After four years on this campus, there isn’t much that intimidates me. But there is one thing that scares me above all else - I get nervous driving in the area when I play my music loud.

I’m not worried about the police giving me a noise violation ticket, although I have gotten a few in the past. It’s much more than that. I’m afraid of the looks, the laughs, the stares, the jokes - you name it - that accompany blaring my music.

I listen to a variety of music, but my favorite is Spanish music like Tejano, rancheras, salsa, merengue and cumbias. Tejano is a southwestern music from Texas, a joining of Mexican and American music. Rancheras sound similar to polka music, with a heavy accordion influence. Merengue, a more South American music, is upbeat and fast.

But while I dig Tejano and salsa, many people aren’t familiar with it. In fact, most people only hear this type of music when they eat at a “Mexican” restaurant. And it never ceases to amaze me that when people hear it blaring out of my car they think it’s appropriate to do funny dances, make ignorant comments or just point and laugh.

Take, for example, an incident that happened a few years ago on campus. I had my car windows down and my music up playing merengue. I pulled up to a stoplight and was met by stares from the people in the car next to me. In the next five minutes I watched as they went from staring in disgust, to laughing, to pointing and laughing and then lastly rolling up their windows and doing some type of nonrhythmic dance - all while still laughing. I was furious.

What made them think they had the right to make fun of the music I listen to? Would they laugh and point if I were disfigured or had a visible disability? Would they laugh at me if I was wearing a kilt or had a dot on my forehead? So what makes them think that laughing at my music is any more acceptable or excusable? Is their music the “right” music? Do they think their music doesn’t sound funny to me?

Because of this incident, I was compelled to do a video documentary for my senior seminar. I videotaped the reactions of people when they heard Spanish music blaring from my car. Believe me, it wasn’t pretty. Reactions ranged from weird dancing, dirty looks and smirks and of course, more laughing and pointing.

Music is an important part of expression, culture and pride. Think about how intense people get when speaking of different genres of music: country, pop, jazz and gospel, just to name a few. When you minimize the music one listens to, you’re minimizing their identity. You’re invalidating who they are, not just their taste in music. That’s a very sensitive issue.

Sure, I can understand if you ask me to turn my music down, and if it’s late at night or finals week I try to be conscientious of the people around me. But if you laugh, point or try to mock my music, next time I might just do us both a favor and run you over.

Monica Matteo is a social relations senior whose column usually runs every other Thursday. She can be reached at matteomo@msu.edu.