interesting distinctions. i still tangle with the whole idea of Bootstrap. i know that much of my successes come from intense commitment to something, focus, and talent i was born with. i know what it is like to pour hours and hours and hours into something and to see the energy payoff. yet, it is part of everyone’s fate to have help in ways that change their path. i have had harm done me as well as help. does either instance negate the other one? or are all these things a part of anyone’s success? i think all are. personal gifts/energy + help from outside + harm from outside. there are so many other factors that influence a person’s “success.” nobody does it all alone, and everything from sex, race, class, speaking ability, attractiveness, genetic sprinklings of this or that, what they inherit in money terms, or in abilities will influence.

i dont know much about gonzales life. i agree that even with an inspiring story, that hardly mitigates his crimes. it just makes them more of a shame.

but no, he was no help to raza. aside from turning his back on his roots—i know that he said some bullshit about he didnt know or “it was unclear” if his parents were legal, or his abuelos—i know he did nothing to help Latinos. he sold himself for the milky white dream, and for bush’s mad visions. now he has nothing.

I think that he must be a very confused and unhappy man. He lacks credibility, the support of his community, and even the support of his party.

“Even though we should not take away the proverbial American “bootstrap” success story from him – the second of eight children, whose parents were children of Mexican immigrants, Gonzales was the only one in his family to complete college and rising to a prominent position in government – we cannot simply turn a blind eye to the glaring injustices Gonzales committed either.”

It’s important to remember that the “bootstrap” story is used by conservatives to make us believe that anyone can get ahead if they just work hard enough. We know that in a structurally racist society, that’s just not true. Some people get lucky, and Gonzales is one of them. But he didn’t do it by himself. Likely he had public school teachers and counselors, and other kinds of community to help him succeed. It’s not to discount the value of personal dedication and sacrifice, but conservatives try to use this to strip away public programs in favor of “you’re on your own,” so it’s just good to remember to not repeat those conservative frames.