Not too long ago, I was in the newsstand section of Barnes & Noble at Union Square waiting for my friend and his wife to go to Chelsea and see some art exhibitions when among the many magazines, one stood out because of its cover story. The magazine was
Foreign Policy and the article, "The Hispanic Challenge: How Hispanics Immigrants Threaten America's Identity, Values, and Way of Life," which incidentally is only a synopsis of a forthcoming book titled,
Who Are We? The Challenges to America's National Identity, by the renowned Harvard professor, Samuel P. Huntington.
The article shocked me to say the least. It seemed like a personal attack and led to all sorts of images and questions pertaining to my self. Am I unwanted even though I am an American citizen by birth? Have I not realized that my non-Hispanic/Latino neighbors looked at me cautiously because I do not like or practice certain American customs like going out drinking during the superbowl? Is it because sometimes I think better in Spanish when expressing deep and personal emotions, such as love or grief? Or, is it because we like to have crucifixes and pictures of the Pope, Jesus and the Virgin Mary hanging on our walls, we like to have candles honoring saints, and we like to have kitschy statues of saints and angels? My family is one of them. What other reason could there be? Regardless of our differences, I am shocked that such an antiquated and xenophobic thinking is still in the minds of some Americans today. Have we forgotten that each immigrant group, with its customs and traditions, have contributed to the general American culture of today? So how are we a "threat"?
I picked up this magazine with caution. I knew that I was going to encounter passages that would bother me, but I also knew that I needed to clear my mind from passing judgment to quickly. So I slowly began reading Huntington's article, pausing along the way to think and make sense of his argument. The "we" as used by Huntington is as exclusive as the "we" used by our founding fathers when writing the Declaration of Independence. "We" in the book title and in the article refers to Americans, principally White Americans, claiming a superiority of Protestant culture and values inherited by the founding fathers. "We" does not include me.
Let us be clear that I am not claiming to be an expert in politics, immigration or economics. I am not a scholar, but I do have an interest in issues pertaining to race, ethnicity, and social class. I am sure that my own personal experiences are shared by other Hispanics and Latinos in this country.
Hamilton argues that the large immigration from Latin America, particularly from Mexico, differs from past immigrations because of two important aspects. First, the proximity of Mexico and Latin America to the United States. This proximity, he argues, enables immigrants from Latin America to go back and forth to their homelands: Mexicans need only to cross the border, for Cubans it is only a "short boat ride away" while for South Americans it is only a short flight away. The other is the size of the immigrant population, especially from Mexico, which does not seem to subside. It is our sheer numbers and the proximity to our original homelands have caused us to group together in states closer to our original port of entry (Florida, the southwest and northeast) and in segregated "Spanish neighborhoods" within the cities in those states. This prevents us from meeting other groups of people and taking part in the American economic system which in turn prevent us from reaping the benefits that it will bring. He further his argument by stating that second and even third generation American-born are not learning English. He says, "they all speak Spanish."
I am a first generation American-born living in a city, New York, and in a neighborhood with a large Latino population. Huntington would probably assume that my friends are most likely Hispanic and I use Spanish more often than English. He would also think that I only enjoy Latino food, Latin music, Spanish TV, etc. It becomes clear to me that he has not looked at us, our history--American history--and our neighborhoods carefully.
My neighborhood did not always have a large Latino population. Belmont was traditionally an Italian neighborhood and in fact, it is still referred to as "Little Italy." But Italians became a minority group long ago after we moved from other neighborhoods that had become "Hispanic." Today,
buenos dias, gracias, and
hasta luego has replaced
buongiorno, grazie, and
ci vediamo, their Italian equivalent. Despite of this, the English language has been and will always be the binding element of the community, regardless of which ethnic group make up the majority. Without some knowledge of English, I would not be able to talk to the shoe-repair owner who is Korean; likewise if he did not use English, he would not be able to conduct business. Without English I would not be able to defend myself against unscrupulous shop keepers or talk to the beautiful Albanian clerk at the bank. Because of our presence, tacos, burritos, empanadas and coronas are as visible as pizza, calzone, canolis, and chiantis. My neighborhood has now a Mexican soccer league in addition to the original Italian one, and the local public library which has the largest collection of Italian language materials in the city now carries a Spanish collection, albeit not as large. We have enriched the neighborhood and in the future other ethnic groups will do the same.
