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ORIGINAL: Missokyst

What I dislike about identifying with a culture is not the culture itself, it is the tendency for OTHERS to force me into a role based on what ever culture they perceive me to be born out of. This is the case both from the WASP society I grew up in and those that were my cousins. Here is the deal... it bugs the shit out of me that because I have tanned flesh that people assume I must speak spanish (I dont), must perfer Mexican food (I like most food unfortunately), must have gotten benefits based on my race (I put myself through college, and also put my children through without help), must have some affinity for other things, dance, music, ect that point toward my race .. and I am a rocker who grew up with The Beatles and the Beach Boys.

Cultural identity if fine, IF the person wants to be identified by their culture. But once people start assuming we all should embrace our roots in order to feel free I have a problem with that position. The bigger the population, the more that happens. You know what I feel when people start their push to get rid of illegals? I wonder why illegals from whiter societies are not marked. And I wonder how long it will be before someone sees my color and makes assumptions about whether or not I am legal. I don't want to end up like Cheech, from the movie Born in East LA, but at least he had some sort of accent and could wing it.