the politics of dancing

(picture today courtesy of one of my favorite blogs, Monkeys For Helping)

I went to work hard for the money the first time today.  So many impressions, I don't really know where to begin.  Again, everyone's really nice, although I've kind of worn that one out on this blog thus far.  I guess not all Federal Government Hospitals are equal, as evidenced by the glaring disparity between NIH and the Gallup Indian Medical Center.  Although one thing I noticed right off the bat was that they clearly put patient care before administrative concerns.  That is not to say that NIH doesn't make patient care issues a priority; towards the end of my employment there, however, I was beginning to feel like the organization was a little top-heavy, and that the leadership was accordingly limited in its ability to fully and accurately assess the needs of its patients and their caregivers.  As another Federal healthcare entity, I suppose that only time will tell if GIMC is at its core the same way or different.

It turns out that I'm going to be here for the Navajo Festival, the second weekend of September.  I'm pretty stoked, it sounds like fun.

I was talking with a good friend of mine about the social and ethnic stratification (as it were) that exists here.  Please note that this is based purely on anecdotal information.  There seem to be three predominant ethnic groups here: the Anglos (whites), Hispanics/Mexicans/Latinos, and the Native Americans (comprised of the various tribes in the region, chief among them the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Ute, Apache, or any of the other tribes--please to note that there is no noun for "indian" in the very complicated Navajo language).  How do I know this, you ask?  Well, for starters, it's been on every single form I've filled out, including my application for a library card.  On the surface, this seems very easy, to group everyone into these various categories, and I think that for purposes of co-existing, everyone more or less puts up with it.  But the distinctions between the various subgroups is where the problem lies.  Because the Spanish settled this area first, those of Spanish descent prefer to be called Hispanic, and object to being called Latino or Mexican.  It doesn't seem to matter the other way around.  The Navajo and the Hopi seem to have an on-going land-related dispute.  The Anglos aren't stratified at all.

Altogether, this creates an odd sort-of racial tension in the air.  Maybe I'm totally full of it, though, and am completely off target here.  However, having lived in both Baltimore and DC has given me unique experience in the co-existence of disparate racial groups.

Why all this analyzing, Sten?  So, after a week or so of observing the many and varied differences amongst the peoples of this area, I have come to the conclusion that as an Anglo, it is best if I just keep my mouth shut and don't say anything at all.  It seems that no matter what you say, you're bound to offend someone.  Plus, having descended from a group of people who probably played some sort of role in the genocide committed to the native peoples of the US, I have decided that I have everything to lose and nothing to gain by getting involved in the racial politics that I'm sure occur in this area with alarming frequency.

And you know, that ain't bad. I just hope that I can keep my big fat mouth shut and stay out of trouble.