What offends Dominicans?

[El Tigre]

Hummm.

I'm Dominican. Let me think real hard about what insults me???

Now I suppose you are asking this question from a cultural point of view. Different cultures get insulted differently. While there are some instults which are across the board like calling your mother names and things like that.

I'd say that one of the things I don't like is when people try to immitate the way we talk (the accent with the slang words). Some people critize me because when I'm with my "tiguere" friends I speak like a tiguere. When I'm with my professional friends I speak like a professional - you get what I mean? LOL

I hate being called Platano. That $hit irritates me. Not all Dominicans are fond of Mangu and Mofongo you know!!!

 

[ElvisNYC]

I hate being called Platano. That $hit irritates me. Not all Dominicans are fond of Mangu and Mofongo you know!!!

They're not ?

I'm joking.. Seriously, I know some of my close dominican buddies get upset when they are called platanos.

 

[M.A.R.]

Calling them Puerto Rican...........[/QUOTE

yeah that offends SOME dominicans big time but those who live abroad, it doesn't bother me though, what's the big deal, we're very similar in a lot of ways.

 

[El Tigre]

Calling them Puerto Rican...........[/QUOTE

yeah that offends SOME dominicans big time but those who live abroad, it doesn't bother me though, what's the big deal, we're very similar in a lot of ways.

Same here. Doesn't bother me either.

You have met me in person and know I'm Dominican. But who knows. If you didn't know me you would probably think I'm Puerto Rican like almost EVERYONE that meets me for the first time does.

 

[El Tigre]

BTW - what is this post doing in the Business section???

This should be in either Living or General Stuff.

 

[M.A.R.]

Same here. Doesn't bother me either.

You have met me in person and know I'm Dominican. But who knows. If you didn't know me you would probably think I'm Puerto Rican like almost EVERYONE that meets me for the first time does.

No one ever guesses where I'm from, maybe when I speak but then they think I might be puertorican. :surprised

 

[NALs]

Dominicans are insulted when people....

calls them a Platanero by a Boricua is as big an insult as being called a Haitian by anyone - even if it was a sincere misunderstanding.

Light skin and white Dominicans being confused for every single Latin American nationality, except Dominican!

Not being able to debate issues regarding Haitian immigration and/or Dominican-Haitian relations without someone calling you an anti-Haitian at some point in the conversation.

Being confused for being poor --- this is a very bad insult to middle class and upper class Dominicans.

Old money upper class being put in the same plate as new money upper class. Ouch!

If you visit a Dominican home, EAT WHATEVER THEY OFFER YOU, even if you are not hungry. To reject is a mortal sin!!! :cheeky: At the very least they will call you either a "comparon" or "ma?oso" if you refuse to eat.

Having to debate with other people that you are in fact a Dominican!

Being too reserved. Dominicans, we tend to be very expressive people and its common place for there to be alot of touching while conversing with someone. Dominicans can be in line at a supermarket on the checkout section and will spark a conversation with each other as if they have known each other for years! If you are in a group of Dominicans and they start to move around and sing to a favorite song, join them!

A foreigner who makes absolutely no attempt to speak Spanish!!! Even if all you know how to say is Hola, SAY IT!!!

Pushy people does get into a Dominican's nerves. Whatever you do, do not become pushy or demanding of a Dominican. Ask for what you want once, then wait. It may take a while, but any other insinuation towards pressuring the Dominican to do something might spark a little heated moments. aranoid:

People who are always rushing. If you are late, you are late regardless so relax. If you are early, you are early so relax. If you are on time, you are on time so relax. Get the picture?

That's it for now.

-NALs

 

[sweetdbt]

I've had a couple of Dominicans in customer service jobs (hotel desk clerk and car rental agent) get offended when I insisted in dealing with them in Spanish. Now my Spanish is not that great, but after trying to communicate with these folks in English and just not being able to get my point across, I found that it was much easier when we switched to Spanish (for me at least). I guess they had put some effort into learning English, and felt they were proficient, if not fluent.

 

[Mirador]

Dominicans do not offend or take offense very easily, however, they're pushovers with a dose of flattery...

...

 

[bienamor]

fine except when you need to get something done

Pushy people does get into a Dominican's nerves. Whatever you do, do not become pushy or demanding of a Dominican. Ask for what you want once, then wait. It may take a while, but any other insinuation towards pressuring the Dominican to do something might spark a little heated moments. aranoid: -NALs

This is not good advice if you are working on something that has a deadline, If the Dominican has worked with foreigners, not normally a problem, as they understand what a deadline is!

You won't get it (whatever it is) until you ask for at least the 2nd time

 

[miguel]

My turn!

I don't know about ALLL Dominicans but what irritates ME is:

When an ignorant person tells me:

"Oh but you don't look Dominican since you are not black and you don't speak with an "i"".

It really bothers the hell of of me. But after putting them in "their places", I DO start to feel better, LOL.

Btw, calling a Dominican "platano" is my second worse. No morons, not ALL Dominicans eat platanos!.

Btw #2: being called "y que mi loco" by SOME Dominicans does not "sit" well with me either!. I usually tell them: "mi loco es el culo tuyo", LOL.

 

[M.A.R.]

I don't know about ALLL Dominicans but what irritates ME is:

When an ignorant person tells me:

"Oh but you don't look Dominican since you are not black and you don't speak with an "i"".

It really bothers the hell of of me. But after putting them in "their places", I DO start to feel better, LOL.

