What is with dom-yorks and trying to be extra-dominican?

[Mr. Lu]

Originally Posted by WapoWapo

Thank you for clearing that up. I hate when people equate "black culture" with speaking poor English, being poor, listening to rap music, etc. When a Dominican is successful, then who are they emulating? A White American? A white person from Spain? Are they a sellout?

That's a great point! I have a few opinions on this, partly from personal experience, but I'd like to hear what people have to say in this regard. I know successful blacks are labeled sell out, but what about Dominicans?



Mr. Lu

[gemenilaidback]

Having lived in North Carolina getting my masters and being a second generation Dominican I get the opportunity of being exposed to being around African Americans ,Whites and Asians and Latinos... I get called a sell out but now adays its more like being bourgeoisie which is the new sell out. People like ,Will Smith, Oprah, Obama, Ricky Martin, Monchy y Alexandra, Jay Z & Beyonce, Caretta Scott King, Cathy Hughes (CEO), Robert Johnson (CEO), Stanley O Neal ( former CEO),Pharell, Quincy Jones, are the type of people others will call sellouts and these people are mostly educated , independently wealthy,mentioned in Forbes,...and people labeling them sellouts has nothing to do with people thinking they are trying to acting white. In the USA anything that does not assimilate to the street image (which is now mainstream popular culture) are considered by many to be sellouts. People don't just equate being educated with being white anymore, especially since in the US Asians had the highest level of education, success in independent businesses. There are many Black ,Latino and Asian successful educated,classy people from all backgrounds now. I know this because I have worked with these people when I was a financial analyst and most of these people with degrees who were young people were minorities. In fact many young whites that I worked with were at the same jobs and did not obtain their Undergraduate degrees including one of my best friends who comes from a middle class background. Education in general in the USA is not put on the pedestal that is once was. In my family it was a pillar of excellence but when you have CNN and Forbes telling you the richest man (Bill Gates) dropped out of school, entertainers (some of them) didn't finish school, and you too can be a star by getting on America's top Idol or Model, many people say what is the use. It is a sad but normal part of growing up in the states now and a large majority of the 15-25 yr old's don't value education of ANY race. the ghetto culture has spread to middle America and is thriving because we are in a recession due to the fiscal decisions of our government, high interest, a home mortgage crisis, and society not divesting in education.People see you as being "fake", "bourgeoisie ", "preppy", "Yuppy like"...when you are different than the common young person these days. Also when economic times are hard msot young people cling to race,nationality, and superficial status (cars,chains,girls) to suffice for low self esteem sue to not knowing how to correct their lives or where their lives are going. The reason is there are all kinds of "ghetto" people in the States and what many would call chopo are white kids (who call themselves the n word) with doo rags, gold teeth,gold chains, loud music and grotesque, spinning wheeled cars. I dont understand how people automatically equate this with being ghetto and black and Latino automatically, when they need to understand that ghetto-ness is engulfing everything due to the economy. Depending on how you are dressed, with me being preppy most "ghetto" blacks would not speak to me nor will the whites who get along with them (the ghetto types also get along with redneck country hillbillies) and the country Latino types only speak to their won class from their won country. In fact most Dominicans I know and respect don't wave flags, use excessive dominicanismo slang, have successful businesses, have kids in Universities like Duke and NCSU (they aren't all light skin either), and dress pretty conservatively.
Although alot of Dominicans that do dress like they would in a urban decaying enviroment do consider us sellouts cause we don't have the flag on all of our attire, cars, pens and shoes. Although I ignore all of them Black, White, or Latino because that is what people do when they have low self esteem when they are poor.Also alot of them are under 25 and when your young people do stupid things I don't think I was headed for excellence by appearance when I was 22 either.
By the way I live in a neighborhood where 45% are black (many white collared) professionals who all OWN houses,35% are white (some are professional some are blue collar),and 20% are Latino. I am sure if I were to travel down town to the poor section of town, I could find a member of every race....who was poor except maybe Asian. I will be honest I have never seen an Asian begging for change or dressed in such a "hood" manner then again I am not from the West Coast I heard many there are in gangs and are very rugged (Flying Dragons,Tongs, etc).

