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FEAR AND LOATHING IN *AZTLAN:
RICHARD RODRIGUEZ AND THE INVENTION OF ETHNICITY
From a Caravel Sourcebook, 1990
By Felipe de Ortego y GascaDean o t!e "ispanic #eaders!ip $nstitute and %roessor o &nglis! and Comparative #iterature, 'ri(ona State )niversity**+empe
1
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ic!ard odrigue( keeps turning up like abad -uarter, a slug t!at ools some coin
mac!ines sometimes but most oten gets
re.ected by smart mac!ines prepped to
detect countereit coins/ $ !ardly epected to see
ic!ard odrigue( in erner Sollors2 edition on
The Invention of Ethnicity 3Oord )niversity%ress, 19495, but t!ere !e 6as like a bad -uarter,
t!e lead article in a cater6aul entitled 7'n
'merican riter/7 8evert!eless, $ 6as resolute t!at
despite !is presence in t!e tet $ 6ould keep an
open mind anent t!e topic o et!nicity as an
invention/ 'nd $ did/ But irst, about ic!ard
odrigue( as 7neme*sis/7
I
$n 19: odrigue( publis!ed a piece entitled 7+!e
8e6 'merican Sc!olars!ip Boy7 in The American
Scholar, a piece lamenting !aving to leave !is
7;eican !ome7 or an 7'nglo !ome7 because !e!ad learned &nglis!**t!e language o public dis*
course in t!e )nited States**and, as a conse-uence,
became alienated rom !is mot!er and at!er
because t!ey spoke Spanis! and !ad not studied
t!e runes o Britis! literature as !e !ad/ "e
publis!ed ot!er !arpings on t!e same t!eme in
subse-uent issues o The American Scholar/ +o no
avail, my rebuttals to odrigue( ell on dea ears at
The American Scholaruntil inally, ater a parti*
cularly ecruciating piece by odrigue( appeared
in The American Scholar in 1941, '(tlan**myt!ic !omeland o t!e '(tecs/ ' designationassigned by C!icanos to t!e territories o t!e 'merican
Sout!6est 6!ic! 6ere once part o ;eico prior to 14?4 and14@A/
!e paraded, among ot!er t!ings, !is et!nic apos*
tasy, epanded on !is disaection rom !is parentsand ;eican 3'merican5 culture and added to !is
coda on bilingual education and airmative action
6it! an aut!ority !e !ad arrogated unto !imsel**
some o us believe**solely on t!e strengt! o !av*
ing ac-uired a %!/D/ in &nglis! 6it! emp!asis on
Britis! literature/ +!e ac-uisition o a %!/D/ in
&nglis! 6it! emp!asis on Britis! literature is initsel not a uni-ue accomplis!ment/ $ earned a
%!/D/ in &nglis! 6it! emp!asis on Britis! litera*
ture and $ did not eel alienated rom my amily/ $n
act, t!e accomplis!ment broug!t me closer to my
et!nic and cultural roots 6!en $ reali(ed t!eir ab*
sence in t!e literary canon o t!e )nited States, areali(ation $ mig!t not !ave ac!ieved 6it!out my
literary education/
&t!nicity igures in odrigue(2 6riting as a
point o departure, not a destination somet!ing to
lee rom, not embrace/ e do not, or eample,
!ear "arry ;ark %etrakis demeaning !is Greek
roots in order to be accepted as an 'merican 6riter/
illiam Saroyan did not negate !is 'rmenian roots
in order to be accepted as an 'merican 6riter/
ic!ard rig!t did not deny !is negritude in order
to be accepted as an 'merican 6riter/ +!is is not to
say t!ese 6riters did not eperience diiculties ingetting publis!ed as 'merican 6riters/ 8or can 6e
say t!ose diicul*ties 6ere not product o t!eir
et!nicity/ 8onet!e*less, t!ey did not turn t!eir
backs on t!eir roots/
"aving come out o t!e closet as an 'nglo*
p!ile and !aving become t!e darling o t!e 8e6
ig!t, muc! t!e 6ay &(ra %ound and +/S/ &liot
became mout!pieces or ascism in t!eir time,
odrigue( is no6 paraded !it!er and yon as t!e
good ;eican become 'merican/ "e seems to
revel in t!at identiication/ +!e 8e6 ig!t must
assume t!at odrigue(2 cultural etrapolations
relect t!e verities o ;eican 'merican lie/ 'ter
all, !e2s ;eican**or once 6as**t!ereore, !is des*
pective commentary about ;eico and ;eican
'merican lie must be true/ "e oug!t to kno6/ 'nd
t!oug! !e demurs about articulating 7t!e ;eican
'merican eperience,7 asseverations to t!econtrary, !is assertions and generali(ations go ar
beyond t!e boundaries o .ust observation despite a
caveat to t!e contrary t!at 6!en re!ear*sing !is lie
!e describes only !is o6n, not !is brot!er2s nor !is
sisters2 lives one c!ild!ood, one solitude, !is/
But !e categori(es/ "e analy(es/ "e .udges/
'bout ;eico, or eample, !e says 7;eicans
live be!ind 6alls ;eicans are a people obsessed
by privacy / / / Formalities are protected by doors/
Doors lie beyond doors/7 +!ese are lat assertions
based on limited observation at odds 6it! t!e ge*
neral be!avior o ;eicans 6!o build sub6ays,
skyscrapers, roads, !arbors, drink coca cola and eat
R
:
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;acDonald2s !amburgers and 6!o are an open,estive people/
$n an observation about an $ndian graduate
student, !e says about !er intention to intervie6
various members o !er tribe in 8ort!ern Calior*
nia in order to preserve t!e ancient stories t!at
!ave passed t!roug! generations 7$ do not mock!er intentions/ +!ere is every reason to encourage
t!e pro.ect/ But, $ t!ink, in its deepest ambition,
suc! a pro.ect is doomed to ailure/7 !y "o6
does !e kno6 !at Delp!ic po6ers !as !e
ac-uired rom reading Britis! literature
Furt!er along, !e says 7+!e 6riters 6!o teac!
