Living and learning
America can address the grievances of its citizens
What do I have to complain about anyway? That’s what a nosy reader wanted to know. I had just marked the Fourth of July by penning a love letter to America, in which I noted that — as a Mexican American — the country I adore doesn’t always adore me back.
I’m not alone. A friend from Venezuela, who is a U. S. citizen, says she is “starting to feel like I have PTSD from all this malignancy.” Another friend, whose parents came from Mexico, warns me that we haven’t hit bottom and “someone is going to get hurt.”
Nonetheless, the reader, a self- identified white male, was skeptical that my compadres and I have any legitimate beefs.
“I would like to understand your grievances,” he said.
I smelled a trap. I suspected he just wanted to dismiss my objections and inform me that I had nothing to gripe about. Some people can be so helpful.
“Some of my best friends are Hispanic,” the reader said. “And none have ever mentioned the discrimination you allege.”
So what? All I know is what I’ve gone through during my half- century walking the planet with brown skin. It hasn’t been a stroll in the park. In the past few decades, the explosive demographic growth of the Latino community has caused many Americans to fear and loathe the nation’s largest minority.
This episode is a rerun. In the 1770s, Benjamin Franklin worried that German immigrants would “Germanize” the Colonies.
Since 1990, Latinos have been targeted by at least six fear- mongering politicians who treated them like piñatas — former California Gov. Pete Wilson, former presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan, former Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R- Calif., Rep. Steve King, R- Iowa, former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R- Colo., former Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce and, of course, President Donald Trump.
I’ve been told to “go back” where I came from since I started writing columns in 1989, back when Mr. Trump was busy running an airline into the ground.
It’s odd to see liberals get worked up over the “go back” controversy because they know how to dish that insult. A couple years ago, after I bashed Barack Obama for record numbers of deportations, an angry liberal told me: “Go back to Mexico — and take Donald Trump with you.”
As for grievances, I didn’t think I had any. I’ve got a great family and a good life — not to mention, a profession I love. But now that I think about it, I do have a few bones to pick.
There’s the constant “othering” of Latinos intended to deny us opportunities, limit our influence and put us in our place. There’s the scourge of white privilege, where those with light skin are treated differently by everyone from employers to police officers. There’s the insanity of the “imposter syndrome” where we have to overachieve in a system where the children of the rich and famous can underachieve. There’s cultural appropriation by those who try to impersonate us — whether it’s in Hollywood, the restaurant business or the current presidential race. Finally, there’s an attempt to silence us by claiming we’re oversensitive, biased or hateful.
These are dizzying times. If someone says or does something racist, and you call him on it, then the racist. If someone victimizes you and you holler, then you’re clinging to victimhood. The actual bigots want to be able to say and do whatever they like. And if some people give them grief for it, those who do the complaining are the ones with the problem.
Remember when conservative Republicans sermonized us on taking responsibility for our actions. Now they want a free ride on their bigotry.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump is still obsessed with attacking the four freshman congresswomen who make up “The Squad.” As he sees it, any person of color who is serving in Congress rather than, say, serving lunch is just “lucky.”
That’s rich coming from a guy who was raised with a silver spoon, dodged the Vietnam War, inherited millions from his father, avoided hefty taxes, ran for president against possibly the most unpopular Democrat in America, and got the New York- based media to hand him the GOP nomination over a dozen more seasoned candidates. Talk about lucky.
How about that? It turns out I do have grievances. Many of us do. Luckily, we live in a place where we get to air them — so that they can be addressed, and a great country can become even greater.