[SKing]

Originally Posted by gemenilaidback

Having lived in North Carolina getting my masters and being a second generation Dominican I get the opportunity of being exposed to being around African Americans ,Whites and Asians and Latinos... I get called a sell out but now adays its more like being bourgeoisie which is the new sell out. People like ,Will Smith, Oprah, Obama, Ricky Martin, Monchy y Alexandra, Jay Z & Beyonce, Caretta Scott King, Cathy Hughes (CEO), Robert Johnson (CEO), Stanley O Neal ( former CEO),Pharell, Quincy Jones, are the type of people others will call sellouts and these people are mostly educated , independently wealthy,mentioned in Forbes,...and people labeling them sellouts has nothing to do with people thinking they are trying to acting white. In the USA anything that does not assimilate to the street image (which is now mainstream popular culture) are considered by many to be sellouts. People don't just equate being educated with being white anymore, especially since in the US Asians had the highest level of education, success in independent businesses. There are many Black ,Latino and Asian successful educated,classy people from all backgrounds now. I know this because I have worked with these people when I was a financial analyst and most of these people with degrees who were young people were minorities. In fact many young whites that I worked with were at the same jobs and did not obtain their Undergraduate degrees including one of my best friends who comes from a middle class background. Education in general in the USA is not put on the pedestal that is once was. In my family it was a pillar of excellence but when you have CNN and Forbes telling you the richest man (Bill Gates) dropped out of school, entertainers (some of them) didn't finish school, and you too can be a star by getting on America's top Idol or Model, many people say what is the use. It is a sad but normal part of growing up in the states now and a large majority of the 15-25 yr old's don't value education of ANY race. the ghetto culture has spread to middle America and is thriving because we are in a recession due to the fiscal decisions of our government, high interest, a home mortgage crisis, and society not divesting in education.People see you as being "fake", "bourgeoisie ", "preppy", "Yuppy like"...when you are different than the common young person these days. Also when economic times are hard msot young people cling to race,nationality, and superficial status (cars,chains,girls) to suffice for low self esteem sue to not knowing how to correct their lives or where their lives are going. The reason is there are all kinds of "ghetto" people in the States and what many would call chopo are white kids (who call themselves the n word) with doo rags, gold teeth,gold chains, loud music and grotesque, spinning wheeled cars. I dont understand how people automatically equate this with being ghetto and black and Latino automatically, when they need to understand that ghetto-ness is engulfing everything due to the economy. Depending on how you are dressed, with me being preppy most "ghetto" blacks would not speak to me nor will the whites who get along with them (the ghetto types also get along with redneck country hillbillies) and the country Latino types only speak to their won class from their won country. In fact most Dominicans I know and respect don't wave flags, use excessive dominicanismo slang, have successful businesses, have kids in Universities like Duke and NCSU (they aren't all light skin either), and dress pretty conservatively.
Although alot of Dominicans that do dress like they would in a urban decaying enviroment do consider us sellouts cause we don't have the flag on all of our attire, cars, pens and shoes. Although I ignore all of them Black, White, or Latino because that is what people do when they have low self esteem when they are poor.Also alot of them are under 25 and when your young people do stupid things I don't think I was headed for excellence by appearance when I was 22 either.
By the way I live in a neighborhood where 45% are black (many white collared) professionals who all OWN houses,35% are white (some are professional some are blue collar),and 20% are Latino. I am sure if I were to travel down town to the poor section of town, I could find a member of every race....who was poor except maybe Asian. I will be honest I have never seen an Asian begging for change or dressed in such a "hood" manner then again I am not from the West Coast I heard many there are in gangs and are very rugged (Flying Dragons,Tongs, etc).

I agree with you. I think that it is a mindset and some poeple are stuck in it. It is sad as I am in NYC working for the summer and just now getting to meet alot of my family that I have never seen (I was born here but my mom moved when I was 9).
I have a cousin who has a young son for whom she buys pants and shirts twice his size, and I just don't understand it. My 5 year old son HATES for his pants not to fit correctly...how can a child have fun and play like that?
Well, anyway, being from North Carolina I had a different perception of Dominicans and when I got here to NYC, I was surely surprised.
The only way that I could tell the Dominicans from the inner-city (I will not say ghetto) African Americans are the language and the music and occasionally of course, the hair.
Most of the guys are dressed in this 50 Cent, T-Pain sort of way. I have not seen much in the way of too many flags or anything like that, except a little in Washington Heights but that is to be expected.
Someone once told me that I was stupid to move to the DR, that I can just move to Washington Heights and not take my kids out of the country...I could not imagine ever living there, even though I love Dominicans.
I saw a TV show on one of the spanish channels here about Dominicans losing their way, it showed alot of footage at a reggaeton concert and it was disgusting to watch, to say the least (and I LOVE reggaeton), the guy just kept saying in Spanish "look at our children, look at what our children are doing".
Anyway, I know this thread was about flags, stickers, and other obnoxious materials but I had to just respond to your comment.
Also, what nags me is not so much the Dominican slang because I have fallen into that trap also...but the quick movement from english to spanish which my patient's tend to do once they find out that I speak spanish, something sort of like "Las contracciones started at like...No se...like 5am, and I woke up pero con mucho pain"
WHAT THE ???
SHALENA

[solamentetu]

Originally Posted by Mr. Lu

That's a great point! I have a few opinions on this, partly from personal experience, but I'd like to hear what people have to say in this regard. I know successful blacks are labeled sell out, but what about Dominicans?



