La Latina
Syesha Mercado, Miami, FL

Los Vatos
Danny Noriega, Azusa, CA
David Archuleta, Murray, UT (un Filipino ‘mano representin’ along with Ramielle Malubay, una Filipina ‘mana)
David Hernandez, Glendale, AZ
Jason Castro, Rockwall, TX
Robbie Carrico, Melbourne, FL (unsure)

The latest noose sightings:
PASADENA, TX: Earlier this week, a noose was found hanging over at the Pasadena Plastics Complex, a facility owned by Chevron Phillips Chemical located in Pasadena, TX. The noose was tied to a piping system. Plant officials said an internal investigation is under way and the police and FBI were notified.

Coincidentally, this took place in the same city where another racial incident took place. Last month, Joe Horn shot Miguel Antonio Dejesus and Diego Ortiz in the back with a shotgun because they were burglarizing his neighbor’s home.

The transcript of the 9/11 call Horn made just before shooting:

[Click here to listen to the call.]
Horn: He’s coming out the window right now, I gotta go, buddy. I’m sorry, but he’s coming out the window.
Dispatcher: Don’t, don’t — don’t go out the door. Mr. Horn? Mr. Horn?
Horn: They just stole something. I’m going after them, I’m sorry.
Dispatcher: Don’t go outside.
Horn: I ain’t letting them get away with this s–t. They stole something. They got a bag of something.
Dispatcher: Don’t go outside the house.
Horn: I’m doing this.
Dispatcher: Mr. Horn, do not go outside the house.
Horn: I’m sorry. This ain’t right, buddy.
Dispatcher: You’re going to get yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun, I don’t care what you think.
Horn: You want to make a bet?
Dispatcher: OK? Stay in the house.
Horn: They’re getting away!
Dispatcher: That’s all right. Property’s not worth killing someone over, OK?
Horn: [curses]
Dispatcher: Don’t go out the house. Don’t be shooting nobody. I know you’re pissed and you’re frustrated, but don’t do it.
Horn: They got a bag of loot.
Dispatcher: OK. How big is the bag … which way are they going?
Horn: I’m going outside. I’ll find out.
Dispatcher: I don’t want you going outside, Mr. Horn.
Horn: Well, here it goes, buddy. You hear the shotgun clicking and I’m going.
Dispatcher: Don’t go outside.
Horn: [yelling] Move, you’re dead!
[Sound of shots being fired]

Mr. Horn has yet to be charged with any crime. The case has divided the city into two camps: Those who support the shooter’s apparent vigilantism and argue his actions were reasonable under the Second Amendment; and those who say he is a murderer whose actions may have been racially motivated.

Now isn’t it a coincidence that a noose is found in the same where the Joe Horn incident is playing out? I think not, anybody who knows Passadena, would tell you it used to be a very racist town. A one point it was home of the Ku Klux Klan.

ST. LOUIS, MO: Recently, fire officials in St. Louis, MO found a noose and stuffed monkey were hung inside an engine house. The stuffed monkey was found hanging by its neck from a strap on a coat hanger. According to the Associated Press, “racial tensions in the city’s fire department have been high since the first black chief was ousted by City Hall earlier this year.”

However, there is more to this story. NBC local affiliate KSDK is reporting that a local firefighter who has been working for the city for the past two and a half years found the stuffed monkey hanging in his locker. The firefighter told KSDK that this was not the first racially motivated incident he’s had to endure.

He claims that firefighters, within his fire house, broke into his home back in August, hoping to prove that he was living in Illinois instead of in the city. And he claims that top fire department brass, including a deputy fire chief, had knowledge of the break in, but did nothing.

The city’s Public Safety Director, Charles Bryson, says the city is currently investigating both claims. However, it seems like the city is beginning to close ranks. The city’s new Fire Chief, Dennis Jenkerson, is stating that, “there was no noose,” and running with this claim, Bryson is stating that the rope was used for training. According to the St Louis Dispatch, Bryson said. “It is not a noose. It’s to practice tying knots.”

POWAY, CA: The Poway Unified School District had a meeting on strengthening their policy on hate crimes because there has been several noose sightings on a couple of high schools. On Nov 27, a noose and racial slur was found on the stage of the Rancho Bernardo High School theater. The student who hung the noose was suspended for a couple of days. Last month, a noose was found in a boy’s restroom at Poway High School.

