Chileans aren`t racist...because there are no black people
When I first arrived, my host father admitted that Chileans are classists (pejudiced in terms of economic status) and sexist, but was very sure theat they were not racist. However, after having lived here for over five months, I now know that he wasn`t entirely correct.Having grown up in southern California, I have always seen and known people from various racial backgrounds. When I moved to Reno, it was a bit of a shock because my university doesn`t really have that much diversity. The black (African American?) population is mainly comprised of athletes and the Hispanic population is pretty small. But in Reno in general, there is much more variation, so it isn`t too weird.
At first glance, Santiago seems to have a variety as well- I can pass as a Chilean until I open my mouth. Since the European roots are strong, it wasn`t too surprising to me to see so many blondes and fair-skinned Spanish speakers. And of course there is the stereotypical ¨Latin¨ looking people. But it didn`t take too long to realize that there exists a lack of darker skinned people, in general, especially in the well-off neighborhood where my host family lived.
That being said, it was very easy for my host father to say that Chileans aren`t racist...but if you are lactose intolerant, you have to have dairy in order to have a reaction, right?
What I mean to say is that Chileans don`t have problems with black people because there hardly are any. But after speaking to two young black women from the States, I now know that once the chocolate milk is brought into the diet, the shit starts running...
The poor girls have had nothing but problems...from people walking up to them and wanting to touch their hair and skin on the street, to being yelled and and told that they will never accomplish anything because of the color of their skin (and that was actually said by a member of their host family). Chileans will walk on the other side of the street to avoid them or wince when they notice their prescence in a store. They can`t seem to fathom why the girls don`t know more about their African roots if they have "African" names, and have made comments that darker skinned people should be treated differently because they have a "different" intelligence (was that the nice way of putting it?)
In the big picture, it is hard to be accepting of something unknown and foreign and it is very easy to make assumptions and form opinions when you don`t have much of anything to create a base off of...like the Chileans here.
But when it comes to the treatment of another human being, no matter what color their skin is or what sexual preference they have, they still deserve respect. If you don`t like that someone is gay- fine. If you don`t like that someone is black- fine. But that doesn`t make them any less of a person.
Unfortunately, until there are more exchange students or travelers who are willing to come to Chile and suffer what they may in order to prove that point, I don`t think that the Chilean culture is going change. Because without the presence it is almost impossible to make a difference.
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