VivirLatino

As Maegan told us all earlier today, Obama has nominated Latina Sonia Sotomayor to replace outgoing Supreme Court justice, David Souter.

Sotomayor just gave her acceptance speech (shown below), and the beginning is filled with teary love for the family:

It’s very sweet, and it got me teary eyed too. But to give some small commentary that has absolutely nothing to do with Sotomayor’s nomination, it made me really sad to see the “love through work” discourse recreated by Sotomayor’s family. Latin@s know what I’m talking about here–the idea that parents working three, four, ten jobs in horrible conditions that often take that parent away from the family is an appropriate way for Latin@s to demonstrate their love for their children.

Just look at Obama’s family story for an example of what I’m talking about here. Both Barack and Michelle have spoken very eloquently about how their parents helped them with homework, building self esteem, and later in life, helping to raise grandkids, etc.

This is something you hear from SO many U.S. families. But when it comes to Latin@ families, the biggest most oft mentioned demonstration of love is “working three jobs so that I could do XXX.” Never mind the guilt that “working so that I can do XXX,” often provokes, this idea of love expressed through chronic work (that often, coiincidently, winds up killing our parents at very early ages) is just plain sad. What a luxury it is to sit with your kids and help them with their homework. What a luxury it is to help your child build self-esteem.

I’m so thrilled that Sotomayor’s mami is there to share this moment with her, and that she’s getting a moment to revel in her daughter’s accomplishments. It’s a huge honor that the both of them deserve.

And here’s to hoping that children of immigrants will eventually be loved through a hug, a long conversation, a fun trip, rather than the three jobs their parents work.