Shedding Light on Hispanic Myth
I agree with Del Olmo that lumping Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, Cuban-Americans, and others under the catch-all category “Hispanic” is superficial.
It’s like lumping the Irish and English under the category “Anglos,” the Japanses and Chinese under the category “Asians,” and the Jews and Arabs under the category “Semites.” These over-inclusive classifications assume a commonality that does not currently exist.
However, even if individualism is a value we should not paper over with bureaucratic labels, isn’t it also important to ask, in the interest of the unity of humankind, whether we’re more alike than different?
FRANK R. BURTON
Santa Monica
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