NASHVILLE, TN: WTVF reported earlier this week, a man found a burning cross on his porch with a note and a noose attached to it. Police wouldn’t comment on the case.

MOUNT PLEASANT, MI: On Nov 12, nooses were found in the classrooms of Central Michigan University’s Engineering and Technology Building. A student has admitted to campus police to having a role in hanging the four nooses, made from flexible compressed gas lines. Yet, the police are pondering if this should be considered a hate crime.

Last month, FBI officials reported that there were 7,722 hate crimes nationwide in 2006, an increase of almost 8 percent over the previous year’s total. More than half of the hate crimes involved race with 51.8%, religion resulted in 18.9%, sexual orientation with 15.5%, ethnicity hate crimes with 12.7% and people with physical or mental disabilities suffered 1% of all hate crimes.

This goes to the argument I was saying about reporting hate crimes. While it is true that a majority of victims of hate crimes do not report it because they either have a fear of retaliation or have a lack of awareness about hate crime laws or feel they are not taken seriously by law enforcement; my concern has to do with the lack of reports submitted by law enforcement officers. For example, the latest FBI figures did not contain the incidents that occurred in Jena, LA.

“The FBI report confirms what we have been saying for many months about the severe increase in hate crimes,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, a leading civil rights leader. “What is not reported, however, is the lack of prosecution and serious investigation by the Justice Department to counter this increase in hate crimes.” Sharpton urged Attorney General Michael Mukasey to meet with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and civil rights leaders to discuss the matter.

The fact is, when people do report a hate crime, it is at the discretion of the police officer at the scene to decide if they either classify the incidents as a hate crime or as “suspicious circumstances” or “malicious mischief.” I would not be surprised if those boys were charged with “malicious mischief.”

By manipulating the number of reported hate crime in a city or neighborhood is a way for the establishment to create an illusion for that a city. There are reports from law enforcement officials that testify that chambers of commerce, city officials, developers, and others sometimes attempt to discourage police and the media from reporting hate crimes for fear of tarnishing their community’s image, such as the town of Jena, LA.

No matter how much remains in dispute, one thing cannot be underestimated – the enduring power that that a noose and its implied threat of lynching carries for not only for African-American, but for people of color. This is not a black-white issue; there were Xhicanos/as, Asian Americans and Native Americans who were lynched too. As long as this country continues to rationalize the insanity that passes for AmeriKKKan history, the truth will continue to be suppressed.

Regardless, these incidents that are occurring across the county is just a return of the painful symbol of the past. And as long as these events continue to be downplayed, people will continue to feel they can display this whenever they feel like it.

It is time to WAKE UP and STOP THE INSANITY! It is time to shut down this conspiracy of silence.

It is human nature to want to provide value to another person. It makes us feel validated and worthy of being involved with another. To be honest, validation of a persons self-worth is a key aspect of being human. However, no matter how secure you are with yourself, everyone loves a bit of validation, and of course, there are always the extremes, those who need it more than others.

While it is easy to seek the comfort among friends, the truth is I don’t make the habit of asking my friends for advice. I don’t like to sound “needy,” nor do I ask my friends to solve my problems. Basically, for me, my post was just a vehicle to get some things off of my chest, so I can contemplate about it and move on.

I know I haven’t blogged about my personal life or weaved my personal experience into my post. I haven’t because that was not the reason I started this blog. But honestly, I had no clue about this whole blogging thing or what I wanted to write about. However, I did have a reason why I wanted to start one. I started this blog for two reasons, I felt there was a lack of Xicano/a representation within the mainstream blogosphere and two I felt (and still feel) that a large majority of mainstream bloggers wrote in a short and sweet cookie-cutter approach to blogging, which meant linking to some blog or mainstream media article without comment, or a partisan spin on a news event. And because a majority of Americans are infamous for short attention spans, this approach was and still is very appealing to people who are in a constant need for fresh information. However, deciding with approach is best is still up for debate.

I decided to write long post because I wanted to be different. After assessing my personal strengths, I found out I very good at understanding and working with abstract concepts. I have the ability to see patterns where others see complexity. I’m also very good at making intelligent sound judgments. Given all of this, I was unwilling to sit around the house feeling sorry for myself, I needed to take advantage of my strengths on a daily basis and the best way was to start my own blog. I wanted to use my skills to give readers, especially Xicanas/os, information they normally weren’t aware of or typically read on your mainstream blogs; and I also wanted to provide analysis they wouldn’t have thought of. I was tired being told what to think or being told that what I think goes against current world-view. It’s much more valuable to think for yourself, gather as much information as possible, and refine your views as new information challenges them.

