I often hear people at school who act as though they want to help support the movement, and yet once there are protests they seem to act as though they don’t need to show out. I myself am a young Chicana and I think the main issue for at least my small town is the way many people of color have assimilated so much they view themselves as different than those who are immigrants, those who speak out, and even those who are proud to be a part of their culture. In short, our division is our vulnerability, and our unity could become our strength.
It’s not just a Latino issue alone, and this mind set can get even more destructive. I see many people of color, some are Latinos themselves, who go on different social media platforms that shame Latino immigrants who are undocumented.
Why is it that many groups of minorities are acting as though we are all different? When I say this, I don’t mean that we don’t have any differences, but rather that we as minorities have been oppressed and treated as though we are less than. I see discourse about how, “President Trump is just trying to keep Real Americans safe.” When faced with those type of comments, I wonder, who are the real Americans they speak of? I Because when they say that, I’m sure they aren’t talking about actual Native Americans who were on this land first.
Photo by David Madrid Jr.
This concept of who is deemed a “real American” is one that is told in many ways, by teachers, classmates, and those online. For example, I had a conversation with one of my teachers, let’s call him Mr. Smith. This conversation arose because in my class we were talking about the constitution and I asked him if the way our government is treating undocumented immigrants is constitutional, and his answer shocked me. He said they are “illegal” so they don’t have rights. He then compared being undocumented to being a drug dealer in the eyes of the law, and it made me realize that many think this comparison of perceived equal criminality is somehow legitimate. This teacher is white, but he teaches many Latino students, so it makes me wonder if he lets thoughts like this slip in more in his teaching - leaving his students getting taught these biases.
There are many people who don’t say these things out loud like my teacher, but you can tell by their body language, the faces they’ll make, that they think similarly. For Latinos who carry these discriminatory opinions, they feel all the immigration and I.C.E issues that are currently happening have nothing to do with them because they are legal citizens. All I have to say is that once they start taking away one minority’s rights what makes you think your group wouldn’t be next?
Photo by David Madrid Jr.
The real question we should ask is, why are we divided if we have many of the same struggles? Think about the D.E.I issues, think about how FAFSA is getting threatened to be taken away. These issues are hitting all people of color, disabled people and those who are LGBTQ+ community, and yet we stay divided because of the stereotypes that the system has set up in order to keep us divided. And this purposeful division is all because they are scared of what we can accomplish once we are together.
We are always stronger together than when we are divided.
Photo by David Madrid Jr.
Photo by David Madrid Jr.
