Progressive values attempt to divide us
Iwas recently quoted in a Santa Fe New Mexican editorial (“Traditional New Mexico can be many things,” Our View, Jan. 18), saying that, “The Democrat Party has gone from being a party where they took pride in being for the average person, and now they are just the party of white, rich, liberal progressives. Look at who represents Santa Fe, Brian Egolf and Peter Wirth. They don’t have a single connection to traditional New Mexico.”
The editorial tried to present this quote as a big mistake on my part, but the growing divide between traditional Hispanics and progressives who run the Democrat Party is undeniable. Hispanic leaders such as Kiki Saavedra, Lucky Varela and Jerry Apodaca couldn’t win election today with their moderate views.
White progressives have ushered in a new type of racism where they have claimed paternalistic authority over all “marginalized” peoples — which demonstrates the supremacist attitude Democrats claim to be against. If you are a white progressive, you won’t recognize this as racism, so let’s let Black radio host Jamil Jivani explain it to you. Jivani claims that, “Paternalistic racial attitudes present Black people as powerless victims with little to no personal agency.”
Further, it seems to me progressives believe white children should be ashamed of the “privilege” of being white and that minority children should be angry for not having this privilege. This belief is racist at its core. President Joe Biden’s faux pas that “Poor children are just as smart as white children” demonstrates this condescending attitude.
Self-determination and pride are not priorities for the Democrat Party. The primary purpose minorities now serve is to advance the white progressive agenda through racial division. This doesn’t really fit in New Mexico, where we are a diverse minority-majority state. To force this square peg into a round hole, progressives now claim that Spanish descendants are the embodiment of New Mexico’s white oppressors.
It’s no surprise that white progressives sat quietly by while the obelisk in the Santa Fe Plaza was torn down or that the mayor of Albuquerque allowed a mob to demand the removal of a statue of Oñate. Schools across our state are changing their mascot names if they have anything to do with the conquistadors. Fiestas have been scaled back to avoid offending people.
Progressives feel so emboldened, they have renamed us LatinX. What arrogance — to rename Latinos as they so choose! Talk about racial appropriation. Our history, tradition and cultural identity are not yours to alter or ignore. It’s infuriating to see this happen, and the fact that The Santa Fe New Mexican throws cover to this divisiveness is outrageous!
It is clear progressives will continue their divide-and-conquer campaign at the expense of racial harmony and the long-held values that have made our state so unique and special. Convincing a segment of our population they cannot succeed because they did not come from European descendants and that Spanish New Mexicans are the cause of all their problems comes at an astronomical price.
The truth remains that New Mexico has been a culturally diverse and united state for many years. Hispanics, Native Americans and Anglos have worked together to create arguably the most culturally rich state in the nation. Unity, hard work and self-reliance are values the progressive left fears because it strips them of their power. So don’t hold your breath waiting for paternalistic white progressives to alter their beliefs.
To echo the words of the Black American writer Chloe Valdary, “Dear white people: Well-meaning paternalism is still racist.”
Rep. Rod Montoya is a Republican from Farmington. He is minority whip in the House of Representatives.