On February 2008, three months from today it will be two years since I started my own blog; and on this month, one year ago I decided to get my own domain. And all through out I could’ve easily stopped blogging. However, I have seen a lot of changes Latino/asphere – or as we call it the Brownosphere – during these last two years. From what started as a tiny clique of blogger, our little niche has grown. There were more blogs to read, more opportunities to get to know people’s thoughts and opinions.

We are starting to get attention and some more than others by the mainstream media. It was fun to watch how this community is growing that originally started from the tiny clique I belonged too. Yet, if you look at the bigger picture, the blogging world is not separate from what happens in real life.

No matter how much you much try to keep your personal life out of your blog, in reality you can’t. When you read personal blogs, it’s like getting to know a person. You get the know their likes and dislikes, their views you agree with and views you disagree, their hobbies… You cannot help but share a part of yourself on their online diaries. Just like the same way we make friend in real life, we have the choice on which blogs we read and which blog we avoid.

In the end, your little circle of friends has spread beyond your physical limits, because the Internet has provided you with the vehicle to read about diverse life experiences and ideas in a sort of uninhibited way.

However, there comes a time a blogger comes on a blogging impasse and is faced to ask themselves, Why do I blog? What is this blog for? I am not doing this because I am wanting to drive traffic, thou validation of who we are, is what drives almost everything we do. Nor is this a good bye cruel world post. This post is to reaffirm why I began in the first place.

I don’t make money from blogging, nor has it drove the hordes of Latino civil rights agencies, alternative media, political parties, think tanks or consulting firms knocking down my door to come work for them, yet they do read my blog. I blog for myself but hope others will find value in my writing. Throughout my life, people always had low expectations of me. In high school I was told I shouldn’t consider applying at a top notch university – yet, I proved them wrong. When I was accepted into grad school, I was placed on conditional status and once again I surprised them. The same thing occurred for each place I worked at, but my drive to prove people wrong, I ended up winning employee of the month for two months in a roll. So once again, I fell I am being challenged, however, because of my personal strengths, I will rise up again.

With little over a month left till the end of 2007, I have come to realization, this blog needs a bit of a reboot, a need to approach things on a different angle. I am not talking about focusing on traffic or bringing in ad revenues. Although it tempting to go after potential revenue by adding adsense to my site or be part of a BlogAds group, but truthly, there something about a blog that is overpowered by too many ads, after a while, the blog starts looking like a NASCAR. Then again, to each its own, I guess.

I would like become a leading authority on the immigration issue, not really. However, I would for more people to see that I am more than just an immigrant advocate, and what I write is considered useful and worthwhile, other than just immigration issues. I have written on a variety of topics, such as identity politics, NAFTA, and investigative reporting.

I know the traffic and subscriber count has doubled since last year, but the number of comments I get now is about the same. My goal is to try to connect more without relegating to “comment baiting.” One thought is expanding opening this site to include new voices. The truth is, it is hard to get a blog off the ground. It takes a lot of patience to kept to writing what I believed in, especially when you hardly see anybody commenting on your blog. That being said, for those who are flirting with the idea of blogging or thinking about blogging again, I am inviting you to use my blog as a safe place to test the waters and your ready to step off the platform go at it alone, you will have already cultivated an audience. And know, you have free reign on whatever topic you to post. If you interesting in displaying your art work, great! Interesting in podcasting, perfect! Interested in discussing a topic I have not cover, fantastic! All that I ask of you is that you feel passionate on whatever you choose to do.

So why am I doing this? In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire wrote, “As individuals or as peoples, by fighting for the restoration of our humanity we will be attempting the restoration of true generosity. And this fight, because of the purpose given it, will actually constitute an act of love.” In order to accomplish this we move beyond our comfort zone “and risk an act of love” and for this reason this invitation is an open invitation to any person regardless of their gender, race, sexual orientation and religious belief. The name of this blog will not change because the reasoning behind my idea to show our tolerance towards cultural diversity. It is hard to perceive how African Americans can be liberated without Xicanos/as being liberated, or how Xicanas/os can be liberated without Native Americans being liberated, or how Native Americans can be liberated without Asian Americans being liberated, or Asian Americans be liberated without working class whites being liberated too.

