A Dominican hillbilly acclimating to American culture in 70's

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frank12

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Sep 6, 2011
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When my brother, Papin, came to the U.S in 1972, he was 15yrs old and did not speak English, had never been in a car, never experienced uninterrupted electricity, never experienced hot water, never seen a washing machine or dryer, never seen shag carpeting, never lived in a house with a television, never spoken to a white person, never had a venereal disease, and thought the crabs in his pants were pets. He also had never even been to Santo Domingo except when he went to the airport to fly out of the DR.

After arriving in Ohio in 72', he was immediately labeled an African American. Afros were the thing in 1972, but in the DR where he had arrived from, they were not. It took him sometime to acclimate, and it wasn't long before he was sporting a very enormous, ceiling reaching, lightning conducting Afro. By 17yrs of age, he was an extremely fit 220lbs boy, and everyone in high school enrolled him into sports--wrestling and football--in particular. He was enormous for 17yrs, but was not tall (he was 5'11), just extremely wide. He was the perfect running back.

When he arrived to Dayton,Ohio, he could not believe that people were not killing and eating all the migrating Canadian geese, ducks and turtles. He and my father would go hunting for dinner and bring back people's pet ducks, rabbits, and turtles, and any other pet that people were stupid enough to fatten up and leave unattended in their back yards. This was the early 70's. Our neighbors were horrified. My mother was horrified. They brought back pigs, Canadian geese, and any duck or eatable animal they came across; they would cook them in our back yard. My friends were shocked, our neighbors were shocked, and yet, here in the middle of an urban jungle, sat two Dominican hillbillies totally oblivious to what anyone thought about their eating and thieving habits.

People called my brother N1igger, Porch Monkey, Spear Chucker, Jungle Bunny...you name it. The labels were meaningless to him. Words never, ever offended him then, nor now. Occasionally, he would tell people, "I'm Dominican." People would stare blank at him. No one in Ohio had heard of the Dominican Republic in the early 70's.

For reasons no one really understood, he immediately took a liking to American Rock music. He loved Led Zeppelin, Santana, Rolling Stones, Steve Miller Band, Pink Floyd, etc. All of his friends were white, his girlfriends were white, my mom was white, and he regularly went to Rock concerts where he was the only black person--or one of the few black people in the audience. Needless to say, he stood out. Here, in front row, was a 220lbs -250lbs NFL looking black person who looked like a combination Jimi Hendrix & Jim Brown, standing in the front row smoking pot and playing air guitar. He was a total enigma, and people gravitated over to our house day and night to hang out with him. He brought so many crazy, bizarre, and absurd habits with him from the Dominican Republic that people were mesmerized by him.

Some of the habits he brought with him were these:

1. He grew up riding horses and mules (he never been a car until 72), so he would routinely jump over people's fences and "borrow" people's horses for the day. He would lasso them and ride them bareback. His white friends would come along and gaze in bewilderment at him---many of them had never been on a horse before; he would teach them how to ride. Girls loved it, and he used it as a way to get laid.

2. He had never driven a car until he reached 18yrs old in 1975. My father gave him a Ford Galaxy 500. He routinely took the car off-roading and came back with farmer's pigs, sheep, and anything else eatable that he 'Borrowed" from different farms around Ohio at night.

3. He loved fishing, and would spend days fishing in State parks where he fished "without a license." he would dress up in camouflage and fish until he either ran out of beer or bait...which ever came first. He would cook the fish right next to him and eat the fish while he continued to fish for days. He never understood why people were buying fish in supermarkets when they were everywhere waiting to be caught.

But the thing about brother is this: he never, ever got offended by derogatory names or phrases. One reason is because he could "not" identify with African Americans plight--and you will notice this is also true for almost all Hispanics--they do not identify with the sensitivities of black Americans. My brother's nick names of "Buckwheat" and "Tar-baby" are terms of endearment to him. People do not call him "Papin," ever--the name is too foreign sounding and no one can remember it--including his teachers, professors, and employers. My brother could never identify with anything African American. He dislikes R&B music, hates rap, and could never identify with many of the prevalent negative attitudes with many African Americans; he strongly dislikes any culture of "blame." While in the Army, he and his army buddies would go out and drink beer, chase women, raise hell, and listen to Rock music. He was in a rock band, and hence, always hung out with white people or latins because he loved their music.

In my book--The Sex Lives of Misfits--my brother is the "Rocketman" character. All of those crazy stories are about him and his life. He really is a math genius in the book whom came to University classes dressed in velvet Panchos that he made out of old discarded curtains. Oh, and he loves hallucinogens.

Frank
 

Rafael Perez

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Oct 21, 2007
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When my brother, Papin, came to the U.S in 1972, he was 15yrs old and did not speak English, had never been in a car, never experienced uninterrupted electricity, never experienced hot water, never seen a washing machine or dryer, never seen shag carpeting, never lived in a house with a television, never spoken to a white person, never had a venereal disease, and thought the crabs in his pants were pets. He also had never even been to Santo Domingo except when he went to the airport to fly out of the DR.

