In Friday’s Wall Street Journal, Janet Murguía had an ostensibly sensible enough op-ed, “Hispanic Values Are American Values” — arguing that Americans wrongly see “Latinos” as “foreigners,” “aliens,” and “others.”
“It’s time for people to stop thinking about Latinos as “foreigners”, “aliens”, or “others” and start thinking of us as their fellow workers, classmates, colleagues, worshipers, neighbors, friends, and families.”
Aside from the fact that some 10–14 million “Latinos” are, in fact, “aliens,” as properly described by legal statute rather than prejudicial slurs, the essay is a good-hearted reminder that few Americans should wish to see anyone separated by racial divides. But why then, a mere eight lines below that noble sentiment, does Ms. Murguía sign off as “President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza”?
I cannot think of any more divisive notion than an American lobbying group self-identifying itself as “The National Council of ‘the Race.’” Of course, La Razistas have long argued that, by simple fiat, their “Raza” does not quite mean race any more, though all classic Spanish dictionaries argue otherwise and there are plenty of other terms in Spanish for “people” or “community” that do not convey such an additional racial component. The truth is that La Raza is an ossified 1960s buzz-term of racial chauvinism that has no place in the sort of inclusive society that Ms. Murguía now eloquently argues for. So that begs the question, why not simply drop it and start thinking of Americans as “fellows” rather than enclaves permanently divided by race /raza?
Does "La Raza" no longer take the position that the whole of the American Southwest should be returned to Mexico?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"So that begs the question, why not simply drop it and start thinking of Americans as “fellows” rather than enclaves permanently divided by race /raza?"
Why? Because the members of the National Council of La Raza are, in fact, racists themselves.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWell, my dictionary lists a number of different translations of "raza," including "clan," "lineage," "people" (as in "a people"), and "race." It's unlikely that "raza" is a perfect match to the American English term "race," no matter how tempting it is to make that connection, just because such terms can rarely be translated exactly from one language to another.
As for Hanson's other question--why not drop it?--I suspect that, at the very least, it's for the same reason that the NAACP hasn't dropped "colored" or the United Negro College Fund hasn't dropped "Negro". Even though the terms are outdated, there is some utility in keeping an organization's name constant.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe only difference between La Raza and the Mexican flag-bearning marchers chanting about the coming of Aztlan are the media connections (and thus the shield of respectability among the media) the former has.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Orwellian"? A bit much, no?
And by continuing to focus, as you do, on the 10-14 million possible illegal aliens (your figure), you ignore the concerns of the 50.1 million Latinos in the USA (census figure), who, in fact, do not like being considered "aliens," "foreigners," or "others." In fact, I think that's her point exactly. Perhaps it would sink in if you didn't focus so much on the semantics of a language you do not speak.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"It's unlikely that "raza" is a perfect match to the American English term "race,"..."
Then you wouldn't mind we German descended forming the National Council of the Volk?
(La Raza were the ones who originally translated the word as "race". Only after they realized that coming off as latter-day Klansmen, while ingratiating to Democrats, looked bad to the rest of the United States, did they start back-peddling on the translation.)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhen Hispanic values are American (as in USA, not as in the continent), then there will be no need for the term "Hispanic values." "American values" will suffice.
How do you say "taqiya" in Spanish?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Then you wouldn't mind we German descended forming the National Council of the Volk?"
Well, the example isn't on point because the histories of the respective groups are so different. Still, speaking as someone of Jewish descent--no, I wouldn't necessarily mind. It'd depend on what the group actually advocated.
(I'm not offended by "Volkswagens" either.)
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse>"There's a lot of buzz these days about a finding in the 2010 Census that confirms what the Latino community has long known: The Hispanic population in this country has grown dramatically over the last decade. What was once the province of a few states has now become an integral part of our national community."
That's all true as far as it goes. But she glides over the fact that the mechanism by which Hispanics have become a large and rapidly growing part of our national community has been through an unending process of illegal immigration and amnesty, illegal immigration and amnesty, illegal immigration and amnesty. If she was willing to admit that then she'd be less perplexed that many Americans view Hispanics as "others" and "aliens".
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse>"Well, the example isn't on point because the histories of the respective groups are so different."
Yeah, the Germans came here legally and contributed a lot to America.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Prompts" the question, not "begs" the question.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis seems to be connected to that most obnoxious term, "person of color." I've never understood how to evaluate someone for membership in that particular classification. Is my wife, whose parents came from Puerto Rico but whose family speaks only English, a "person of color?" She explicitly rejects the attributes usually asserted to a member of this class. What about people from East Asia (e.g. India). Is there any distinction between a light-skinned US citizen whose parents came from India, and a dark-skinned US citizen with similar descent?