Compared to many mainstream bloggers within the progressive blogosphere, I am a relatively a new blogger. However, in this short time, I have learned that the sense of disconnection we often feel is based on our distortions of our humanity. Yet, among the all this chaos, we still manage to find comfort among those of us who share a common political dream for justice.

I enjoy writing because it makes me think, and learn, and it is a constant reminder to look beyond the world around me. I blog because I want others, the world, to hear what I have to say. While there are some who feel blogging are just words on the screen, to me, it is more than a series of letters put together formulating a sentence. Much, much more than that. To arrange those words to create something, it is a radical dream of many colors that stirs an emotional response from another human being to strive consistently to live with the integrity of our minds, hearts, bodies, and spirits. This not just a beautiful thing, its an act of love. The kind of love Freire talked about.

So why do I blog? I blog because it is my ethical responsibility to give a voice to the children who are now parentless and/or forced to take on the role of parent to their siblings because their parents have been deported or locked away in some concentration camp. I blog because it is my ethical responsibility to uncompromisingly confront the power structure within the progressive blogosphere that continues to oppress women and people of color. I blog because it is my ethical commitment to humanity.

I blog because I can.

Outside of the public view, the number of hate crimes taking place in the US is on the rise. This new climate of hate taking place in neighborhoods, educational institutions, and workplaces has made African Americans, Latinas/os, Asian/Pacific Americans, immigrants, gender and sexual orientation bias, and disabled or because of a combination of these attributes particular targets. Hate crimes driven by racist and other discriminatory animus, are no less serious and no less pervasive, adding to everyday injustice a new constant of fear for those under threat.

Intolerance Is In
Has hatred has become hip? Whether or not intended as such, we are in the midst of a growing culture of hate. Bias crimes may be motivated by racist or religious hatred, or by discrimination because of a person’s gender, sexual orientation, or disability or some combination of these factors. Graffiti is also used to intimidate and terrorize individuals and communities. On Aug. 19, in Campbell, CA, the United Church of Christ was vandalized with hateful epithets spray-painted on both sides of a church sign with the words “Fags Go to Hell” and “God’s Rule.” Although this kind of hate crime does not receive the same amount of attention as high profile attacks, the fact is, these types of hate crime can have a more devastating effect than other crimes because of the psychological impact it has on both the victim and the victim’s community – the perpetrators is indistinguishable from the ordinary mainstream populace.

In the same way that some young men get together on a Saturday night to hang out, certain hatemongers gather to destroy property or to bash people based on their race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin, or disability. They look merely to have some fun at someone else’s expense. This was the case in Antioch, CA. Recently, two teenagers were arrested for a hate crime after they allegedly taunted a group of deaf people at a party and later attacked them. Phillip Hale, 18, and a 17-year-old boy whose name was not released attacked the 23-year-old deaf man because of his disability. The victim and witnesses told police the two teenagers approached the group in a garage and began “taunting and mimicking them, making exaggerated sign language gestures.” The pair was asked to leave but later returned with a stick, a hoe and a concrete brick, and a fight broke out.

There has been a disturbing increase recently in the use of negative stereotyping to characterize various minority groups in the United States. Due to the nature of the crime, hate crimes engender a particularly high level of psychological stress, fear, and anxiety. There is no way for potential victims to protect themselves since it is difficult or undesirable to disguise their inherent identities. Hate crimes and the resulting climate of fear and intimidation can blight all aspects of life while also disrupting the larger society. Such as the case that occurred at the University of Maryland when somebody decided to hang a noose outside the school’s black cultural center. The noose was found on the campus hanging from a tree outside UM’s Nyumburu Cultural Center, which houses the Black Faculty and Staff Association, the Black Explosion newspaper and other organizations. Just recently, it was reported that campus police believe the small noose had been hanging for about two weeks before it was found. Given the historical injustices symbolized by the noose, it not only outraged students, but it has united the students of color on campus to “fight for racial equality.”

We commit our full solidarity with the students of color on this campus in their fight for racial equality. We call on students to support affirmative action programs and the African-American studies department, all of which continue to challenge racism by identifying, developing and amplifying the voices of black students and faculty.

We call on student groups and the university as a whole to support any and all actions taken by the campus community against the hate crime within the upcoming weeks.

