José Hernandez: From Migrant Worker To NASA Astronaut

José Hernandez is one of seven astronauts making their way to the space station tomorrow. We’re particularly interested in him because the media is very interested in his background: Hernandez, you see, started off as a migrant worker, picking cucumbers in the San Joaquin valley. We know America loves nothing more than a rags-to-riches story, especially one that involves lots and lots of metaphors about the dirt and the stars. It shows that the American Dream™ really works, even for those Latinoids everyone keeps hearing about:

This isn’t to say that José, and his hard work, aren’t awesome - He is undoubtedly a supremely intelligent, driven, ambitious, inspirational person, both regardless of his ethnicity and because of the unique pressures and prejudices faced by migrant Latino workers in this country. What gives us pause is the wider-reaching implications of using Hernandez’s story as a barometer for how people think of other migrant workers: “If he can do it, why can’t all the others?” Or, alternately, “See, America works. Recent immigrants and migrants need to respect the system, because it’s void of problems.” Or, even, “How can racism and xenophobia exist in this country is José Hernandez is able to become an astronaut?” But how many people who try succeed in being a José Hernandez? Or a Dr. Alfredo Quiñones?  Or a Dolores Huerta? 

There’s also the risk of falling prey to “Slumdog Syndrome,” and fetizhing impoverished backgrounds, or creating this myth that all these unique diamonds are twinkling up at your from mountains of coal. They’re there, sure. But about the rest of that coal? Doesn’t it also have the capacity to become diamonds? Tired of this overwrought metaphor yet? 

It’s one thing to talk about the American dream, and quite another to think about American goals and values. Dreams imply that this country magically and altruistically bestows opportunities onto everyone equally, while the reality is that lower income Americans and/or immigrants to this country have to fight and toil and struggle and work and study and bargain and compromise for the opportunities they’re “given.” It’s important not to de-emphasize the work involved in achieving success. It ain’t the stuff of dreams, not by a long shot.

That’s all to say: José Hernandez? You’re not a metaphor. You’re not a myth. But you’re most definitely an inspiration.

Former Migrant Worker Journeys From Farm Fields to Space [ABC]