After arriving in Ohio in 72', he was immediately labeled an African American. Afros were the thing in 1972, but in the DR where he had arrived from, they were not. It took him sometime to acclimate, and it wasn't long before he was sporting a very enormous, ceiling reaching, lightning conducting Afro. By 17yrs of age, he was an extremely fit 220lbs boy, and everyone in high school enrolled him into sports--wrestling and football--in particular. He was enormous for 17yrs, but was not tall (he was 5'11), just extremely wide. He was the perfect running back.

When he arrived to Dayton,Ohio, he could not believe that people were not killing and eating all the migrating Canadian geese, ducks and turtles. He and my father would go hunting for dinner and bring back people's pet ducks, rabbits, and turtles, and any other pet that people were stupid enough to fatten up and leave unattended in their back yards. This was the early 70's. Our neighbors were horrified. My mother was horrified. They brought back pigs, Canadian geese, and any duck or eatable animal they came across; they would cook them in our back yard. My friends were shocked, our neighbors were shocked, and yet, here in the middle of an urban jungle, sat two Dominican hillbillies totally oblivious to what anyone thought about their eating and thieving habits.

People called my brother N1igger, Porch Monkey, Spear Chucker, Jungle Bunny...you name it. The labels were meaningless to him. Words never, ever offended him then, nor now. Occasionally, he would tell people, "I'm Dominican." People would stare blank at him. No one in Ohio had heard of the Dominican Republic in the early 70's.

For reasons no one really understood, he immediately took a liking to American Rock music. He loved Led Zeppelin, Santana, Rolling Stones, Steve Miller Band, Pink Floyd, etc. All of his friends were white, his girlfriends were white, my mom was white, and he regularly went to Rock concerts where he was the only black person--or one of the few black people in the audience. Needless to say, he stood out. Here, in front row, was a 220lbs -250lbs NFL looking black person who looked like a combination Jimi Hendrix & Jim Brown, standing in the front row smoking pot and playing air guitar. He was a total enigma, and people gravitated over to our house day and night to hang out with him. He brought so many crazy, bizarre, and absurd habits with him from the Dominican Republic that people were mesmerized by him.

Some of the habits he brought with him were these:

1. He grew up riding horses and mules (he never been a car until 72), so he would routinely jump over people's fences and "borrow" people's horses for the day. He would lasso them and ride them bareback. His white friends would come along and gaze in bewilderment at him---many of them had never been on a horse before; he would teach them how to ride. Girls loved it, and he used it as a way to get laid.

2. He had never driven a car until he reached 18yrs old in 1975. My father gave him a Ford Galaxy 500. He routinely took the car off-roading and came back with farmer's pigs, sheep, and anything else eatable that he 'Borrowed" from different farms around Ohio at night.

3. He loved fishing, and would spend days fishing in State parks where he fished "without a license." he would dress up in camouflage and fish until he either ran out of beer or bait...which ever came first. He would cook the fish right next to him and eat the fish while he continued to fish for days. He never understood why people were buying fish in supermarkets when they were everywhere waiting to be caught.

But the thing about brother is this: he never, ever got offended by derogatory names or phrases. One reason is because he could "not" identify with African Americans plight--and you will notice this is also true for almost all Hispanics--they do not identify with the sensitivities of black Americans. My brother's nick names of "Buckwheat" and "Tar-baby" are terms of endearment to him. People do not call him "Papin," ever--the name is too foreign sounding and no one can remember it--including his teachers, professors, and employers. My brother could never identify with anything African American. He dislikes R&B music, hates rap, and could never identify with many of the prevalent negative attitudes with many African Americans; he strongly dislikes any culture of "blame." While in the Army, he and his army buddies would go out and drink beer, chase women, raise hell, and listen to Rock music. He was in a rock band, and hence, always hung out with white people or latins because he loved their music.

In my book--The Sex Lives of Misfits--my brother is the "Rocketman" character. All of those crazy stories are about him and his life. He really is a math genius in the book whom came to University classes dressed in velvet Panchos that he made out of old discarded curtains. Oh, and he loves hallucinogens.

Frank

Very cool story Frank12! I'm surprised he wasn't one of the Dominicans that think that New York is the United States.You know how every Dominicans want to go to to Nueba Yol despite the other 49 states available.
 

Squat

Tropical geek in Las Terrenas
Jan 1, 2002
2,239
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That's cool, this sounds like a nice guy... What happened to him? How was the rest of his life? Di he ever come back to live in the DR?
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
33,997
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Very cool story Frank12! I'm surprised he wasn't one of the Dominicans that think that New York is the United States.You know how every Dominicans want to go to to Nueba Yol despite the other 49 states available.

they want to go to Nueba Yol, because they think that that is the name of the country.
 

frank12

Gold
Sep 6, 2011
11,847
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A little more about my brother and his perspectives.