It is hard to deny the glaring fact that there is a chilling connection between this incident and the case of the Jena 6 in Jena, LA. There seems to be a resurgence of nooses following the situation facing the Jena 6. In Warrenville, IL, it was reported that nooses, racist graffiti and other items were found inside the human resources director’s desk of Navistar International, a company that builds trucks and buses. In another incident, somebody hung a noose with an African attached to it in director’s office of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission in New Bedford, MA. The investigation is continuing.

Last month, three stage workers were fired from the Germantown Performing Arts Centre for hanging nooses from the stage riggings in Germantown, TN. The investigation into this case revealed that an employee had asked two of his co-workers if they could demonstrate to him how to tie a noose, even though, he admittedly knew this particular knot is rarely used in the theater industry. It was also discovered, after the employees placed the ropes on the stage riggings, jokes were being made in reference to a “hangman’s noose” as one of the employees placed his head through one of the nooses.

The United States is a dangerous place to live for racial/ethnic minority citizens. Hate crimes pose a serious social problem in many ways, more threatening to civil society than other types of crimes. When threats go from random to constant, the likelihood of a blow becoming a beating is high, because a beating then can become a stabbing or a shooting or even worse murder. When it come to race or gender, there is a tendency for hate crimes to be excessively brutal.

Recently, in Chicago, Du Doan, a 62 year old Vietnamese man, was apparently pushed into Lake Michigan and subsequently drowned. According the forum on Chicagoland Finishing, Du was fishing alone off Chicago’s Montrose Harbor when a group of individuals, 4 males and 1 female, walked up to the Du and pushed him into the water and then turned around and started laughing as they walked away. Du, who couldn’t swim, quickly drowned.

This was the third incident since late July in which fishermen who appeared to be Asian were targeted in the area. The Chicago Police do have the some suspects in custody after 3 of them turned themselves in. John Haley, 31, is charged with the murder of Du Doan and is also charged with aggravated battery for a similar incident on July 31 in which he shoved another man at the same location. His friends, told police that Haley was laughing and bragging about pushing the man into the harbor. Shortly before the group approached Doan, another fisherman of Asian descent was confronted by the same group. A former marine, the fisherman stood his ground, and the group left him alone after spitting at his feet.

Prior to that day, on July 31, Haley was drinking with friends when he asked a fisherman for a lighter. After the two men had a conversation with the fishermen, Haley stuck him in the back of the head and pushed him into the water. The man was able to swim to safety.

Investigators have said they found no evidence to indicate the murder was racially motivated even though each victim happened to be Asian. Police told reporters that Haley did not use racial “epithets during the event”, which is evidence this was a “senseless” murder.

It is not surprising that crime was changed from a hate crime to a random act of “senseless” and “out-of-control” murder, since Asian Americans are the most proportionally under-represented racial/ethnic group in American politics and media. Nevertheless, the horrific crime is no less alarming to hear that the victims were of Asian decent or had Asian features.

Racism in America is a cancer that has feasted on the very soul of this country. For all the alleged gains in equity, racism has finally reared its ugly head again. Attacks motivated by gender bias instill a fear in their intended victims that not only threatens their lives, but also can restrict where they work, study, travel, and live. Such crimes are particularly insidious because they target individuals for who they are and thus put victims at risk at all times and in any situation.

On Monday, I was informed of an article in the San Francisco Gate about of the continuing and growing epidemic of hate crimes against women. In Charleston, West Virginia, six people are under arrest after an African American woman was lured to a home over the Internet and was she was savagery beaten, sexually abused, and humiliated at the hands of her white abductors for a week.

Megan Williams, 23, was freed Saturday after cops responded to the home of Frankie Brewster for a “welfare check on a female that was reportedly being held against her will.” When cops arrived, Brewster claimed she was the only one home, but then the victim limped to the door with her arms stretched out and said, “Help me.” According to the criminal complaints, Megan, had been stabbed four times in her left leg, her were bruised, and had been repeatedly sexually assaulted and humiliated. (Warning: the text contains graphic detail of the heinous crime)

According to the criminal complaint, Megan stated that she was forced to “lick the toes, vagina and anal cavity” of one of the female abductors, Frankie. She also stated that Frankie threatened to kill her if she was to stop. Megan also stated that Brewster’s son Bobby had forced her to eat rat and dog feces, lick up blood, and drink from the toilet Megan also stated that it was Danny Combs who held her at knifepoint as she was forced to perform oral sex, and he also had raped her at knifepoint. Megan also had been choked with a cable cord and her hair cut by Karen Burton, another female abductor. During her ordeal, as Karen cut Megan’s ankle with a knife she told her, “This what we do to N* around here.” In one of the criminal complaint, it stated she doused with “hot water while being sexually assaulted.”