me best about t!e drama o my lie are not 'meri*
can/ +!ey are Britis!/7 +!en !e cites aymond
illiams, ic!ard "oggart, D/"/ #a6rence/ !y
not
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t!at/ +raditionally t!ey !ave been categori(ed aspoetry, liturgical 6orks or man2s instruction, not
entertainment/
odrigue( also 6rites 7'mericans !ave come
to pri(e individuality, but 6it!out celebrating t!e
ot!er act about ourselves, 6!ic! is t!at 6e orm a
community/7 eally ' community represents acollectivity o people gat!ered by common inter*
ests/ +!e )nited States is ar rom being a commu*
nity/ $t2s a congeries o issured communities,
stitc!ed toget!er by orce o la6/ $ t!e )nited
States 6ere a community, 6e 6ould not !ave to
talk about a 7Black community7 or a 7C!icano
community7 or an K'sian community7 or a 7%uerto
ican community7 or an 7$ndian community
tribeH/7 odrigue( says, 7'merica is t!e country
6!ere one stops being German, stops being
C!inese/7 $s !e talking about t!e same 'merica in
6!ic! $ live Or some myt!ic country o t!e mindin 6!ic! !e lives, along 6it! t!e g!osts o &(ra
%ound and +/S/ &liot $n !is 'merica, odrigue(
says,7 'mericans end up sounding like one ano*
t!er/ 'mericans end up acting like one anot!er/7
"m +!en !e adds, 'mericans 7do not, !o6ever,
easily recogni(e our common identity / / / e
easily orget**6!at t!e rest o t!e 6orld kno6s
about us**t!at 'merica eists as a culture/7
odrigue( seems to overlook t!at culture is a
product o !omogeneity, a s!ared et!os, common
interests and aspirations/ 'merica is not one single
culture**it2s a conluence o cultures, blending
!ere, diverging t!ere/ $t2s a land o cultural diver*
sity and cultural contrast, eac! culture contributing
a patc! to t!e -uilt 6e call 'merica/ "o6ever
muc! 6e may t!ink 6e understand anot!er culture
no Gentile, or eample, can 6rite a novel about
t!e
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'merica,7 meaning !e2s as 'merican as anyoneelse/ O course !e is/ But t!e air !e breat!es is t!e
air o eart!/ Despite t!e metap!or, t!ere is no
'merican air or ;eican air or ussian air/ 'll o
us breat!e t!e air o eart!**as c!ildren o t!e eart!/
$ kno6 $2ve culled a minor point !ere but it2s an
eample o !o6 imprecisely**per!aps 7carelessly7is a better 6ord** odrigue( uses language in !is
calculations to s!ore up !is argument and to
persuade t!e reader about t!e merits o !is point o
vie6/
riting !is autobiograp!y odrigue( inorms
us !e elt estranged rom !is past, t!at !e reali(ed
!e 6as committing a ne6 sin against t!at past,
since !e 6rote t!e book against !is parentsL 6is!es
and publis!ed it against t!eir 6is!es too/ $n !er
moving autobiograp!ical 6ork, 'n(ia Me(ierska,
t!e
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'ny6ay, !e inorms us, !e became a 6riteryears later because !e 7!ungered or communal
assurance/ 'pplause +!e good revie6,7 desiring
most t!e 7good understanding7 o 'nglos**t!ose
6!o most re.ected !im as a boy 6e assume psy*
c!ologicallyH/
odrigue(2 story is ar rom a conventional'merican story, as !e describes it/ 7For genera*
tions,7 !e says, 7t!is !as been t!e pattern immi*
grants !ave arrived in t!e city and t!e c!ildren o
immigrant parents !ave gone o to sc!ool and
come !ome speaking an 'merican &nglis!/7 ould
t!at it !ad been t!at simple $t is not t!at simple
no6/
$n !is description o t!e ac-uisition o 'meri*
can &nglis! by immigrant c!ildren, odrigue(
brus!es aside t!e pedagogy t!at attends t!e teac!*
ing o &nglis! to speakers o ot!er languages/ For
immigrant c!ildren o past generations t!at peda*gogy 6as rooted in a 7sink*or*s6im7 3total immer*
