Quote:Teedub Wrote:
I mean, even this article somehow assumes Messi will resonate with 'hispanic' America, when he himself will not.
To be fair to the otherwise trite article, the article's position is Messi will resonate only to the extent that Soccer is popular with 'hispanic' America, which is not unreasonable. They compare Messi's relevance in the US to Kobe Bryant's relevance in Europe.
That is: Kobe Bryant is one of the best, most recognizable basketball players in the world. He'll resonate with European basketball fans regardless of their cultural background or ethnicity. Messi will resonate with soccer fans in the US regardless of their cultural background or ethnicity, and soccer tends to be popular with the growing Latin American population-- who have many differences but all tend to enjoy soccer more than the average American.
Quote:houston Wrote:
Yeah, it's weird and just shows how fucked up race relations are in America. Basically, white anglos in America will never look at a spanish speaking person as a fellow white person. They can have blue eyes, blonde hair and pale skin but he wont be considered white to them because of the spanish last name and language. Americans think all spanish speaking people are tied together (where the hispanic/latino label comes into play) which as you know, is not the case at all for a lot of countries.
It really doesn't seem that strange to me. From the perspective of a typical American, their language and willingness to share in the same cultural activities is how connections are made. Should Americans really be expected to care how many different subcultures are at the Latino bar watching soccer and the Spanish-language broadcast of the Yankee game?
Americans think all Spanish-speaking people are tied together because, to the extent it matters to a typical American, they are.