The six accused, ranging in age from 20 to 49, are facing a long list of charges, including kidnapping, sex assault, and battery. Two others are still being sought. According to the New York Times, authorities are still deciding whether to file additional charges, of hate crimes.

Reason Why New Hate Crime Bill Should be Pass
At the root of hate are radical ideologies, radical religious beliefs and pent-up anger and frustration, all of which can lead to violent acts ranging from hate crimes to terrorism. As much as we like to belief extremists live beyond America’s shores, the truth is, some of those dangers originate within our own borders, and multitudes of homegrown haters exist with beliefs that are equally dangerous.

What makes individuals hate, and what makes some act on that hate while others would not? Why is hate of the other so often denied by those who practice it, but justified in the next breath as love of self? In the political world, hate only seems to come up when a leader says something embarrassing, or one party or the other is accused of playing the “race card.” The truth is, hate crimes function to maintain the status quo; they protect the people in charge, the men and women who are responsible for making important decisions at the highest levels of society. Blame tends to move away from the top, minimizing the possibility that profound changes could ever occur.

The winds of race hatred are blowing toward those who desire a more just, multi-political America. What we are witnessing today is the out of control and barbaric behaviors of whole societies that have been infected with ideologies that encourage and demand dysfunctional behaviors. By design, these behaviors are meant to intimidate and threaten.

Threats and violence against ordinary people who stand out as being different from their neighbors only serves to divide Americans against each other and cause immeasurable harm to whole societies. These are indeed extraordinary times. We must continue struggle. As people of color – Asians, Latinos, African Americans and Native Americans we must continue to challenge the traditional power structure for jobs, status, and power. As our numbers grow, it is only natural to demand our fair share in the wealth of the nation. In our postindustrial society, there is likely to be growing conflict between groups for scarce economic resources. We must collaborate with progressive forces and demand that our leaders be responsive to the needs of the masses.

Hasta la victoria siempre!

UPDATE: No federal hate crime charges in torture case

A practice that began in the South in 1864 and later adopted by thousands of towns across the US in the late 1890s and continuing until 1968, where whites across the US conducted a series of [tag]racial expulsions[/tag], driving thousands of blacks from their homes to make communities lily-white. Some towns went as far as putting signs outside the city limits that normally said “Nigger, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on You in __,” according to James Loewen in Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism. But sometimes, the signs were never came out expressing their hatred and tried to be a bit clever in their messages such as, “If You Can Read … You’d Better Run … If You Can’t Read … You’d Better Run Anyway.” The signs are gone now but they are a part of America’s racist past, signs that could be found along the highway outside the city limits or county line. Just because the signs are gone, does not mean these practices do not exist today.

When one mentions [tag]Jim Crow[/tag], one often thinks of segregation and a problem that only occurred in South, with the exclusion of African Americans from private and public institutions in the Southeastern US. The truth is, the Southwest was produced through the practices of Jim Crow, which were not based explicitly on race, but also on language and culture inextricably tied to race. The history of Mexican Americans and Jim Crow in the Southwest demonstrates that state officials have been describing their discriminatory practices in terms of language and culture for most of the twentieth century, even when they were engaging in explicit racial discrimination.

In California, Mexican Americans as well as Asian Americans, Indians, and blacks were prohibited from white schools. Although, Loewen’s book chronicled the history of thousands of all-white “sundown” towns and suburbs across the West and North, a reader might get the impression that these towns only kept out African Americans, however, this is not true these towns also kept out Asian Americans and Mexican Americans. Loewen wrote:

Other towns passed ordinances barring African Americans after dark or prohibiting them from owning or renting property; still others established such policies by informal means, harassing and even killing those who violated the rule. Some sundown towns similarly kept out Jews, Chinese, Mexicans, Native Americans, or other groups.

In Texas in the 1930s and 1940s, as in much of the Southwest and California, most Mexican-American children attended, separate schools; by 1930, 90% of South Texas schools were segregated. In agricultural areas, many Mexican-Americans lived in “company towns” likeTaft Ranch and the King Ranch with all separate institutions. In northern and southern Colorado, companies created “company towns” where the “Others” could be hidden from view. Those who lived in these towns included poor working class whites, African Americans, and Latinos, along with immigrants from Asia and central and Eastern Europe.

