Hacker News Reader

Comment by alts | Hacker News Reader

I met Danilo (briefly) at a Grubwithus dinner a while back in the SF. It's strange to type, but I never suspected he was Latino based on appearance. I'm in a similar boat, where I pass as white. There have been a number of times in my (so far) short career where it's been made evidently clear that if I didn't pass as white, things would be very different for me.

I appreciate this post though. It's from a perspective I don't hear too often, and I've been slow to contribute my own. So, thanks.

View on HN

I'm in the same boat. Brazilian born to a Brazilian father and British mother. Lived in the US since 4 years of age. I also pass as a white American (but still have to deal with DHS and immigration bullshit because bureaucratic red tape has delayed my ability to apply for citizenship).

Like Danilo said, there is no replacement for having lived and grown up in the United States. I'm a native English speaker, but Portuguese was my first language. I'm fully fluent in Portuguese, but I wish I spoke at native fluency. However I would not trade my native English fluency for native Portuguese fluency. English is simply way too valuable.

Hi again!

Wow, I forgot about that part. I've done that thought experiment a couple times myself, how it would affect things if I looked markedly different. It's always a little scary, honestly.

There have been a number of times in my (so far) short career where it's been made evidently clear that if I didn't pass as white, things would be very different for me.

Can you expand on that?

Please do expand.

I look very Hispanic, and have a marked accent. What have I been missing in life?

Yes. I wished I had many upvotes to give for such an expansion! For example, is there someone out there who experience "passing as white" in certain areas of the U.S. but not in others? It's like a Reddit AMA, but better!! If not, maybe OP can go undercover as a "real hispanic"?

I look very Indian(but come from the subcontinent, not the country) and have a marked accent(slightly different from Indian). I too am interested in what I have been missing out on. I know as a non-Christian in the South, my chances are probably worse, but I never considered my Hispanic friends(middle class, well educated) to be less privileged than white people.

I, too, would love to hear more details. I find it astounding that an industry that does not care about looks (tech) would have something that is evidently very prevalent.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com