Latinos are not monolith. But a lot of this conversation continues to miss the mark. Yes, Puerto Ricans are Americans, but the “real Americans with economic anxiety” are not expected to know that, or to even care. That’s why this narrative never includes USVI and other territories. Even when speaking about Cubans, the media uses a broad brush often overlooking the racial and socioeconomic structures that separate second generation Miami Cubans from other Latino populations and even Cuba itself. The elephant in the room is that we’re having this conversation for the third time in a row refusing to hold white people (and their adjacents) accountable for their ignorance and what their willing to sacrifice to keep the status quo. And that’s the real irony because for all the media’s anodyne talk of condescension, what’s really condescending is believing the people who voted for Trump are either too stupid or too set in their ways to be told that being economically anxious and scared of change is not an excuse to be weak and immoral. But that’s just my two cents.
SER: Liberals often make the error of using the term “voting against your self-interest,” which I think is a condescending term.
Women voted to enshrine abortion rights in several states, but still voted for Donald Trump. If that isn’t the definition of ‘voting against your self interest,’ I don’t know what is.
Also, more Democrats in Florida voted for George W. Bush in 2000 than they did for Al Gore.
Everybody votes in their own self interest, whether they consciously think so or not. They vote in what they think is their own self interest may be a better way of putting it. As a white southerner, raised in the Baptist Church, I can think of the antiabortion example. Why would women vote for antiabortion measures, and politicians who promise to pass such measures? Because God demands it, and will bless a "pro-life" nation. At least, that is what they are told. Never mind what the Bible actually says about abortion (very little, and in favor of it in some circumstances), it's what we were told. You want to be blessed, vote accordingly, and that is in your own best interest.
I can't say that is happening within all of the Latino communities, but your conversation was enlightening. It's always good getting the perspectives of others.
"We don’t expect any white person to feel bad for a poor white person..."
I expect people to feel bad for other people who are suffering and wanting to help them.
Of course, having said that I am having issues feeling sympathy for folks who voted for a white supremacist and rapist full of hatred and misogyny who openly said he plans on hurting other people suddenly discovering that whiteness as Steven Miller and the GOP defines it does not include them.
I just feel a lot of anger and it's not going away. This is the world his voters created... a world where rape is okay... a world where racism is okay... a world where hatred is okay... a world where if you have fame and money, crime and corruption are okay... and not only okay, but something that gets you rewarded with more power.
To clarify, it’s not a GIVEN that white people would automatically feel bad for other white people. If we lived in that reality, we’d be closer to a “Star Trek” utopia rather than a MAGA hellscape.
But assuming all Latinos would be swayed by immigration or a campaign even calling a subsection trash is delusionally myopic and shows how Latinos are viewed a monolith.
Much like Politicians talk to poor Apalachians different than New Yorkers, Dems need to talk differently to Puerto Ricans than they do Cubans or Mexicans.
Latinos are not monolith. But a lot of this conversation continues to miss the mark. Yes, Puerto Ricans are Americans, but the “real Americans with economic anxiety” are not expected to know that, or to even care. That’s why this narrative never includes USVI and other territories. Even when speaking about Cubans, the media uses a broad brush often overlooking the racial and socioeconomic structures that separate second generation Miami Cubans from other Latino populations and even Cuba itself. The elephant in the room is that we’re having this conversation for the third time in a row refusing to hold white people (and their adjacents) accountable for their ignorance and what their willing to sacrifice to keep the status quo. And that’s the real irony because for all the media’s anodyne talk of condescension, what’s really condescending is believing the people who voted for Trump are either too stupid or too set in their ways to be told that being economically anxious and scared of change is not an excuse to be weak and immoral. But that’s just my two cents.
Thank you for lending your voices to the public discourse, you are both appreciated.
Thanks!
Good to hear from Michael Mora... I love his Sunday Political Show rundowns...
Hope to have him here more often!
Great conversation. Thank you.
SER: Liberals often make the error of using the term “voting against your self-interest,” which I think is a condescending term.
Women voted to enshrine abortion rights in several states, but still voted for Donald Trump. If that isn’t the definition of ‘voting against your self interest,’ I don’t know what is.
Also, more Democrats in Florida voted for George W. Bush in 2000 than they did for Al Gore.
Everybody votes in their own self interest, whether they consciously think so or not. They vote in what they think is their own self interest may be a better way of putting it. As a white southerner, raised in the Baptist Church, I can think of the antiabortion example. Why would women vote for antiabortion measures, and politicians who promise to pass such measures? Because God demands it, and will bless a "pro-life" nation. At least, that is what they are told. Never mind what the Bible actually says about abortion (very little, and in favor of it in some circumstances), it's what we were told. You want to be blessed, vote accordingly, and that is in your own best interest.
I can't say that is happening within all of the Latino communities, but your conversation was enlightening. It's always good getting the perspectives of others.
"We don’t expect any white person to feel bad for a poor white person..."
I expect people to feel bad for other people who are suffering and wanting to help them.
Of course, having said that I am having issues feeling sympathy for folks who voted for a white supremacist and rapist full of hatred and misogyny who openly said he plans on hurting other people suddenly discovering that whiteness as Steven Miller and the GOP defines it does not include them.
I just feel a lot of anger and it's not going away. This is the world his voters created... a world where rape is okay... a world where racism is okay... a world where hatred is okay... a world where if you have fame and money, crime and corruption are okay... and not only okay, but something that gets you rewarded with more power.
This is the fucking world his voters wanted.
To clarify, it’s not a GIVEN that white people would automatically feel bad for other white people. If we lived in that reality, we’d be closer to a “Star Trek” utopia rather than a MAGA hellscape.
But assuming all Latinos would be swayed by immigration or a campaign even calling a subsection trash is delusionally myopic and shows how Latinos are viewed a monolith.
Much like Politicians talk to poor Apalachians different than New Yorkers, Dems need to talk differently to Puerto Ricans than they do Cubans or Mexicans.