Today "Spanish neighborhoods" like East Harlem, West Farms, Corona, and Washington Heights were once something else. East Harlem was once African-American and Italian. West Farms was once Jewish, and Corona was once Italian. Washington Heights was once Jewish and before that, German/Central European. Despite of our growing numbers, some "Spanish neighborhoods" have ceased to exist or are on their way to the moratorium. Morningside Heights and the West Side are now "gentrified." The Lower East Side is not "trendy" and parts of Williamsburg have now been replaced by the Poles and other Eastern Europeans, artists, and yuppies. This is the history of all neighborhoods in New York City and of every other city in this country. People move from one place to another for a variety of reasons. So there is no neighborhood that is permanently settled by one group of people--all neighborhoods are in a permanent state of transition. My brother was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx; moved to Rego Park when he was a college student; then to Forest Hills after graduating; later spent some time in Colorado, then he moved to Hawaii and found out that he did not liked it, so he moved to Pasadena a year later; and now he makes his residence in San Francisco. While my brother's constant moving may be an extreme, many of us are constantly moving sometimes far from our
barrios in an areas populated by non-Latinos.
It is true that we retain some of our values and traditions of our homelands. But is it not true that White Americans also have done the same? I have Italian-American friends of second and even third generation who still have habits and customs not common with other Americans. Then there are many Americans who are now red-discovering their roots and are looking back for a connection to Europe, Africa or elsewhere in the world. We have ethnic parades, ethnic restaurants, and such. So why does he expect us to be any different? Many Americans say they are Italians, Irish, German or Polish even though most are of mixed ancestry, often of several generations American, and may never have traveled to the country they claim origin in. Can I say that they are being unpatriotic or non-assimilated?
I like to eat Spanish food. I like my rice and beans with fried pork chop. Nothing beats it! I like plantains,
bacalao, papaya, and
batidos. But I also like pumpkin pie, New England clam chowder soup, collard greens, etc. If I go out to eat, a Latino restaurant is the last thing that I think about. I prefer Indian or Thai. I do watch some Spanish TV and listen to old boleros, but how one can not enjoy American pop music or Hollywood productions when they set the standard for everyone else. Besides, "Latino" music is now being enjoyed by white-Americans and some Latin pop stars are now crossing over to an anglo audience by singing in English. My taste in music has been influenced in some respects by the people I have met, and they are usually non-Latinos. The same is true of most Latinos. We work and interact in places where there are people of all ethnic background and nationalities. When we use our native language, it is usually with our closest friends and relatives because it will be wrong or strange not to do so. Furthermore, if there is any proof that Latinos are becoming assimilated is that many of us have a poor fluency of our native language or not know it at all. My younger brother is one of them. Believe me, I know. I live in a neighborhood where the majority are Latinos but few have full fluency of the language. If Huntington believes that we are not assimilated, send some of us back home and he or she will stick out like a sore thumb because everything about them will cry "American," from the fashion she wears to the attitudes that he displays. He also mentions that bilingualism is divides more than unites and the citizens of bilingual countries are hardly bilingual at all. He cites Canada, Belgium and Switzerland as examples. I, on the other hand, see bilingualism as a plus because it enables us to expand our thinking and see the world a little bit different. If the people from said countries do not speak each other languages is due to politics or forced supremacy of one language over another.
Huntington claims that our failure to assimilate is due to our level of education, economic status, income, home ownership, and low intermarriage. If our educational levels are not in par with white Americans or if our professional occupations are usually on the lower end of the labor market is due to past and on-going discrimination and social injustice, which in turn explains why home ownership and economic status are relatively low and not because of lack of ambition as he so wrongly claims. Also, we have to remember that Latinos are a "new" immigrant group and many of us are still coming, and many economic studies fail to note this in their studies. And in regard to low intermarriage, perhaps it is because our men and women are hot and sexy!
Mr. Huntington, you have not looked at us carefully. Despite our growing numbers, we are no different from past immigrants. We are learning the language of Shakespeare. We are contributing in all economic, scientific, and artistic areas of this country. But most importantly, we are constantly on the move in search of the American Dream. In fact, the difference between us, Latinos, and the group that Huntington belongs to (whites) is not that much.
Below is a link to the article:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=2495
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I believe that the real threat comes from anti-immigrant groups, conservatives, people in the far right and White Nativists, not us.
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