Latino Assimilation | VivirLatino

Why Does Latino in America Equal Spanish Being Criminalized and Pushed Aside

28 Oct 2009

It’s not just immigration that is being criminalized as some people have commented. Any trace of Latinidad deems people as targets for varying forms of harassment ranging from traffic stops, to tickets, to jails, to beat downs, to deaths. While some think that skin color alone can “mark” someone as other, and in this case Latino, language and varying levels of accents also brand. Just look at how much time is spent in this discussion on Latino in America on the issue of assimilation, acculturation and the role of language.

The issue always is how can you speak Spanish and still assimilate/aculturate with the ultimate goal seemingly being not being labeled/identified/called out as “other”. If you are going to insist on speaking Spanish then for everyone’s sake do it at home, where no one else can see or hear you or else face the consequences:

Let us not forget that we started 2009 with someone getting physically attacked while having a cell phone conversation in Spanish.

Sometimes we don’t even need language. Just having a name that could remind someone that you are Latino is enough to get you fired.

We Are a Part of the Latino Nation

9:36 am By Maegan La Mala · Controversia|Immigration|race · 3 Comments

12 Apr 2006

White Americans, and black Americans too, are going to have to get used to sharing this country — sharing it fully — with brown Americans. Things are going to be different. Deal with it.

At least Washington Post op-ed columnist Eugene Robinson wasn’t afraid to tell it like it is yesterday. Now while all Latinos/Hispanics (pick a box and move on) are not brown, we sure as hell ain’t white, at least not according to the United States race system which makes as much sense as the Homeland Security color coded warning system. The current immigration debate isn’t being so hotly debated because people are worried about those Canadians coming over the border. While people want to say its just about U.S. citizens losing jobs or wages being driven down, or safety, or U.S. services being overextended, its also about race. Why else the calls for protesters to carry U.S. flags and wear white? We, as Latinos, are expected to make ourselves more palatable to the mainstream, make ourselves less scary so we’ll be embraced.

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Posts Tagged ‘latino assimilation’

Why Does Latino in America Equal Spanish Being Criminalized and Pushed Aside

We Are a Part of the Latino Nation

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