Paper Example on Personal Ethnic Identity

Introduction

Ethnic identity refers to a sense of belonging or the extent to which one views themselves or by others with a given ethnical group or groups. This is usually associated with one's behavior, thinking, perceptions and personal feelings. Ethnic identity can also be viewed as a concept whereby individuals of mixed ethnic and racial cultures choose to associate themselves with a certain group with consideration of social aspects or genetic determinations. In general, ethical identity is just a self-concept on how one classifies themselves among different groups they belong to and how they find themselves similar to given cultural groups. In this case, one can identify and associate themselves with a different ethnical group from the one they initially belonged to. This is because, in some incidents, one can find themselves in a bi-racial and multi-ethnical background and be forced to choose between two groups. This paper explores a pivotal incident that occurred in my life that has contributed to the development of my own ethnic identity.

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General Personal Life Details

I am 36 years old who has grown up in Missouri City, Texas as a Caucasian and African American. An African-American ethnicity is a minority group in the United States that traces its origin to the black race of Africa. To be precise, African-American ethnic group is a direct descendant of the blacks who were enslaved in the United States. It is important to note that during the 16th and 17th century, Africans were forcefully taken from their native homes in Africa and transported to the United States to serve as slaves (Bryc et al., 2015). After slavery was abolished, this ethnic group settled in the United States thereby becoming citizens of the United States with equal rights as the majority White race. On the other hand, Caucasian simply refers to the white race. The ability to identify myself with these ethnic groupings has made me a bi-racial person. I have two active children, 12-year-old son, and a 4-year-old daughter. Presently, I work as a police officer in the North Houston Area. I attended Prairie View A&M University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice. In detail, my family is both bi-racial and multi-ethnical considering the fact that my grandparents from either side are from different ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds. To be precise, my mother's parents are from North Dakota and my father's father comes from Texas, while his mother is from Louisiana. This makes me and my family be quite diversified in terms of culture and the reason as to why my family does not consider color as an affiliation. Considering these factors and the fact that I come from a family of 6 children, 4 boys and two girls and life in the civil service, I, together with my family, have been groomed and we can adapt well to any setting and accommodate people from different backgrounds, race, ethnic settings and cultures well. My own self-identification experience is diversified across all human social aspects, which has really been of importance in my professional life as well.

Description and Context of the Critical Incident and Its Relation to Ethnic Identity Development

As a police officer in the North Houston Area, I come across many clients in my line of duty some Hispanic, some Latinos, black and white and dealing with them all does not only need understanding but also good personal experience and sense that relates directly or indirectly to their own life experience. It is important to note that as a police officer, my role major role is to serve and protect the community (Perry, 2013). Just like other police officers I also monitor criminal activities, make arrests, issue tickets, receive emergency calls, testify in court, take a central role in community patrols, and investigate crimes. I also help citizens during emergency and crisis such as the occurrence of a natural disaster. Moreover, I offer advice and teach the community on how to avoid or handle dangerous situations that may put their lives in jeopardy. As a police officer, I can be called to duty at any time of the day, whether during holidays, nights, or daytime.

One Sunday morning, I was on duty as usual. The day seemed normal just like any other working day. Suddenly, a domestic disturbance call came in from the nearby neighborhood in my beat. I responded to the call as dispatch provided me the address and labeled the call a priority two as a matter of emergency. Upon arrival to the residence, I observed a couple with visible marks on their neck and throat and determined a fierce physical fight occurred between them. Despite my physical presence at the scene, the two couples continued to fight. They threw jibes and punches at one another without considering my presence as a police officer. This made me to forcefully gaining access to their house. I noted the wife was a Caucasian female and the husband an African-American male. There was a raging war of words as well as physical fights between the couples as no couple was willing to back down. I had to immediately separate them and place both parties under arrest for domestic violence charges.

The problem came by when I tried to counsel the two, as none would listen to me simply because I did not belong to any of their races or assumed I could not relate. At one point, the husband told me blatantly that I know nothing about the life of a black American more so a man and their challenges because I do not look anything like them. The wife did not like me nor did she like my skin color, which looked something close to her husband's and from her view, her source of problems. Until this point, I had identified myself as a multi-cultural, ethnic, race and thought I would fit anywhere. I believed I could solve any problem irrespective of the race or ethnicity of the people involved. To my dismay, this could work against me in some situations, but it taught me one very important lesson, color, culture, ethnic or the family background does not matter, but it is wise to belong to a particular group.