In Texas, Mexicans were regarded as subhuman, lower than dogs or worse.On cattle drives to the railroad loading docks, there was a clear “racial” hierarchy between Mexicans and Anglos; the former were the workers, and the latter, the bosses. What is often lost because of the legendary kineños fairy tale, is that not all ranches and “company towns” provided the same living conditions like the King Ranch. It was very typical to find deplorable living conditions on Texas ranches where both Mexican and “white” laborers were employed, the Mexican workers were paid one-third less than “any white man.”

Mexican-Americans were also discriminated against in jury selection and in voting and were often shut out of public accommodations like swimming pools, theaters, pharmacies, restaurants, shops, banks and schools together with African Americans. At Anglo cafes, Mexicans could not stay in the premises and were required leave with their purchases. School segregation was established, reflecting the established general pattern of racial discrimination. Not only were Mexicans forced into segregated inferior schools, few of them were admitted to high schools.

According to historian David Montejano, in Texas, the general tendency for racial [tag]segregation[/tag] against Mexican Americans was to use ethnicity and national prejudice as a basis for separation and control the same way the segregationists in the South used it against African Americans during the same period. Thus, Mexican-Americans suffered many of the same Jim Crow practices as African Americans.

Because most people today equate Jim Crow with racial discrimination, it has now allowed towns like Farmers Branch to defend cultural discrimination and distinguish it from discrimination on the basis of race. The history of the twentieth-century Southwest shows why we cannot prohibit racial discrimination while allowing cultural discrimination. Because racism has expressed itself in cultural terms, race and culture cannot be disaggregated without ignoring the way cultural discrimination reinforces racial hierarchy.

In fact, this debate predates the Declaration of Independence. In 1751, in an essay to James Parker focusing on the nature of economic growth in the colonies Benjamin Franklin addressed the concerns posed by German and other immigration to the British character of Pennsylvania. Franklin wrote:¹

And since Detachments of English from Britain sent to America, will have their Places at Home so soon supply’d and increase so largely here; why should the Palatine Boors be suffered to swarm into our Settlements, and by herding together establish their Language and Manners to the Exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our Complexion.

Which leads me to add one Remark: That the Number of purely white People in the World is proportionally very small. All Africa is black or tawny. Asia chiefly tawny. America (exclusive of the new Comers) wholly so. And in Europe, the Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians and Swedes, are generally of what we call a swarthy Complexion; as are the Germans also, the Saxons only excepted, who with the English, make the principal Body of White People on the Face of the Earth. I could wish their Numbers were increased. And while we are, as I may call it, Scouring our Planet, by clearing America of Woods, and so making this Side of our Globe reflect a brighter Light to the Eyes of Inhabitants in Mars or Venus, why should we in the Sight of Superior Beings, darken its People? why increase the Sons of Africa, by Planting them in America, where we have so fair an Opportunity, by excluding all Blacks and Tawneys, of increasing the lovely White and Red? But perhaps I am partial to the Complexion of my Country, for such Kind of Partiality is natural to Mankind.

Franklin has reaffirmed the English nature of his society, denounced immigration and ethno-linguistic enclaves, expressed the classic fear of demographic change, and even attempted, with his reference to “complexion” to conceptualize them either as “black,” “tawneys,” “swarthy” and “herding” is what can be considered as the designated “other.” To us, these words sound eerily familiar to language used in much of the contemporary argument.

However, the stew in the American melting pot is by no means diverse as many have us believe. In reality, the myth of the melting pot overgeneralized the past assimilation patterns of white European immigrant groups and tended to obliterate the long history of exclusion, racial discrimination, and social and civil rights struggles shared by people of color in US society. The social model to which current immigrants are expected to live by if they wish to become an “American” comprises of learning English; adhering to the Anglo-Protestant culture of religious commitment, individualism, and the work ethic; and identifying oneself psychologically as a patriotic American. In other words, adopting to “American” way of life.

The influx of new immigrants has also personally affected most Americans; many are put off by the moral decline that appears to have affected American society during the second half of the twentieth century. They worry that it will be exported to their own children and societies. Ironically, for immigrant children it is the best of times and the worst. These children, unlike previous generation of immigrants, will either to end up in Ivy League universities or unschooled, on parole, or in prison. Their fate is met with huge obstacles to success, such as poverty, prejudice, the burden of immigration itself, and exposure to the materialistic, hedonistic world of their native-born peers. This is where the problem lies.

