Just a brief comment about the latina exchange on Morning Joe.
Three latinas were exchanging conversation about the current political environment and gave some good points about what it will take to attract the latina vote. They were also promoting contributions that latinos have made to this country. Sounded like they were going for some female empowerment too.
One latina said a very strong truth, and then walked right over it a few moments later. She said (and I paraphrase) that we are not a monolith and that politicians act like only immigration is an issue that will win them over. She said that the one topic that many of them are concerned with is the economy. And that wins a brass ring.
Americans with Latin American roots run through the social strata. From very poor to extremely wealthy. What worked for the wealthy and emerging Middle Class in Central and South America, also works here. Get educated, get a good job and be a good citizen. It is just easier to pull off in areas in this country where the demographics are strongly latin american, so you don't have to worry about getting sabotaged by racists.
Now for the background to the walk-over: Growing up in Panama I did notice a peculiar relationship between the poor and the wealthy. It's different than what we see in the U.S. When the wealthy acted in an arrogant manner, the people would call them rabi blancos. It's a reference to a white tail deer that raises its tail, suggesting a snooty attitude. There is a balance in latin America between the rich and the poor, that is much tighter than the relationship between Caucasians in the same social strata in the U.S. The poor have very little patience for rabi blancos.
And it's with that background that my spidey senses went up when the woman on the show said something that I thought was a little disingenuous. She was right to say that many Latin American were concerned about the economy, but then she made a comment that seemed a little disingenuous. She insisted that Latin American demographics are important to this country, because of the critical role they play in farm harvesting.
Hmm...I said to myself. Wouldn't you think that if those latin Americans who are harvesting the crops could speak for themselves they would probably say that their most important issue is getting ICE off their back so they can live peacefully in this country?
Just goes to show you. It's a fine line. I'm sure that Biden's people will help him through it. He just needs to be aware of the audience he's speaking to.
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