Very well said!! This bullshit about Mexicans and Latinos pisses me off so much! I'm proud to be a native Californian, living in what used to be Mexico. Indeed, the border crossed them. The sad bottom line is that this country is and has always been deeply racist.
Proud to be an immigrant to the great minority state of California (from Florida). California has two big connected problems: billionaires and water rights. But revolution follows institutional change.
Thank you, Alisa, for this excellent post. I so appreciate you and what you are doing. You are an inspiration for us all, Hispanic, gringo, or otherwise. Thank you...
Es la verdad, hermana! Seems llike I'm reading you all day every day! And I love it! BTW, I'm just a "latina-wanna-be", i.e. Jewish woman from Ohio taught Spanish by a Cuban exile who took me to Mexico at 15. Have loved barely anything else since, i.e., Spanish and Spanish-speaking world. Recently etired Spanish teacher after 40+ years. Do you do writing classes? <3
Thank you for clarifying facts about indigenous people and Latinos. And demolishing the bigoted lies. Many US residents do not absorb the fact that some states were Spanish and Mexican regions long before Europeans who were not Spanish arrived. And of course indigenous people were here thousands of years. It is amusing to think that people believe tomatoes have Italian origins or potatoes from Ireland. They, like corn and red peppers, are native American foods, traded all over the world for centuries.
I agree 100% with what you say and would add that I think part of the white right wing’s fear, unspoken, is that they are going to be out bred by brown skinned people with large families and become a smaller, less relevant part of the population.
In short, the right wing fear is demographic change.
My oldest son married a Puerto Rican woman and had two amazing children, the youngest just graduated high school on Friday. My youngest son’s daughter graduated high school last Tuesday. Third of his five children with two baby mamas.
I love all of my children and grandchildren unconditionally. Half Latin/ half black. Don’t care. Gay. Don’t care. They are my blood, my soul, my legacy.
I’ve known these wonderful young people since birth. My sons have raised seven amazing people. I love every one of them, regardless of their genetic background.
I am a white dude from rural NC, married to a black woman with roots in Trinidad via Camden NJ. One of my country cousins called my wife a n****r and I beat him unconscious. At a family reunion no less. The last family reunion I ever attended, 18 years ago.
My grandchildren do not know my side of their family. My sons have met my mother once, fifteen years ago. I want to protect them from racism and discrimination within my own family.
My younger sister has a beautiful, wonderful, totally awesome daughter in law who is an anchor baby to her parents who may have entered the US under questionable circumstances.
Who the fuck cares? They have been here over forty years, working and paying taxes the entire time. I love my nephews children as if they are my own. Why? Because I’m a decent human, that’s why.
Hispanic, Latinos, Caribbean people are all American. There, I said it. We are one people, one nation. Intermarried, related by blood, whether you want to admit it or not. No matter how white you think you are, if your family has been in the US more that 150 years, chances are you are a little Native American or Hispanic.
My father’s side of the family has been in the US since at least the 1750s. My aunt did a family history and discovered that for four generations we intermarried with Cherokee Indians. From the 1760s to the 1820s, at least five of my antecedents were
Native Americans.
Why bring this up? Because if you are of Northern European descent, chances are you are at least part Roman/Italian descent. How do I know this? Because Roman soldiers fucked. Hard. They spread their seed all around, everywhere.
So there you have it. Every white person from Northern Europe is part Hispanic. Might be fifty generations ago, or one generations. Doesn’t matter. We are all Latin, we are all Hispanic, we are all human.
Great information for the ignorant. We lived in Santa Fe for ten years. I worked with and have friends whose families still have Spanish Grant land originally to others who are a mix of pueblo and Mexico/South American natives.
It was always hilarious and sad at the same time when people asked if American money was accepted in New Mexico. The level of ignorance of Americans regarding the history of the southwest is tragic. Wasn't anyone taught American history in this country or did they not pay attention to it. We currently live south of the Arkansas River in Colorado, which was originally part of Mexico territory.
I, as a 70 yo white man know that I was not properly instructed. Of course. I did not know this while trying to pass through high school and college years. It comes full force later when visiting Guadalajara for business reasons at the age of 46. My partner down south that I only knew through the phone for almost a year, omg, looks like me, and his co engineer looks like one of my cousins (red hair, freckles) and the rest of the plant of over 300 look just like us. The picture of the four ladies, that is exactly what i saw and realized that i had been done a terrible service by not being taught Spanish as a needed language. Why did our school systems in 1960s not accept that everywhere west of the Mississippi River was in reality based on the Spanish Language. Yes I understand all the native languages lost but then we ignored the eastern US native languages too.
Another realization was the old cathedral in Guadalajara, I believe that dates to 1510 or 18 years after Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
AMEN! I too am from NC, considered white on all my school forms, my dad was a dark haired, blue-eyed man with Welsh roots, mom was loved by all but called 'high yellow' behind her back. Portuguese and Tuscororan, that mixer was churning hard.
It took me a minute to figure out you were referring to Kristi Noem.
Forthwith, she will be known here as Crusty Gnome.
Love it!
Very well said!! This bullshit about Mexicans and Latinos pisses me off so much! I'm proud to be a native Californian, living in what used to be Mexico. Indeed, the border crossed them. The sad bottom line is that this country is and has always been deeply racist.
