Filipino Jumping Beans
10 Aug
Don't mess with these jumping beans!
I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it.
He probably thought he was being cute. Maybe funny, maybe even friendly.
But calling my multi-racial children "Mexican Jumping Beans" was none of those things.
Here's what went down:
My mom, our nanny Martha (who is Mexican) and my two little boys were at a local diner for breakfast yesterday. The boys were bouncing to their table (as boys usually do), when they walked by a man who muttered "Mexican Jumping Beans" to them as they passed.
My mom, who is unaccustomed to this type of comment, smiled and went to their seat. As she sat there, she became more and more angry. Why did this random person think it was OK to say anything to them as they passed, let alone make some off-hand racial comment?
Coming from a white, middle class family, I too don't experience this type of classification…ever really. It makes me sad to think that some people are going to see my smart, funny, quirky little boys by the skin color first. I need to think of a snappy come back, beyond "hey - they aren't even mexican, jack-ass!" (Which, is totally besides the point, anyway.)
The reality is that they are going to experience things like this from time to time, and this instance was pretty mild. Martha, our nanny, deals with this on a daily basis it seems. When we are out together, people often won't speak directly to her, assuming she doesn't speak English. Or, she just gets treated subtly differently. Maybe they'll check her entrance ticket a few times more than everyone else. Or ask her if she paid again..and again.
This type of treatment is pervasive and difficult to combat. And honestly, I don't know what the right way to react is. We've talked about race on MBW before (here and here) and I'm sure this won't be the last time.
The one funny outcome? Ernest has taken to calling the boys Filipino Jumping Beans around the house. Way to turn that around, right? Your words have no power, stupid guy.
Bonus: here a video of the boys doing the robot in that very diner. Tangential, yes, but totally cute:
The video is awesome!
Hi! I am Louie Shane Raymundo of the College of Fine Arts, University of Sto. Tomas. I am currently working on my thesis which covers the buying and fashion preferences of little girls. I was hoping you could help me by posting the link of my online survey on your webpages so that moms who read your blogs and have 4-8 year old daughters could answer it. I would really appreciate your help. Thank you so much!
Here is the link: http://www.kwiksurveys.com/?s=NMDIOI_372f859c