General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I am Latina but pass as White [View all]BumRushDaShow
(128,845 posts)Absent non-Europeans being factored in, there is a color-code that goes on among (Caucasian) Europeans where the Southern Europeans are often mistreated more than the Northern ones. For example with Italy - you have a big difference in treatment and perception between those from Sicily (or the decedents of Sicilians - like the Cuomos and Christie) versus those from Tuscany. And don't even mention the Greeks. The most obvious group who have experienced the wrath of Europe were the minority Roma (or Romani - often dubbed the "gypsies" and I still believe that Turkey is purposely kept out of the EU because of the "swarthiness" issue.
Yeah - this color thing has a long history and this is why the code for racism here in the U.S. is so confounding and insidious to outsiders (the U.S. being far more heterogeneous than most of the rest of the world's countries). And it's because when more than one "race" is involved, then a hierarchy sets up, where previously you may have had those within a race (different ethnicities) battling internally... but that discord drops, and the "other" race is immediately deemed "inferior" (no matter how rich or poor either group is). And whoever is in the "majority" calls the shots (unless the minority can control by force like what happened in South Africa).