I am not some designer dog breed that was genetically crafted to, as a friend once said, "be the perfect balance of 'non-threatening white girl' and 'able to check the Hispanic/Latino/a box.'" I am white. But one thing I know is that I am not a "mutt." I may never have a good answer to the dreaded "What are you" question. To say that I am simply "white" is to say that their sacrifice, their achievement of the American Dream, is lost forever because their descendants happen to look a little different than them. Through their hard work and relentless determination, they gave my dad better opportunities, and in turn have allowed my older brother and I to have opportunities in life they only dreamed of. But Latinx students are.Įven my Mexican American grandparents knew this. population, and yet remain underrepresented in elite academia - a fact that I certainly grapple with now as a Latinx student at USC.Īnd sitting here now, in 2020, there is certainly no way to reckon with the fact that Latinx people are 1.7 times more likely to test positive for COVID-19, 4.1 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 2.8 times more likely to die from it than their white counterparts, according to federal statistics.Īs for higher education, one of the few opportunities that has been shown to be a socioeconomic equalizer, students of mixed European descent are not an underrepresented group on college campuses. There is no way to ignore the fact that Latinx people(s) make up 18 percent of the total U.S. But she never really understood that no one can simply remove the societal connotation of who or what or where they come from.īecause in reality, there is no way to escape the hateful rhetoric that condemns Mexicans as worthless. They are each a slice of the pie chart of my identity. On the surface level, these should all be the same. Suddenly, I was made aware that being Mexican meant something different than being Scottish or German or French. I was privileged in that I was never forced to examine my identity beyond jokingly assuring people that "No, really, I am half Mexican."Īt least, I wasn't until 2015, when a certain presidential candidate was running on a platform that imagined my father's community, and therefore mine, as not only undeserving but actively dangerous. Truthfully, I just didn't think about it all that much. This descriptor didn't begin to unsettle me until much later. If asked about my identity, I would respond and say that I was "a mutt." Why we never celebrated extra holidays or had culturally significant clothes.Īt the time, this made sense to me. It was why she never felt particularly drawn to any one of them. Mutt, I mean.Īs we baked a batch of shortbread cookies for my class, she explained to me that she was a mix of a bunch of different cultures. I think that was the first time she used the word. So I went to ask my mom about it, and she offered up Scotland. I knew that at least three of my classmates would bring in something for Mexico, and the overachieving student in me refused to turn in something that other people were doing. I dreaded it because I didn't think I had anything unique to bring in. I remember being eight or nine and being assigned one of those generic "Introduce us to your culture!" projects. (Or at least, as American as anyone of non-Indigenous descent can claim to be.) Both sides of my family have been here for generations. Send us feedback about these examples.Like I said, she meant no harm by calling me a "mutt." She would say it in the off-handed way we discussed any aspect of our ethnic or cultural identity - it just wasn't important. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mutt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. 2021 Their dogs - French bulldog Milo, mixed- mutt Roo and Chihuahua mix Albus - were supposed to be delivered by a transport service the day before. 2023 Sirius is a golden retriever and Salem is a mutt. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Mar. 2023 The disappearance of both man and mutt in December 2017 from the middle-of-nowhere Northern Territory burg, population 11, put Larrimah in the news cycle as investigative teams descended and discovered a tiny community rife with infighting. 2021 The group bases its rankings on the number of registrations in its purebred registry - so popular mixes and mutts are not included. 2021 Even Perseverance is a bit of a mutt. 2021 Show off your mutt’s mug…on a mug! - Christina Vercelletto, CNN Underscored, 10 Mar. 2023 Clifford looks the answer to his prayers, but that of course means finding some way to separate the girl from the mutt. Recent Examples on the Web One day, austere government policy forced his family to kill the beloved mutt that, until then, had been his best friend.
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