Mr. Lu

As a Dominican-American college student who speaks proper English, does well in school, has secured good internships, I can say that while I may not be directly called a "sell-out," I have TOO OFTEN been called "whitey." I have "Dom-york" third and fourth-generation American cousins who will wear sneakers with flags, and will play the loudest bachata, just to prove that they are Dominican. They will often tell me I "talk white," I "dress white" and I "act white." My parents, my siblings, and I live in a mixed-race middle-class neighborhood and we often get criticized for living here. My father's family is embarking on their fourth/fifth generation in the states, but since my mother is a first-generation American, her siblings constantly question why we chose to live here and not in Washington Heights, like they all have. It's not that they are fearful of success/think Dominicans shouldn't be successful; it's just that they would prefer that Dominicans who were successful would stick around to help poor/unsuccessful Dominicans. When some Dom-yorks find out I am in college for instance, they encourage me to pursue a law degree to work on immigration reform. It's not that anybody is a sell-out; it's just that sometimes people feel like successful Dominicans "forget their roots."

[Señor_Jimenez]

Don't worry about them. They're irrelevant barrio chopos.

[Berzin]

We as latinos need to stop equating "keeping it real" with keeping it real stupid and ignorant.

We don't don't need to emulate white people in style of dress and diction to come across as successful.

One thing that I hate about hip-hop and those who buy into all the stereotypes is that it has hijacked our cultural identity and cheapened it to the point where people immediately equate latino with "ghetto".

And why is it so offensive and insulting to some fool standing on the corner if someone who he has nothing more in common with aside from nationality decides to do something with his life other than be a piece of shyte? These are the types that are constantly accusing someone of selling out or acting white.

As a side note to all the hip-hop fans out there who feel the need to get offended by everything I say about this topic-please spare me the fan mail this time around. I already know where you stand on this issue and I really don't care.

[ElvisNYC]

Originally Posted by Berzin

We as latinos need to stop equating "keeping it real" with keeping it real stupid and ignorant.

We don't don't need to emulate white people in style of dress and diction to come across as successful.

One thing that I hate about hip-hop and those who buy into all the stereotypes is that it has hijacked our cultural identity and cheapened it to the point where people immediately equate latino with "ghetto".

And why is it so offensive and insulting to some fool standing on the corner if someone who he has nothing more in common with aside from nationality decides to do something with his life other than be a piece of shyte? These are the types that are constantly accusing someone of selling out or acting white.

As a side note to all the hip-hop fans out there who feel the need to get offended by everything I say about this topic-please spare me the fan mail this time around. I already know where you stand on this issue and I really don't care.

Berzin,

Which kind of people think that latino equates to ghetto ?

[ElvisNYC]

Originally Posted by solamentetu

As a Dominican-American college student who speaks proper English, does well in school, has secured good internships, I can say that while I may not be directly called a "sell-out," I have TOO OFTEN been called "whitey." I have "Dom-york" third and fourth-generation American cousins who will wear sneakers with flags, and will play the loudest bachata, just to prove that they are Dominican. They will often tell me I "talk white," I "dress white" and I "act white." My parents, my siblings, and I live in a mixed-race middle-class neighborhood and we often get criticized for living here. My father's family is embarking on their fourth/fifth generation in the states, but since my mother is a first-generation American, her siblings constantly question why we chose to live here and not in Washington Heights, like they all have. It's not that they are fearful of success/think Dominicans shouldn't be successful; it's just that they would prefer that Dominicans who were successful would stick around to help poor/unsuccessful Dominicans. When some Dom-yorks find out I am in college for instance, they encourage me to pursue a law degree to work on immigration reform. It's not that anybody is a sell-out; it's just that sometimes people feel like successful Dominicans "forget their roots."

Why do you worry about what campesinos say ??

[Berzin]

Originally Posted by ElvisNYC

Berzin,

Which kind of people think that latino equates to ghetto?

The very same people who call educated blacks and latinos sellouts.

[RGVgal]

Originally Posted by SKing

Also, what nags me is not so much the Dominican slang because I have fallen into that trap also...but the quick movement from english to spanish which my patient's tend to do once they find out that I speak spanish, something sort of like "Las contracciones started at like...No se...like 5am, and I woke up pero con mucho pain"
WHAT THE ???
SHALENA

This really ****es me off. These folks can't speak English or Spanish correctly and they sound so ignorant.

And I bet a lot of those moms that you are delivering are having babies out of wedlock and they are on medicaid and welfare.

I really never go to Washington heights because it ****es me off to see how a lot (Not ALL) of the Dominicans there behave like barrio trash.