Politics plays a critical role in the “social construction” of group/ethnic/racial identities. In today’s current society, individuals belong to different, usually overlapping groups, including national, regional, ethnic, and professional groups. Those who are native-born Americans have already assimilated to the different lifestyles in order to navigate through our system society. Recently, in discussing my last post to a fellow Latino, I was puzzled when this person made a statement regarding not feeling guilty for having “made it” and not having anything in common with those who recently arrived or living in the barrio. I have been puzzled by that statement because it wasn’t the first I have heard it and I am pretty sure it is not the last time. If one were to step back for a moment and were to look at the bigger picture, despite this person liberal political leanings, this person’s statement is no different from another Latino I know who is on the opposite side of the political spectrum with the same middle-class background. The difference between the two, one is more sympathetic to the plight while the other resembles the views of the dominate culture.

Life as a Latino in America is complicated. Living between the two worlds of being Latino and American can generate great uncertainty. And the strange mixture of ethnic pride and racial prejudice creates another sort of confusion. Inter-generational progress is key to achieving the American Dream. Through education and hard work, each generation hopes for a better life -improvement in health, income, and well-being – for their children. However, this is not message that is being told by the corporate media. We are told that Latinos are not assimilating. Rather, Mexican and other Latinos immigrants are naturalizing at extremely low rates, these immigrants and native-born Latinos, especially Mexican Americans, maintain their mother tongue even for generations, concentrate in particular regions and neighborhoods, and perhaps are even strategizing to take over sections of the US by building upon historical claims to the Southwest.

In the US, socioeconomic status (SES) is used to define ones status, although the idea may also pertain to circumstances such as social capital, social stigma, and racism. The antecedents of loss relate a person’s racial perceptions to his or her educational background, geographical location, socioeconomic status, and social and political orientation. In order to navigate through this system, one quickly learns what America’s mythology of opportunity is all about and what it truly means in becoming “American.” Are Mexicans following the same intergenerational path as European immigrants?

Unfortunately, however, the Latino community, like all communities today, is divided by conflicting class interests. According to a study done by Dennis Chong and Dukhong Kim, entitled “The Experiences and Effects of Economic Status Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities,” they found that “successful Latinos and Asian Americans place less emphasis on racial or ethnic considerations in their political attitudes and policy preferences.” The authors furthermore found that, “in general, for all minority individuals who perceive equal opportunity and experience social acceptance, an enhanced standard of living tends to lead to a weaker focus on race and ethnicity.” This pattern is showed among minority attitudes towards public policies such as affirmative action in employment and education, as well as government programs to ensure justice in jobs, health care, schools, and the administration of the law. What is more eye opening Chong and Kim, that when successful Latinos and Asian Americans did encounter racial or ethnic discrimination that impinged there their own economic success and social mobility, it is then, they are more likely to identify with the group and pursue collective means to improve their status. They found that individuals gave greater weight to their own life circumstances as opposed to the group’s condition, and the only reason one got involved was in terms of how the current situation will impinge on them. Therefore, those who feel less constrained by their minority status, individual group members tend differentiate themselves from the group by not “acting [insert ethnic/racial group of choice here]” in order to avoid the attributes and behaviors associated with it.

These findings does shed light in understanding the ways we juggle our multiple and fluid identities – those reconstituted or remolded from generation to generation from our cultural cross-connections with the native culture, with the US mainstream culture that marginalizes us, and with the cultures of other minor groups.

As a consequence of these cultural dynamics, many are encountering difficulties in establishing their own ethnic identity as they try to fit into both the Latino community and mainstream American society. Personally, there are constant internal struggles, on one hand, “Who am I as a Latino?” and on the other, “Who am I as an American?” My intent in writing this post was partly informational on what is happening within the Latino community and partly personal – a personal journey into finding out about myself. It has provided me an insight to what I am currently experiencing within my own family structure and, truthfully, it very disheartening. It has helped explain why my parents has mixed feelings when they see that one of their children is a “contributing member” to society, while the other one can be viewed as a “blight” to society. It further explains why some find it difficult to phantom the rise of racism when it comes to hiring practices when one is able to find employment, while another remains unemployed.

1. The
   Papers of Benjamin Franklin, Vols. 1-34. New Haven: Yale University Library, 1959-1998.