Costa Rica: Gays, Nicaraguans face most discrimination, US citizens the least: poll

If you don’t like it then you can just leave now!

Strange survey. Why would you ask the general public whether minorities within it experience discrimination? I’d think you’d ask the minorities. This mentioned, the results look roughly accurate to me.

Regarding discrimination against “US citizens” (probably not the term the researchers wanted, since odds are Ticos include Canadians and others in the same cultural category while excluding Ticos with US citizenship), yes, it happens.

Most of it stems from the stereotype that we are rich but stupid. From this arises the “gringo price,” although that actually doesn’t happen that often once you know your way around. Knowing your way around though doesn’t help you when the panhandlers ignore passing Latinos in order to pester you on the sidewalk. Neither, especially, does knowing your way around help you much with the most painful form of discrimination this stereotype encourages, namely being targeted by prostitutes and shunned by non-prostitutes. Male gringos of a certain ago have such a reputation for patronizing prostitutes that Ticas who don’t want to be perceived as prostitutes actively avoid us, while the prostitutes and the gold diggers target us. To some much smaller extent, this dynamic surfaces in non-amorous relationships too. If a male Tico seems to want to befriend me (I’m not gay) I also have to be on my guard lest it be the prelude to a con, born also of the stereotype that I’m rich but stupid. Although these forms of discrimination are mild compared say to being denied housing because of a “no gringo” policy (although this has happened to me twice), they may in some ways be as bad because they have an exclusionary effect. You just know that as a “US citizen” you won’t be easily included into Tico society, no matter how hard you try.

As I’ve mulled this, I have concluded that my countrymen bear most of the responsibility for this stereotype and the discrimination that flows from it. Of course, “US citizens” do tend to be richer than Ticos, and I don’t recommend that my countrymen give their money away, so to some extent the stereotype is unavoidable. However, in my observations, many “US citizens” not only flaunt their wealth but also tie their self-concepts to flaunting it.

This starts with the all too common refrain among “US citizens” that merely by buying what we want in Costa Rica, we are “investing” in the country. I dunno, but when I go to a restuarant in Akron or Atlanta, I consider what I’m doing to be spending money, not “investing” it, and would imagine that most of my countrymen would feel the same way. But mysteriously, as soon as many spend money in a restaurant in Costa Rica, they fancy themselves as “investing” in the country. Same with housing and so on. It’s an attitude that ties the value of “US citizens” in Costa Rica to our spending money, so no wonder Ticos consider us mainly good for our money.

Unfortunately, the attitude extends to buying, or trying to buy, people. “US citizens” have a tendency to overpay service workers in Costa Rica, whether by tipping too much in restaurants, overpaying maids, or of course “helping” poor people who also just happen to be providing them with sexual services. Almost always the “US citizens” believe that they are being magnanimous in their generosity, but I’m not sure that this is their only motive. Usually when people overpay, they expect something in return, and if it’s not a material return, it’s probably respect and deference. But if “US citizens” are tying the respect and deference they feel they deserve to their expenditures of money, isn’t it logical that Ticos would equate us with our money?

Even more unfortunate is that the stereoptype may be fueled by charitable activities. Arguably charity is inherently condescending to the recipient. At least it is quite difficult to operate a charity without creating dependency on the part of the recipients. Insofar as “US citizens” do this, we are also intensifying the linkages between our perceived worth and our money.

There are exceptions, but most of the “US citizens” in Costa Rica aren’t very rich by US standards. As a result, we haven’t learned how to handle money when we are the rich, and we make all sorts of amateur mistakes. Then we complain about being treated like we are rich but stupid.

However, the stereotype and discrimination that follows from it isn’t usually very bad for “US citizens” in Costa Rica. As a Tico buddy put it, “During the first week, everybody says, ‘Look, a gringo!’ but by the second week everybody just shrugs and says, ‘Oh, that’s the gringo.’” Plus, many aspects of our stereotype are positive. We are sometimes treated better than Ticos. As prejudice and discrimination go, we don’t have it bad. I think of it as roughly analogous to being Asian in the US in that the stereotypes are both favorable and unfavorable while the discrimination is infrequent.

Even so, it does get old. When a Tico gives me an earful about how he was discriminated against in New Jersey, as one recently did, I bristle. I have actually been in New Jersey a few times in my life, but sorry, I have nothing to do with how Latinos are treated there, and just because I’m gringo doesn’t entitle a Tico to hold me responsible for an incident in New Jersey. I wanted to give him the New Jersey salute. Being a minority gets old fast.