Btw, calling a Dominican "platano" is my second one. No morons, not ALL Dominicans eat platanos!.

Btw #2: being called "y que mi loco" by SOME Dominicans does not "sit" well with me either!. I usually tell them: "mi loco es el culo tuyo", LOL.

Y QUE MI LOCO?? ta' to'

 

[Potato_Salad]

A lot of helpful and interesting feedbacks. Thank you again!

This Chino is learning a lot about the Dominican Republic. lol :bunny:

 

[puertorricane]

calls them a Platanero by a Boricua is as big an insult as being called a Haitian by anyone - even if it was a sincere misunderstanding.

-NALs

to me this is stupid... i been called mexican, dominican, cuban.. it all depends in what part of the country you are in miami everybody is cuban in texas mexican and so and so.. but if you get insulted it means you think you better then they are.. if somebody ask me if im dominican i'll respectfully will tell them no and explain where im from but thats not reason to get insulted... i see a lot of racism in your post.. also your comment about being asked if your poor tells me all i need to know about you..... and you get mad if a boricua calls you platano but not anybody else... ok... sometimes when i was in NY people ask me if i was boricua and i said yes and they will tell me ... esa mancha de platano no te la quita cualquiera.. wich means no matter how long im away or how much i change i cant deny where im from.... i take it as a compliment not a insult...

 

[Exxtol]

Light skin and white Dominicans being confused for every single Latin American nationality, except Dominican!

Not being able to debate issues regarding Haitian immigration and/or Dominican-Haitian relations without someone calling you an anti-Haitian at some point in the conversation.

Having to debate with other people that you are in fact a Dominican!

Nals, we're talking about what offends dominicans in general, not what offends you . And yes we all know, you're a self-proclaimed white dominican--good lord get over it already. Debates on your heritage?? Come on.......are people really that interested? :ermm:

And flipping the other side of the coin--you'd be surprised how many black dominicans get the, "you speak spanish?" and "you're latino?" look outside of the northeast. Most americans (outside of nueva yol) don't even know where the dominican republic is, let alone what the folks look like.

 

[ElvisNYC]

Pushy people does get into a Dominican's nerves. Whatever you do, do not become pushy or demanding of a Dominican. Ask for what you want once, then wait. It may take a while, but any other insinuation towards pressuring the Dominican to do something might spark a little heated moments. aranoid:
-NALs

Ha ha ! I think they( most latinos) forget this once it's time to board an airplane, bus or wait on a line..

 

[Rocky]

I thought others would chime in about the face slapping insult.
You don't have to whack the guy to make him go nuts, a soft slap will do the trick.
This enough to make the tamest of Dominicans turn into a killer, and if he isn't able to do it right then & there, he will lie in wait for you and put your lights out forever.
When I first heard of a Dominican killing another for having slapped him in the face, I couldn't believe it.
I asked one of our warehouse workers, a real easy going soft spoken dude, what he would do if someone slapped him in the fae.
He took a 30 seconds or so, before responding, "I guess I would have to kill him".
I personally know a Dominican who took 3 days to manage to ambush a fellow who had face slapped him, and, of course, he killed him.
Ask some of your Dominican friends, if you don't believe it.

 

[Onions&carrots]

If you promise a dominican some goods, present, money and then back off with a legit excuse. For ex-pats who are used to not giving gifts. If you arrive at the DR and you only bring gifts for your girlfriend but not her family. If the gifts are not designer brands, this is also offensive to dominicans.

 

[dulce]

I can testify about the face slapping being an insult. I made that mistake once and I knew in an instant that it was a mistake! The look in the man's face said it all! I did live to tell about it thank God because the man did not believe in hitting women. He certainly did deserve the slap too and he knew it.
Also when using American sayings you need to be careful because it may mean a totally diferent thing to a Dominican. Once when challenging someone to a dare and he was afraid to take the dare I called him a chicken. WOW, he was totally insulted by that. I tried to explain that when someone is called a chicken chit in America it means that they are afraid to do something. No way was he excepting that definition. In his mind I was calling him a piece of chit. Another time when joking around with an American friend I called her a son of a bitch. A Dominican who was near by was insulted and yelled at me for calling my friend a son of a female dog. He took it literally and considered it a huge insult. Jokes sometimes do not translate well into a different culture and language.

 

[bienamor]

Don't know where you live but

I can testify about the face slapping being an insult. I made that mistake once and I knew in an instant that it was a mistake! The look in the man's face said it all! I did live to tell about it thank God because the man did not believe in hitting women. He certainly did deserve the slap too and he knew it.
Also when using American sayings you need to be careful because it may mean a totally diferent thing to a Dominican. Once when challenging someone to a dare and he was afraid to take the dare I called him a chicken. WOW, he was totally insulted by that. I tried to explain that when someone is called a chicken chit in America it means that they are afraid to do something. No way was he excepting that definition. In his mind I was calling him a piece of chit. Another time when joking around with an American friend I called her a son of a bitch. A Dominican who was near by was insulted and yelled at me for calling my friend a son of a female dog. He took it literally and considered it a huge insult. Jokes sometimes do not translate well into a different culture and language.

Believe me dear that chicken chit is a pile of chicken s*it where I come from, and a hijo de perra are fighting words (my mother was not a bitch,we don't talk about my mama), neither is a joke. and thats midwest, south, may be a couple of jokes in the big city, but not in the country. Calling somebody chicken is telling them they will not do the dare but add chit to it changes the meaning!