Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That: Obama Loses Big Amongst Latinos And Asians
6 February 2008, 11:15 AM. By Carlos Posas
Gawker is now on the “media bandwagon” about Latinos (and Asians!) not trusting Blacks. Even going so far as to post a video clip from Do The Right Thing. Cuz Spike Lee never exploited a woman, right Rosie Perez? Listen, we all know, even some of us who cried differently in the comments section yesterday, that Mexicanos are historically ignorant of Black culture and therefore have, as a culture, embraced many stereotypical images of African-Americans as created by White Hollywood—that being, for most of them, their only exposure to the race. They come over here and pass that ignorance on to their kids. Not every Mexicano. But enough of them to consider it a cultural trend. It’s fucked up. That said, Latinos are even more historically misogynist. Hell, the whole country of Mexico considers their people to be the product of a rape. So, let’s look at the positive, shall we? Which no one seems to be doing. A WOMAN is being supported enthusiastically by Latinos. A claim White men in California cannot make.
So should Mexicans educate themselves about how varied and wonderful Black people are? Absofuckinglutely. Should Black and White and some Latino men realize that sexism is just as big of an issue in this world as racism. Damn skippy. The way we see it, (Okay, I see it. And, yes, this is Cindy.), the country is in a win-fucking-win situation when the two candidates on the Democratic table both stand to make history. In fact, they already have. What some of us would personally like to see, is a Clinton-Obama ticket. Not that certain Senators from Illinois could ever swallow such a bitter pill. Imagine, running below a woman. But, if he could. That would really be something.
The Racial Hate Behind Obama’s Losses [Gawker]
Earlier: Super Tuesday: It’s All Up To You, Hispanic Voter
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“the whole country of Mexico considers their people to be the product of a rape.”
Does Peru and all of Latin America fall into this category, except for Brazil and Argentina?
Alvaro Vargas Llosa wrote a book named “Liberty for Latin America” where he rants about why Latin America hasn’t developed quite as well as the U.S.A. He coins a lot of terms, and the whole book was a bit too theoretical for me to follow easily. But.
He does go on with one observation that while Mexicans have their historical heroes of Native American descent, it is ingrained in the national consciousness that blonde and blue eyed is preferable. Sometimes it seems the case with my family, seeing as they may coo and awe more over a fair skinned/haired child than they would a darker one. And I wonder how much of this is true within other Mexican families. I’ve met friends who have preferences to lighter skinned partners. While we (Mexicans) were pillaged and raped, certain ideals were kept in the fore. Probably including a general opinion on people of African American descent.
It’s nice to see a generation that seems to be breaking away from those ideas.
I will vote for a Democrat, but I dunno how much it will count given that Texas gives all it’s electoral votes to the winning party.
There are certain people in my family who think light skin and eyes are “better”. Me being the dark one never bothered me and I had to explain to my Tia, who resembles snow white, that people pay good money to have my skin color…that was quite shocking to her!
@latinogamer: I would say many (or most) Latin American countries fall under this category. Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and others certainly do. Brazil has a history of human rights violations against Blacks and indigenous people; I’d say they also fall under that category. Argentina is an exception.
@Cindy: I agree with most of your comments, but, before you make statements about Mexican attitudes, please consider multiple perspectives. You’re judging Mexico as a brown, Mexican American woman who was raised in the states. Mexico is a country that is a little more complex than most people think. I agree that Mexico has a history of racism, but the immigrants you see coming to the U.S. are less educated than the general population in Mexico. And their behaviors and attitudes are influenced greatly by American culture.
I also find it interesting how the media hasn’t discussed how African Americans view Mexican Americans. Both groups have had a strained relationship for decades. I refuse to believe that Mexican Americans are unique in their distrust of the other minority group.
And despite what others have said, I also think there’s latent racism among Latinos from Caribbean countries (and Brazil). Yeah, when a disproportionate number of Black Latinos are living in poverty relative to White and Biracial Latinos, there’s a problem.
@pocachica: People also pay good money NOT to have your skin color. Check out this ad for a wonderful product that’s successful in Asia and Europe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgu96y6o5No
My point: Many Latin Americans are not alone in their preference for all things White.
I don’t like raggaeton, and I’m sure it’s not the best social marker, but it has it’s roots in carribean dancehall music. Does that say something about young hispanics?
There are black people in mexico as well (for every conquistador, there were 4 black slaves he brought with him), and are considered fellow paisanos by the other raza there and other parts in latin america. My husband is from El Salvador, and is predjudice against black folks from here (the u.s), but back home, there are salvadorenos que son negritos but because they are salvadorean, its okay, “they are still raza”. I think it is not just about the color of the skin but the culture that is projected from the media. But these images are perpetuated by people in the streets! When he (my partner) got here, he was jumped by black guys and was assumed to have money because jornaleros jus keep their pista en la bolsa. His front teeth were broken off and so understandably harbors harsh sentiment to the men who had done it, but has written off all black americans because of it. It is a complex issue that has many causes and many layers to it and isn’t just the ignorance of our parents passed down. It is about the language barriers and the perception each group has for the other.
So, let’s look at the positive, shall we? Which no one seems to be doing. A WOMAN is being supported enthusiastically by Latinos. A claim White men in California cannot make.
HOLLA! Thank you for making this point Cindy. I still say Latinos voted for La Clinton because of our history with the family. Things were good when her husband was in office. People had jobs and for the most part, everybody was prospering. People tend to remember things like that. We are an appreciative people. If you’re good to us, we’re good to you.
For the the big @$$ white elephant in the room, I honestly believe that it’s true for only a *small* segment of the community. It’s hard to undue decades worth of predjudice but rejoice all, because there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
There is a large number of “young adults” that have swayed their parents votes towards Obama. As we all know, Obama’s whole thing is with young people. Young people are passionate and for the most part haven’t been corrupted or disilussioned as to the ways of the true political system. My brother is one of these kids. My parents are Clinton people but after sooooo much talk about how “great” Barack would be, in the end one of my parents changed their vote to Obama.
Going back to the “white elephant”. I’m going to assume that a lot of these people have kids. And for the most part, those of us who were born in the US [or grew up here at least] have a slightly different appreciation for and towards US culture as a whole. As you grow up, you learn that perhaps not everything you parents told you was right or even true. And it’s times when you realize things like that that you can actually call your parents out their bs “enlighten them.”
I’ll be happy if either one of them wins. Regardless though, these two already made history and impacted it in away that they will probably never know. Alli vamos, with every generation that passes, we’re getting there. That’s the way I see it at least and to me that’s a rather promising thing.
@ xica_xicana
Sure, there were slaves in Mexico and there are definitely black people still there today, but I don’t know where you got the idea of 1 conquistador/4 slaves.
Mexico actually imported fairly few slaves from Africa (compared to other countries), and ended the practice early.
Older Mexicans and Asians are the ones who bought into the white man’s demonization of blacks. Dumb ass sheeps act like they don’t realize how badly they are ridiculed as well. Younger Mexicans and Asians have shown that they are less willing to go along with that. Kudos for them.
Obama should never share a ticket with that morally bankrupt old witch, Hillary.