As i mentioned several times already, despite being Haitian-Dominican, my brother cold never identify with African Americans. All of his friends in high school were white, his friends in the Army were white, and his friends in college were white. He loved going to rock concerts in the 70's, and for whatever reason, groups like Peter Frampton, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Boston, and Pink Floyd spoke to him in ways African American music did not.

I always wondered, and still do, what pushed a black Hispanic man into an almost exclusively white oriented American culture? What made him attracted to rock music? to white people? to American muscle cars? to AP Calculus? to American sports? to white girls?

One of the answers is that he strongly disliked what he saw in high school with many African Americans attitudes. He also disliked what he perceived as people living in a rich country, full of incredible opportunities, and yet, walking around with a chip on their shoulder. To him, America was so full of opportunities and choices that he never imagined. He had ever lived with consistent electricity (Bonao only had about 5 hours of electricity in the 60's & 70's), he never lived in a place with a flushing toilet (my grandparents house where he lived only had an outhouse); he never lived in a place where people in high school had cars...cars!! (he had never been in a car until 1972); he had never lived in a place where anyone could find a job and make $100 a week (1972); he had never lived in a place with two floors and a basement--and with a tv on each floor of the house; he had never lived in a place with a washer and dryer machine...he had never heard of a dishwasher machine, a blender, a toaster, etc.

For a poor Dominican coming to America in the 70's, it was unfathomable to envision so much choices and opportunity. Opportunity was everywhere. Food and diversity was everywhere; people were not milking cows twice a day in the back yard; people were not running to the colmado to buy two eggs and some yuca. Their were big supermarkets and stores and malls in America; their were drive up restaurants and Drive-through's! He had never even been to Santo Domingo except to go to the airport to fly to America. In the 70's, everyone worked...all of his friends worked and had money; he couldn't understand why no one worked, when to him, work was everywhere! Food was everywhere! Fish and ducks and turtles were everywhere...waiting to be eaten.

When he was 18yrs old, he would cut grass, shovel snow for $5. People around him told him that grown men do not do this kind of work. He laughed, to him, money was money. When he got the opportunity to join the Army, he was so happy because he found out that he would be able to eat all he wanted for free, and even get paid!!

When you come to America for the first time--and you come from deep poverty where you must walk into your back yard and use an outhouse, where you must milk a cow when you need milk, where you get on a mule to go somewhere--and then you hear someone complain...how are you ever going to relate to this kind of attitude? How are you ever going to relate to walking around with a chip on your shoulder? For this reason, and more, he could never relate to African Americans. There is a reason why first generation Hispanics and Asians do not identify with African Americans at all. They come to America and see opportunity everywhere. They left their outhouses behind, they left their donkey and horses behind, and they left their $2 workday behind. For them, America is a land of opportunity, not some place you come to complain.

Frank
 

Eugeniefs

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Jan 24, 2008
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Thanks for sharing Frank - isn't it refreshing to see someone without a chip on their shoulder (no matter where you come from!)
 

flyinroom

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Aug 26, 2012
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Refreshing you say?
Hmmm...
I see something else.
Is Frankie going fishing?
Quite frankly I'm disappointed....and more than a little surprised.

Btw....
Who is the subject.
Whom is the object.
just sayin'.
We've discussed this before.
 

Tarheel

Well-known member
Dec 19, 2005
619
197
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Hey Frank,

My best regards. Just for clarification you say your brother is black. Do you consider your self to be black? Is this about Bob Sanders calling The Gordon "Buckwheat"? Common courtesy goes a long way. Name calling (and Bob meant it to be demeaning) is not a good thing. You do understand that don't you? Didn't you have a problem with a friend in Cabarete when you suggested a demeaning nickname for him? Didn't you lose a friendship because of it?

I don't like it when everything bad that goes on in the DR is automatically blamed on Haitians. I know more good ones than bad ones. How about you?
 

frank12

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Sep 6, 2011
11,847
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Hey Frank,

My best regards. Just for clarification you say your brother is black. Do you consider your self to be black? Is this about Bob Sanders calling The Gordon "Buckwheat"? Common courtesy goes a long way. Name calling (and Bob meant it to be demeaning) is not a good thing. You do understand that don't you? Didn't you have a problem with a friend in Cabarete when you suggested a demeaning nickname for him? Didn't you lose a friendship because of it?

I don't like it when everything bad that goes on in the DR is automatically blamed on Haitians. I know more good ones than bad ones. How about you?

I couldn't agree with you more...especially since my father is Dominican, and my brother's mother is Haitian-Dominican. My brother was born and raised in Bonao. He came to the U.S in 1972.

Frank
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
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Sorry, this has gone on several days now, not "DR Living", don't want to move it to Off Topic because you started the same thread there already, so the only thing left to do is say adios.
 
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