In "The Roots of Caribbean Identity: Language, Race & Ecology" Peter Roberts explains how identity can be determined by a single or a combination of different characteristics be it Race, Language, Gender, Religion, etc. In our society its almost become an obsession to find an identity or more accurately a label that is not just limited to your cultural background but that encompasses who YOU are as a combination of life experience, not just to define who you are but to find a common place among others where you will not feel judged.
Out of all the important points that Peter Roberts expressed a few of them stood out to me, more specifically 6 but I shall only express my perspective on the three of them.
1)
"Because the human being does not necessarily remain in one place through a lifetime, home is variable and may be place of birth, place of residence or may be defined by the popular notion 'where the heart is'"
This line is an immensely important definition of what home might be, as it is obviously not the same for everyone. Your home might be a special corner in a park where you feel safe even if that's not where you live, or the feeling of laying down with a book after a long day of work or curling up with some one special in your life after a hard day. To me home varies on the situation, after a long day at college all I want is to curl up in my bed with my dog and watch Doctor Who, when I feel lonely or sad home might be either a phone call with my best friend or watching TV with my dad and to me home is truly where your heart is at that moment. I'm moving this august to begin a new chapter in my life and I will be extremely far away for a very long time from my dad, the person with whom I identify the word "home" with the most since my mom died 17 years ago and purely by coincidence You'll Be In My Heart just started playing on Pandora and I'm holding back literal tears as I type this because my dad dedicated this song to me and my sister after our mom died.
To many Puerto Ricans I know who took the leap to move to the US they all tell me pretty much the same thing, they may be there, have a home there but their hearts belong to our little Island and to the family they have left here.
2)
"As a factor of place, language can sharply distinguish between insider and outsider through difference in accent, idiom structure and word. Language therefore establishes bonds between all communities of human beings but at the same time set up barriers between communities."
One certain distinction among Puerto Ricans is our accent which, as often happens, no one notices except non-Puerto Ricans; we apparently "sing" our words. Sometimes our uses of words clashes with other Spanish speaking countries as the words we use and have adapted through the years can mean different things in other countries.
This, as described by Roberts, can establish barriers. For example even if you speak perfect English and have the general "American" look and no one thinks your Latino or Hispanic the second you utter a sentence in Spanish a sort of invisible barrier is present even if for a brief moment. Sometimes their attitude towards may seem different for a while but then everything goes back to normal. But sometimes, very rarely, those people take it like a personal betrayal and treat you differently. Sometimes people judge even if they don't know you, and yes I do speak from experience. I've been called a Mexican while in Florida, simply because someone heard me speaking Spanish while on a phone call with my best friend and from what I've heard it happens to a lot of Spanish speakers, even if they're not actually Mexicans, which is the most common misconception.
3)
"While behavior may in some objective way be the best criterion for judging sameness, it is the senses of sight (color/race) and sound (language) that provided the initial and usually most deep-seated conclusions about sameness and difference in identity."
Roberts explains in a previous part of the reading how sameness and difference is the basis of identity in human society and that the belief of a sameness logically establishes a belief of difference and that those who re different should be treated as such . Which brings me back to, for example, how Spanish (or any language that isn't English) speakers are treated differently for breaking the norm. More importantly, however is the still present vain of racism and discrimination in modern society which, as much as some people try to deny it, is still here. Just look at the last few years, Michael Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner Staten Island and Sandra Bland in Waller County to name just a few of them. The question of whether or not racism (or any type of inequality) is still present is a matter of perspective, be it a white male attempting to justify the murder of a black person, a jury invalidating a case of sexual assault or GSMR (Gender, Sexual and Romantic Orientation Minorities) youth being subjected to conversion therapy. Racism against African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and other ethnic minorities, whether you are choosing to overlook it or are aware of it, is still present in 21st century modern society in the United States.
And with this I shall finish (because if I don't stop now I'll end up going on a rant) with a song that won the 2015 Oscar for Best Original Song and its kind of obvious why.
