In my many diaries mentioning the existence of Latinos/Hispanics that are voting for trump. I get all kinds of reactions , from shock to anger. I've always held the belief that assimilation , or even hyper assimilation, had a role in this... I have an aunt who is a Trump supporter… She got to this country just like her sister, my mother… But selective amnesia…
'but there is also the issue of how much you or your family keep ties with your ethnic background… And I had not thought about that
in this article by Pacific Standard the delve into this issue
Recently on MSNBC’s All in With Chris Hayes, Joy Reid asked Latinos for Trump co-founder Marco Gutierrez whether Trump’s immigration policies would fundamentally drive Latinos away from the Republican party. Gutierrez replied that Trump’s message was “tough” but necessary; asked to clarify, he responded with the comment that immediately spawned a new Internet meme:
My [Mexican] culture is a very dominant culture. And it’s imposing. And it’s causing problems. If you don’t do something about it, you’re gonna have taco trucks on every corner.
Gutierrez defended his assessment, saying “you guys defend a Mexico that doesn’t exist anymore. There is a new Mexico that’s rising with crime and we need to stop that. And that stops right here [in America].”
This is a clear example of both. You see a clear disruption with his ethnic roots, borderline “them not us” , this is intertwined with how Americano they feel in their new country.
The authors of the article polled a group of Latino to corroborate there assertions
Those who strongly identified with Mexican culture were more likely to support the integration of both their Mexican and American identities into one unified identity, such as maintaining their own cultural traditions while also adapting to Anglo-American customs. These leaned more liberal. In contrast, those who held weak Mexican identification were more likely to support full assimilation to American culture. These were more moderate or conservative in their ideologies.
This is spot on... And illuminating. I see it in my family in all my cousins… Three sisters and how the decided to cherish or Chilean heritage and bilingüal upbringing and the ones that , in different degrees, removed themselves from their roots and even feel the need to anglify ( is that a word) , themselves.
We, who come from immigrant families, all have our path and journey… But I believe there is a third component that those Latinos for Trump block from their minds… Compassion and lack of historical perspective .
Given that Mexican Americans with a strong ethnic identification were more likely to be liberal and support biculturalism over assimilation attitudes, it’s quite unlikely that Trump will be successful in winning over many Latino constituents who don’t already support him. In fact, being photographed eating taco salad and exclaiming “I love Hispanics!” could backfire with conservative Latinos who do support him because that type of appeal makes salient a cultural identity that is unimportant to them, or worse, lumps them into a cultural group they have actively sought to minimize.
#DilesQueVoten
#DQV