Proud to be an immigrant to the great minority state of California (from Florida). California has two big connected problems: billionaires and water rights. But revolution follows institutional change.
Excellent piece, Alisa. Thanks.
Thank you, Alisa, for this excellent post. I so appreciate you and what you are doing. You are an inspiration for us all, Hispanic, gringo, or otherwise. Thank you...
Es la verdad, hermana! Seems llike I'm reading you all day every day! And I love it! BTW, I'm just a "latina-wanna-be", i.e. Jewish woman from Ohio taught Spanish by a Cuban exile who took me to Mexico at 15. Have loved barely anything else since, i.e., Spanish and Spanish-speaking world. Recently etired Spanish teacher after 40+ years. Do you do writing classes? <3
Thank you for clarifying facts about indigenous people and Latinos. And demolishing the bigoted lies. Many US residents do not absorb the fact that some states were Spanish and Mexican regions long before Europeans who were not Spanish arrived. And of course indigenous people were here thousands of years. It is amusing to think that people believe tomatoes have Italian origins or potatoes from Ireland. They, like corn and red peppers, are native American foods, traded all over the world for centuries.
I agree 100% with what you say and would add that I think part of the white right wing’s fear, unspoken, is that they are going to be out bred by brown skinned people with large families and become a smaller, less relevant part of the population.
In short, the right wing fear is demographic change.
Indeed they are afraid yet, the old blue haired ladies will produce no more children, that group are 'goners'.
Went to a great presentation on this over twenty yrs ago.
So much to absorb but all that is needed is a willingness to engage in factual learning.
Statistically shown that education and upward mobility lowers birth rate everywhere.
My oldest son married a Puerto Rican woman and had two amazing children, the youngest just graduated high school on Friday. My youngest son’s daughter graduated high school last Tuesday. Third of his five children with two baby mamas.
I love all of my children and grandchildren unconditionally. Half Latin/ half black. Don’t care. Gay. Don’t care. They are my blood, my soul, my legacy.
I’ve known these wonderful young people since birth. My sons have raised seven amazing people. I love every one of them, regardless of their genetic background.
I am a white dude from rural NC, married to a black woman with roots in Trinidad via Camden NJ. One of my country cousins called my wife a n****r and I beat him unconscious. At a family reunion no less. The last family reunion I ever attended, 18 years ago.
My grandchildren do not know my side of their family. My sons have met my mother once, fifteen years ago. I want to protect them from racism and discrimination within my own family.
My younger sister has a beautiful, wonderful, totally awesome daughter in law who is an anchor baby to her parents who may have entered the US under questionable circumstances.
Who the fuck cares? They have been here over forty years, working and paying taxes the entire time. I love my nephews children as if they are my own. Why? Because I’m a decent human, that’s why.
Hispanic, Latinos, Caribbean people are all American. There, I said it. We are one people, one nation. Intermarried, related by blood, whether you want to admit it or not. No matter how white you think you are, if your family has been in the US more that 150 years, chances are you are a little Native American or Hispanic.
My father’s side of the family has been in the US since at least the 1750s. My aunt did a family history and discovered that for four generations we intermarried with Cherokee Indians. From the 1760s to the 1820s, at least five of my antecedents were
Native Americans.
Why bring this up? Because if you are of Northern European descent, chances are you are at least part Roman/Italian descent. How do I know this? Because Roman soldiers fucked. Hard. They spread their seed all around, everywhere.
So there you have it. Every white person from Northern Europe is part Hispanic. Might be fifty generations ago, or one generations. Doesn’t matter. We are all Latin, we are all Hispanic, we are all human.
Great information for the ignorant. We lived in Santa Fe for ten years. I worked with and have friends whose families still have Spanish Grant land originally to others who are a mix of pueblo and Mexico/South American natives.
It was always hilarious and sad at the same time when people asked if American money was accepted in New Mexico. The level of ignorance of Americans regarding the history of the southwest is tragic. Wasn't anyone taught American history in this country or did they not pay attention to it. We currently live south of the Arkansas River in Colorado, which was originally part of Mexico territory.
I, as a 70 yo white man know that I was not properly instructed. Of course. I did not know this while trying to pass through high school and college years. It comes full force later when visiting Guadalajara for business reasons at the age of 46. My partner down south that I only knew through the phone for almost a year, omg, looks like me, and his co engineer looks like one of my cousins (red hair, freckles) and the rest of the plant of over 300 look just like us. The picture of the four ladies, that is exactly what i saw and realized that i had been done a terrible service by not being taught Spanish as a needed language. Why did our school systems in 1960s not accept that everywhere west of the Mississippi River was in reality based on the Spanish Language. Yes I understand all the native languages lost but then we ignored the eastern US native languages too.
Another realization was the old cathedral in Guadalajara, I believe that dates to 1510 or 18 years after Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
We the people need a lot of waking up!
AMEN! I too am from NC, considered white on all my school forms, my dad was a dark haired, blue-eyed man with Welsh roots, mom was loved by all but called 'high yellow' behind her back. Portuguese and Tuscororan, that mixer was churning hard.