El Paso vs The Racism of our “superiors”

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Contrary to popular belief up till this day, systematic racism stemming from racists is something many BIPOC experience due to the racial and social inequality of people in the United States. Unfortunately, the El Paso Massacre of 2019, was proof of the racial violence and discrimination [in this case] specifically against Mexican people due to the hatred of immigrants. As I watched the video “El Paso Strong – One Year Later” and read the article “‘How do you Stop These People?’: Trump’s Anti-immigrant Rhetoric Looms over El Paso Massacre” by Philip Rucker, I’m beyond baffled by the constant audacity of the white male and their belief of white supremacy disguised in white nationalism. 21-year-old Patrick Crusius shot 46 people at the Cielo Vista Walmart after uploading an anti-immigrant rant and literally drove to El Paso with the intention of hurting Mexican and overall hispanic immigrants. According to the article by Philip Rucker, the anti-immigrant manifesto mirrored President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and his ideologies against immigrant people. The idea that the former President of the United States could easily state racists comments and beliefs without any repercussion seems encouraging to his supporters. As Trump is the person that at the time was supposed to represent the people of the United States, we have noticed how this has led to many bold racist people to come out which I believe extends to the systematic racism many people of color experience for example, people who move because they have to AKA immigrants. It is insane to me how a president can impose this upon his people and his supporters will follow with no remorse. I cannot even begin to imagine the unbearable pain the families of the El Paso Massacre victims have gone through and what other hispanic immigrants face because of something they did not choose to endure. I personally can only hope that this racial and social inequality among people improves. 

Zooming Thoughts

As I watched the pre-recorded zoom discussion, I thought to myself, I am so glad to have the opportunity to have watched this. I really enjoyed the conversation about breaking gender roles, I found the discussion on labels interesting, and especially liked the connection between their professions and their students. Not only did Amanda-Rae Garcia and Chealsie Sanchez speak about Gender Roles, but Travis Perez, a man, did as well. I feel like that shows progress on breaking gender role stereotypes too. Travis Perez also mentioned that even his father began to do dishes and sometimes even cook, not only emphasizing or focusing on newer generations to break the gender role cycle, but even older generations as well. In agreement to mostly everyone on the zoom, I think the connotation behind the label used when referring to someone is what will kind of base the reaction you get. Continuing off Travis Perez and Chealsie Sanchez, I too, have also sometimes found it weird that people who have Mexican heritage get mad when they are called Mexican, but I now realize it does depend on the context. Personally, I was not born in Mexico, but I do believe it is important to relate because both my parents were born in Mexico. I also want to add that under the Mexican Constitution, if both of your parents are Mexico-born, you are legally Mexican. This is also a reason why people who are Mexican-American with both Mexico-born parents can attain dual-citizenship if they wanted to. Lastly, I loved the way everyone talked about their students and it shows they care for them. Especially Luis Macias, who mentioned how he spoke spanglish in his classes and a student said it reminded him of his home and family. This for me was important because you can tell that connection was very important to the student and it elevated the connection between the student and teacher at a much more deeper level as well. Once again, I really enjoyed the discussion, I liked hearing the different perspectives and hope to hear more soon.

Vote, Vote, Vote! WE NEED CHANGE

As the 2020 presidential election approaches it is very essential that people vote. I personally believe that voting is important if possible, as it is a main factor to advocate for change. This week while observing and learning about Latinos and their political views, I feel like it helped previous connotations I had as a Latina myself thinking about the majority. For example, when reading the article “Key takeaways about Latino voters in the 2018 midterm elections” it was confirmed that the majority voted for the Democratic party. According to the article, 69% of Latinos voted for the Democratic party. I felt like this would be obvious as Democrat parties tend to be more liberal and inclusive towards people of color. But I did expect the percentage to be a lot higher which caught me by surprise when it was not. Regardless, it’s interesting to see how although Latino voters were and continue rising, during the 2018 year they only made 11% of all voters nationwide. As someone who is now eligible to vote, I will be making sure I do my part to vote this year not only increasing young Latino votes, but hoping and advocating for change.

Trapped by Colonizers and Sellouts

In the past year, the world has been made aware through the media about family separations at the border and and deportations from the United States. As a Mexican woman with immigrant parents it is REALLY hard to hear what is happening to people similar to you, in obvious fear that it could possibly happen to someone you know. The poem “La Llorona” by Denise Seanz exemplified my personal feelings through shared fear for all the separated families. Throughout the poem, her fear transforms into anger toward the POC border patrol agents. I believe that it is a very powerful move as it is not expected and it is a direct attack. Denise uses the term “Tío Tomas” which translates to Uncle Tom or sellout as a way to define these “white washed” POCs. Contrary to popular belief, I agree with Denise that these POCs are sellouts, I understand that people need jobs to support their families, BUT it does not justify that they CHOSE the job and knew what they were getting themselves into. I believe that people should be allowed to fight for a better life and of course if there was a system that would make it easier for people that would be best, but it is not our reality and nothing is ever easy.

Women & Closed Mouths, A Desire of Men

Patriarchy is the main culprit for the oppression and belittling of women. As I observed “Bilingue” by Snow Tha Product and the snippet of “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua, I noticed how both these women mention having experience being shunned for owning themselves, but most specifically owning their language. For example, in Gloria’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” she mentions hearing the word “nosotras” for the first time in reference to two women and proceeds to state, “We are robbed of our female by masculine plural. Language is a male discourse.” It came to me as a surprise that she had never heard that word which reflects on the idea of women being minimized so much as to not be included in language for her. Along with this, as I was listening to “Bilingue”, Snow Tha Product raps “Y parece que alguien la tiene contra mi, porque de mi parte parece que ni los de alla me quieren, ni tampoco aca, que porque soy mujer y tan fenomenal.” This part of the song caught my attention as she mentions not feeling welcome by exercising her voice as a woman. In my opinion, both these examples show how common it is for men to feel uncomfortable when women speak out and vouch for themselves. Furthermore, the essence that men continue to hold up for themselves as they are use to women succumb to them. Overall, it is so crazy to me why some men believe this shall continue, but I am happy that these women speak for themselves as ‘language is the house of being’.

Latinx labels y mi opinion

Labels for Latinos are essential to remove homogenous conversations, spread inclusivity, and embrace diversity. I personally like that there are a various number of labels for Latinx people because as a Latina myself, I have noticed that when there are conversations about the Latinx community, people who are non-Latinos tend to put Mexicans at the forefront. Although, Mexican-origin hispanic people have the highest population in the United States they’re not the only hispanics. People fail to realize that the term Hispanic includes people from Spanish-speaking nations in Latin America. Labels allow for inclusivity in the Latinx community as it educates people on the diversity among hispanics and I believe it could also help strengthen inclusiveness when non-Latinos converse as it begins to dilute homogenous assumptions. As I mentioned I am a Latina, both my parents are Mexican and I was born in the United States with obvious Mexican origins, therefore, I am a Mexican-American. Mexican-American is one of the labels, but I prefer to label myself as Mexican to emphasize the culture both of my parents have taught me and the ideals I grew upon. Even though I am Mexican, I still stand with vouching for all of the Latinx community and the non-Mexican origin hispanics who are misheard and stereotyped. People need to educate themselves so they will not exclude non-Mexican origin hispanics from the Latinx community and overall, embrace the diversity that lives among them.

THESE ARE MY BLOGS, ENJOY.