For a long time, I have been identifying myself as a bi-racial and multi-cultural person who is able to mingle with people from diverse communities and cultures. I believe in judging people based on their character and not on their ethnicity or race. Since the community I serve mainly comprises of Hispanics and Latinos, my culture will enable me to embrace diversity and individual differences of my clients irrespective of their ethnicity or racial composition. According to Yip (2014), ethnic identity is one's sense of belonging to a particular ethnic group or the extent to which a person identifies with a given ethnic group. Ethnic identity involves four main components. The first component is ethnic awareness in which a person understands one's own ethnic group and those of others. The second component is ethnic behavior which encompasses behavior patterns that are distinct to a particular ethnic group.

The third component is ethnic self-identification. This is the label given to a particular ethnic group. The final component of ethnic identity is ethnic attitude which involves feelings that a person has about his or her own ethnic group and those of others. Thus, it is evident that during my encounter with the violent couples, ethnic identity came to play. Rather than seeing me as a police officer whose sole duty is to maintain law and order and to give counseling should there be any need, the two couples profiled me based on my ethnicity. For instance, the wife associated me with violence since her husband was an African-America, a violent man. On the other hand, the husband of the Caucasian woman had the notion that I could not offer any piece of advice since I was a woman from African-American race.

Ethnicity and Hispanic or Latino Citizens and Immigrants

Aspects of Ethnicity in Grande's Novel Similar to My Own Ethnic Identity

There are many aspects of ethnicity in Grande's novel that its characters share with my own ethnic identity. One such similarity is religion. As a matter of fact, religion plays a huge role in Mexican culture. It is paramount to remember that Mexican culture is part of the larger Hispanic culture. Element of religion is evident in the novel when "Ama nodded, then knelt on the dirt floor and made the sign of the cross Juana watched the fame of the candle flickering on La Virgen de Guadalupe's brown face and dedicated all her prayers to her then she picked up her rosary and kissed the metal cross" (Grande, 2006). This implies that the characters such as Ama and Juana in Grande's novel were religious and had a strong faith in their religion. Likewise, I am a religious person brought up in a family in which both parents are staunch Catholics. Rarely do I miss attending masses on Sundays or participate in church activities.

Another important aspect of ethnicity in the novel that I find similar is a cultural shock. By definition, cultural shock is personal disorientation that a person faces when in a new cultural environment that is totally dissimilar to one's own. In the novel, it is notable that when Juana crosses the border as Adelina Vasquez, her entire life changed. She met people who practised cultures that were different from hers. Similarly, my incident as a police officer on that Sunday morning led to a cultural shock. Before that incident, I considered myself to be a multicultural and bi-racial person who believed in fitting in any cultural group. However, to my dismay, the couples turned down my help citing my ethnicity as the main reason.

Aspects of Ethnicity in Grande's Novel dissimilar to My Own Ethnic Identity

On the other hand, there are many aspects of ethnicity in Grande's novel that are pertinent to the characters in the novel but are completely dissimilar to my own ethnic identity. In the novel, Juana and Adelina use sexuality to gain favors. For instance, Juana uses her sexuality to obtain information about her father's whereabouts. On another side, Adelina effectively uses her sexuality to keep her abusive boyfriend around. However, this is totally different from my case. Even though I am a female police officer, I have never used sexuality as a way of obtaining any favors from anybody, not even getting a job. I believe that success comes from hard work and relentless prayers. Even when I am on duty, I have never used my sexuality to obtain information during investigations.

Another aspect of ethnicity in Grande's novel that is dissimilar to my own ethnic identity is mental health. Mental health is an aspect of ethnicity. Normally, discriminative practices based on ethnic identity lead to depressive outcomes. From the novel, Dona Matilde suffers from depression, a condition that has detrimental effects on her health and wellbeing. She rarely smiles or even comes out of the house. In addition, she has a cheating husband (Grande, 2006). This is totally different from my own ethnic identity. I am a healthy woman who has no mental illness. Therefore, it is worth noting that, whereas some of the characters in Grande's novel have similar aspects of ethnicity that are similar to my own ethnic identity, some characters in the novel portray aspects of ethnicity contrary to my own ethnic identity.

Ways to Enhance Cultural Diversity When Working With the Latino and Hispanic Clients

To effectively serve Hispanics and Latino clients, I will keep in mind that each client has a unique and different story. For this reason, I will give each client the required attention in order to help them solve their problems. As a police officer, I will put the needs of my clients first before my own. Since Hispanic and Latino culture believes in a gradual development of a meaningful relationship, I will use virtues such as kindness, car...