Or is this (as I believe) a term used to split people into a class where those who -pretend- to speak for the class can establish bogus credibility based on a fungible definition of exactly who they speak for?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"such terms can rarely be translated exactly from one language to another."
Quiere decir "the race," mija, or "the people." Es un término que se usa para distinguir un grupo de otro a base de su ascendencia y el color de su piel. ¿Y cómo se difiere eso del mismo racismo? Edúcame, por favor.
"you ignore the concerns of the 50.1 million Latinos in the USA (census figure), who, in fact, do not like being considered 'aliens,' 'foreigners,' or 'others.'"
Los que hablan inglés sin acento no se consideran extranjeros. Además, los que llevan décadas o siglos en este país no tienen los mismos intereses que los que acaban de llegar. Conozco a ambos grupos y te aseguro que son muy diferentes, no sólo entre los dos grupos sino también entre los miembros de un grupo. Pero gracias por insistir que no son individuos sino una masa de intereses comunes.
"La Raza" es una organización izquierdista que quiere adquirir poder sobre los latinos de este país, separándolos de los demás para cultivar cuánta ignorancia puedan. Si tuvieran el bienestar de los latinos en sus corazones, no existirían en su presente forma.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWe have even MORE in common with the Brits and the Irish than we do Hispanics. That doesn't make the Brits and the Irish any less "foreign", i.e., citizens of ANOTHER COUNTRY, or any more entitled to circumvent the normal processes for becoming citizens of this country.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe issue has nothing to do with race and everything to do with socioeconomics. The problem with illegal immigration from Mexico is that it has effectively created a second underclass in this country.
Were the Mexican immigrants bringing the same level of advanced skills and respect for education that immigrants from India or Korea or China or Russia are bringing into this country, no one would have a problem with La Raza.
The solution is simple: combine strict enforcement with an immediate shift to a race-neutral, points-based policy that privileges those with advanced skills and/or entrepreneurial investment capital.
Works for Canada, Australia, and Singapore, and can work for us-- provided our idiot political class ever gets the message....
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Quiere decir 'the race,' mija, or 'the people.' Es un término que se usa para distinguir un grupo de otro a base de su ascendencia y el color de su piel. ¿Y cómo se difiere eso del mismo racismo? Edúcame, por favor."
I'd be happy to. First, I'm actually male, but that's a minor point. Second, as I said, "the race" is only one of many translations, and there is no English word that matches perfectly. (This isn't uncommon when translating from one language to another, though Hanson doesn't seem to be sufficiently multilingual to understand this point. For instance, how would you translate "mija"? Are "mija" and its English translation both used in exactly the same contexts?)
Anyway, "the people" is one such word, and it isn't necessarily based on skin tone--the group of people classified as "Hispanic" or "Latino" in English differ quite widely in skin color, and include people who would otherwise be considered "white" or "black" or something in between.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Well, my dictionary lists a number of different definitions of "race," including "clan," "lineage," "people" (as in "a people"), and several others."
Fixed that for you.
See, 'raza' means everything 'race' means--all the permutations, including that dreaded one that forms the basis for 'racism. Spanish is a latin(as in Rome, not this odd defintion that's used to create terms like 'latino') derived language, like French and Italian. All three are European. As such, their etymologies are incredibly similar--even identical on some words.
The group of people classified as 'hispanic' or 'latino' differ widely in skin color because they are from different races. 'Hispanic' and 'latino' are created categories based on an ignorant assignation of 'group status' stemming from little more than a common language.
It's as if someone decided that 'white' meant everyone who speaks English.
Are people from Madrid 'hispanic'? Part of La Raza? Or are they European-Americans? What about those people--the Spaniards who conquered those who we now know as 'hispanic' and 'latino' so totally that they profess pride in the culture that destroyed their cultures. What about them? Do they get to proclaim themselves as part of the American victim overclass--or are they derided for the things that they did?*
*Victim class, of course--and every bad thing they did is attributed to the folks that settled NORTH America--instead of the Spaniards that conquered central and south America.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"though Hanson doesn't seem to be sufficiently multilingual"
You have no idea who you're talking about, do you?
Seriously -- "La Raza" chose their name and chose the meaning "The Race". They're supremacists. You can claim the word is ambiguous, but their meaning was not.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIrony is lost on those who think "1984" was a hopeful vision of the future.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLa Raza, or any other organization that promotes the interests of a specific, separate group, walks the thin line--willingly, mind you--between ethnic identity when it suits them, to transparency when they want to make an inclusive point. All organizations like La Raza do it with full knowledge of the inherent contradiction in their policy.
Why else would the NAACP, which by it's very name promotes the advancement of one group--colored persons--object to anyone else advancing the interests of anyone who isn't?
These groups all have two faces. Which one we see depends on which one advances their goals. One face is their racist face. The other face is the one that cries, "racism" whenever it chooses.
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