sion5 approac! t!at let e6 academic survivors/ $
can attest to t!at !olocaust, !aving repeated t!e
First Grade t6ice because $ came to t!e 'merican
sc!ool as a speaker o Spanis!/
)ltimately $ did go !ome speaking &nglis!,
but at great cost to me t!at 6as not repaired until $
6as an adult/ "o6ever, many ;eican 'merican
c!ildren did not are as 6ell, as $ reported in 6orks
o :0 years ago**C K;onte(uma2s C!ildrenP 3The
$enter Maga%ineo t!e Center or t!e Study o
Democratic $nstitutions5 7Sc!ools or ;eican
'mericans7 3Satur"ay Review5 and +!e #inguistic
$mperative in +eac!ing &nglis! to Speakers o
Ot!er #anguages 3Center or 'pplied #inguistics5/
!y odrigue( s!ould be an opponent o
7Bilingual &ducation7 6!en t!e pedagogy o bilin*
gual instruction is rooted in global practices andprinciples remains a mystery, save t!at it may be
because o !is need to uel t!e 'nglop!ilic ervor
o &nglis!*only ad!erents/
But odrigue( is not 6it!out redemption, or
!e does say, 7$ am o ;eico,7 eplaining t!at !e
retains 7aspects o culture, t!e deepest ait!s and
moods7 o !is ancestors, 7an in!eritance deeper
sometimes t!an $ can reveal to you/7
"e2s partly rig!t 6!en !e argues t!at t!e
drama o !is lie 76as not an et!nic drama, but one
o social class/P For ;eican 'mericans, as or
ot!er minorities o color in t!e )nited States, t!e
drama o lie is bot! an et!nic drama and one osocial class/
'nd !eLs correct in asking !is audience
3'mericans5 not to romantici(e !is c!ild!ood and
!is predicament because !e 6as 7a c!ild o t!e
6orking class, a Nminority2 c!ild, born into t!e
culture o poverty/7 omantici(ing t!at conditiondiminis!es its reality in t!e same 6ay t!at roman*
tici(ing t!e 7noble savage7 3'merican $ndian5 in
t!e 14t! century diminis!ed t!e realities o t!e
$ndian struggle against 'nglo 'merican incursions
into t!eir lands/
odrigue( is also rig!t 6!en !e scorns cock*
tail*party patter to maintain !is cultureQ 6!atever
t!at means/ $ get t!e eeling t!at 6!at people reer
to as culture is somet!ing very simple/ ' tolerance
or c!ile/ ' !umor/ Or an eye or t!e insistent co*
lor/7 +!at2s eactly 6!at most o t!at means, based
on internali(ed stereotypes o ;eicans and;eican 'mericans, stereotypes people !ardly
kno6 t!ey !old or perceive as roots o t!eir no*
tions about people/
%aradoically !e says, 7t!e comic reality is
t!at 'merica is 6ildly, i reluctantly, multicul*
tural/7 $ t!at2s true, 6!y !as !e been saying all
t!ose t!ings about us "ave 6e misunderstood !is
6ords %er!aps Or per!aps !e needs to be clearer
about 6!at !e says and 6!at !e means/
;y sense is t!at !e2s still perpleed about !im*
sel and t!e meaning o 'merica/ "e2s still opening
books t!inking t!ey are doors to trut!s/ Books are
etensions o people t!ey lie, omit and distort/ 8o
matter !o6 Samuel Clements portrayed lie on t!e
;ississippi, "uck Finn 6as 6!ite and
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o t!eir et!nic invention in t!e )nited States, adap*ting t!eir celebrations to t!e geopolitical realities
in 6!ic! t!ey eisted/ German 'mericans invented
'merican traditions, t!e same 6ay Colonial 'me*
ricans invented 'merican traditions/ $n $hina Men,
;aine "ong Ringston !as Bak Goong e*plain
7+!at 6asn2t a custom/ e made it up/ e canmake up customs because 6e2re t!e ounding
ancestors o t!is place/7
So 6!at2s 'merican about 'merican tradi*
tions &veryt!ing and not!ing/ +!ey2ve all been
invented and reinvented by successive generations
o et!nic 'mericans/ $talian 'mericans invented
Columbus Day, $talian 6eddings and pi((erias/