Beth:

In an ideal world, we would all be equal.  There would be representation
of all people in all aspects and levels of society.  There isn't and yes
we live in a less than ideal world.  My comments to Robin were not meant
to be sarcastic.

Living in El Paso as a fair skinned person of Eurocentric ancestry, you
do feel what it's like to be the "different" person within a community,
yet you still have all the opportunities as if you were in any other city
in this country.  So here in EPT, yes, you are the minority, but you do
not lack mobility and/or access to what you want to do, where you want to go.
My comments mirror MY REALITY.  My reality is reflective of the struggles
Latinos have had to face in seeking careers in the arts.

I think it's healthy to disagree.  We all have our prospective
realities.  There are very few opportunities for people from DIVERSE
backgrounds to come together and discuss our differences but work with
our similarities.  Internet technologies, e-mail and cyberspace all offer
the potential for people like me and you, Robin and I to exchange views
and criticisms of present day conditions.  I initiated this whole
discussion to DISCUSS the issue and EXPLORE varying degrees of acceptance
and/or rejection of why Latinos are or aren't involved in museums.  And
remember I said, "in administrative, curatorial positions" and I also
mentioned the need for art critics and art criticism.  The dialogue
exists in a vast terrain.  We have only begun to discuss parts of it.
And yes, it is emotional to some extent.  Yes, some of us have been
denied.  Yes, some of us wish things were different,  But yes, we must work
together and not against each other.

In my experience and I could be wrong, few maids and gardeners are
also ranchers and veterans.  This comment talks to an ethno-reality of
people's mobiliity of lack of mobility in systems which exploit them.
It's a whole nuther discussion.  You don't quite get it because you may
not relate to it.  I am a first generation American and my parents, as
well as many of my aunts and uncles, were maids and gardners.  I
am part of that generation which saw Mexicanos as servitudes and as you
know in El Paso, it's still a reality.

I wish it would only take love to solve our differences.

Miguel