the Cuban population, but Florida has the highest population of Cubans. 70% of the Cuban population lives in Florida. Cuban immigration to the United States has a long history. It started in the Spanish colonial period dating back to 1565. This was the time when St. Augustine, Florida was originated by Pedro Menendez de Aviles. There were hundreds of Cubans who shifted to St. Augustine inclusive of families and soldiers to start a new life.

The food, music and belied of Cubans reflect the Caribbean, African and European culture. What I love the most about their community is the Caribbean feel, their culture, music, colors, and dances all have the Caribbean flow. There rhythms like the drum yuka, jazz, rumba, and mambo are all the part of their culture. They carry out various carnivals and festivals. Majority of the Cubans are Roman Catholics. Cuban cuisine like them is also very colorful and delicious (Dossick, 2018).

Summary

Americans have a way of stereotyping all four of the ethnicities, the way they represent them is not even close to what their cultures are all about. A small example would be media, people who are portrayed as either Mexicans or Cubans are portrayed in a negative manner. there are exceptions which represent the culture very well but mostly they are misrepresented. Even the Irish and Asian portrayal is quite inaccurate most of the times, just a self-presumed idea is represented. All four cultures are given a group ethnicity on the basis of appearance, accents, cuisines and certain believes that people said to have about them. Further, there is always this assumed thought that if one is Mexican they will be disrespectful and masculine towards women. People need to know that there is awareness everywhere now. When it comes to Irish, people butcher their accent like no tomorrow. There is such a prejudice regarding the way they talk and the words that they use that it is portrayed that way in media as well. further, if one is from Mexico it does not mean that they do drugs. This really needs to be put into consideration that a few people cannot represent the whole community. Chinese are also stereotyped based on what people believe that they are like, the Chinese culture that is represented is more Americanized than authentic. When it comes to the class system and employment, there is quite different from American culture. The class system in the US is simply high, middle and low class while for Mexicans it is based on the hierarchy that talks about being true blood and being on Spanish descent. The other people lower in class are to respect people who have a higher standing in the hierarchy. For Cubans, race, ethnicity, and money all combine to make the class system. While for Chinese, it has been the same for centuries; landlord, peasant, craftsmen, and merchant. For employment, Americans have a flatter structure, while Cubans, Chinese, and Mexicans follow a hierarchy.

References

Noel, L. C. (2015). Neil Foley. Mexicans in the Making of America.

Hwang, D. (2016). Chinese and Americans: A Shared History by Xu Guoqi. China Review International, 23(2), 199-203.

Cogliano, F. D. (2016). Revolutionary America, 1763-1815: A Political History. Routledge.

Dossick, J. J. (2018). Cuba, Cubans and Cuban-Americans. Routledge.