Susan shared a conversation with me this morning that she'd had with one of her patient's mothers, who happens to be an American of Mexican descent. Though I am paraphrasing the conversation, this is the question she asked, and it is one worth considering.
I can go to Mexico, and I am an American. I can go to Canada, and I am an American. I can go to Europe, and I am an American. Why is it that in America, I am a Mexican-American. Why is this true in my own country?
Perhaps because it's so much easier to marginalize people when you can tuck them away into a nice, neat pigeonhole.
