Pasha:
Sometime in 1998, I remember at work I was handed a computer print-out which contained my personal information. I was asked to look it over and correct any errors or omissions. Well, the only error I found was the word "Hispanic" typed onto the "Ethnicity/Race" category that supposedly "best" described me. I quickly crossed it out and wrote "Latina". The words were changed, and nothing was ever said about it (to me).
That experience may have been brushed off as a matter of semantics to some, but to this day, I feel very strongly about the meaning and description of those words, because I feel that the term "Hispanic" is neither politically-correct nor, more importantly, accurate. "Hispanic" does not properly include all of our ancestry, neither geographically nor culturally-speaking. Therefore, as a Dominican, I have always preferred the term Latina, and I think Dominicans in general should be referred to as Latinos, since our country (at times) was colonized by both Spain and France.
(Good thread, by the way.)
samiam: We don't have--and have never had-- a 'spic' heritage. Please remove that very insulting and derogatory word from your vocabulary. Thank you.
-Indie