Tools of Discrimination

In the few centuries-long history of the United States that is dripping with racism, there are certain methods and tools the culture of the majority uses to manipulate the public image of Latinos the most, to train them to become more comfortable with seeing us mistreated, and uncomfortable when we are carefree and “not acting how we should,” or “being in the wrong neighborhood.” This week I’ll shed light on three of what are in my opinion the most frequently used tools of discrimination; economic/political violence, stereotyping and negative portrayal in media, and alienation in social spheres and daily life. These weapons are used to physically harm or remove us from the nation entirely or put us in prison, make us feel unwanted and truly hated, and to on a day to day level remind us of our “place,” in American society.

History has shown us that the United States has never quite been friendly towards Latinos. The earlier interactions Anglos had with Mexicans, back during the Mexican-American war times, were brutal and largely unnecessary, as then U.S. President James K. Polk provoked war with Mexico out of an imperialist unquenchable thirst for conquest fueled by the widespread concept of Manifest Destiny; the idea that the states is a superior, Anglo democracy, that has a divine right to control and build a large empire-like nation, spreading their values to the world. We see that thousands of Mexicans were forced to become U.S citizens and become indoctrinated under the U.S’s control, as well as fight for their land. Mexican landowners were told their land holdings would be protected, so long as their possessions could be proved on document in court. The California Land Act of 1851 cemented this stance toward Californios, Mexicans living in California. They had to hire English speaking lawyers to represent them, and make expensive trips to cities like San Francisco to battle for their land. Unfortunately, the language barrier and the fact that land descriptions were more general and land ownership documentation was hard to locate for families led to the taking of Mexican holdings, reducing Mexican political power in the western lands taken through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Families even had to sell parts of their land just to pay to fight for the rest of it. The Homestead Act of 1862 made it even easier for Anglo squatters to move onto and take Mexican lands, allowing them to move west and claim territory. The Platt Amendment of 1901 shows us that the U.S had no intention of letting Cuba gain its true independence after the Spanish American war. The amendment dictated that the U.S would give Cuba’s government to its people once they agreed to the construction of a U.S base, and that they would not sign treaties nor borrow money unless done so with U.S approval. We see that the Anglo majority could not stand to see Latino self determination and did not fully respect their humanity, seen through terrible acts of violence and vigilante mobs accompanied by legislation and legal discrimination. Confounding the issue is our portrayal by media.

Since the first engagements between Latinos and the U.S, the media has shaped how the public envisions Latinos, what they believe we physically look like, and caused them to associate certain character attributes and inherent qualities with Latinos, a common narrative among communities of color in the United States. After the Mexican American war lynchings of Mexicans in the western U.S. was becoming a practice, even in places where the judicial system was not established. Portrayal in novels and newspapers created multiple stereotypes of Mexicans, the stereotypes being forced on any other Latinos to enter U.S society later on. Mexicans were seen as docile, lazy and stupid. They were seen with no hope and with no faith that they could add to U.S. society culturally, simply economically as a cheap and willing labor force. They were referred to as “greasers,” seen as such by Anglos, largely because of presumptions about Latino hygiene, and the color of our skin. Mexican men were portrayed as overly sexual, stupid, hyper-dominant and lusting for white women and Mexican women were/are portrayed in film mainly as a temptress or sexual influence yet also mysteriously exotic and ripe for the taking. Shifting stereotypes have minimized the first stereotype of Mexican men, and has now morphed into seeing Mexican and other Latino males as exotic “Latin lovers,” very sexual and sex driven and foreign and hard to understand. We are not seen in major roles in films, largely as side kicks or comic relief. We are relegated to films about us that show us only either rich or poor (mainly poor). Anglo media used/uses its power to craft the idea that Mexicans and Latinos are poor, and parasitic, only taking from the nation and not adding to it. We are seen as not willing to work (even though many of us work jobs Anglos would never do) and too maintaining of our cultures post-indoctrination. This portrayal of us influences daily occurrences one experiences as a Latino in the nation.

We face social discrimination on a day to day level, from visceral, violent physical attacks to simple ignorant comments, questions, and alienating stares. When we pass a member of the majority on the street, the images that swirl through the minds of those who have never really known a Latino or no more than a couple are predictable and mostly all negative. Their near-brainwashing from living in the class white supremacy and racial propaganda intend to benefit is hard to notice, and is subsequently used like clockwork, stereotypes and associations are placed on any random Latino regardless of their individuality and uniqueness as a human. This conditioning causes generations and millions of members of the majority and from even other minority groups to harbor resentment and hatred for our community, for reasons they cannot even fully explain, sentiments they cannot place or identify from where they come from.