In case you didn't know, CNN's landmark documentary Latinos In America caught a brick ratings-wise, far under performing its predecessor, Black In America. I'm no Nielsen expert, but from the 20 minutes to so that I watched and joined some Twitter convos about last week, it seems many Latinos found the depiction riddled with negative stereotypes. The fact that Lou Dobbs still has a bully pulpit that he uses to bash Hispanics nightly prolly didn't help.
Most puzzling of all is the fact the Dobbs is married to a Wise Latina, himself.
Go figure.
Question: Did you watch Latinos In America?!? What did you think?
Monday, October 26, 2009
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I really enjoyed the Latino in America special. There are many parallels between the black community and the latino one.
Of course, some people will complain and not be satisfied, but overall, I feel that Soledad did a decent job covering a massive amount of material.
My best friend is Mexican, and he's one of the best guys I know. I taught ESOL at a high school where many of my students were illegals (which is a term that I hate because of it's pejorative subtext), and I have a real affinity for who they are and their struggles to assimilate into this great nation.
Just as revealed by this past presidential election, many white americans feel that their country is being stolen...but usually a sense of tact and PC will keep them in line...unless you're talking about Illegal Aliens or a black man aspiring to the highest office in the land. I tell them, and anyone else with a closed mind, to get the heck over it. This land was founded illegally, Mexico's land was stolen illegally, and thus...it's our shared heritage. Minorities will eventually out number whites. It's a fact.
We need to focus on inclusion and how we can expand our notion of what it means to be an American rather than become isolated and even more xenophobic than many of us already (and proudly) are!
UGH!
I saw about 1.5 hours of it...I did notice, correct me if I am wrong, that they tried to show all the Hispanics named Garcias and told different stories from that perspective...They tried to cover all different Hispanic backgrounds (Dominican, Mexican,Cuban, etc.)... I thought she did a good job...It also showed different generations of hispanics, born in this country, migrated to this country and civil rights activists that are still committed...It wasn't bad...It is still hard for me to watch all of the sad stories, even the ones in Blacks in America..we have a long way to go still...
It was also still hard for me to grasp the fact that some were in America for 18 years and still didn't speak English..
I tried but I didn't like it. I thought she leaned too heavily on some stereotypes and took too long to get to stories that were unique to Latinos.
On a related note, why does Lou Dobbs still have a show?
Side note:
The media and politicians need to realize that Dominicans and Puerto Ricans don't have a helluva lot in common with Mexicans and Guatemalans who don't have much in common with Brazilians. Latino and Asian both need to be phased out in favor of more nuanced understandings of ethnicity and identity.
By the by, CNN needs to get back to news and ditch the opinion, not just Dobbs, but Brown and Cooper as well.
Well, let's round up any "Garcias" we can find and tell a story...LMAO!
I caught some of it, but just couldn't stay through the whole thing...same thing with BiA.
CNN's prime time is rated 4th... behind even CNN Headline News.
she tried, but all i got out of it was 'latinos can not speak english very well, and have babies out of wed lock, and sneek into the country'. she could have done better. it was just hours of watching stereotypes unfold, much like black in america.
try again please.
sidenote: will we have an asian in america now? will white people complain that cnn hasn't focused on their 'culture' yet?
@Paule
"The media and politicians need to realize that Dominicans and Puerto Ricans don't have a helluva lot in common with Mexicans and Guatemalans who don't have much in common with Brazilians. Latino and Asian both need to be phased out in favor of more nuanced understandings of ethnicity and identity."
Couldn't agree with you more.
Amazing that latinos are dying to get in here, willing to break the law to do it, and America is still the 'bad guy'. I don't want L.A. to become more 'Mexican' because Mexico sucks; it is dirty and corrupt. Last time i checked , the US was a sovreign nation. Its citizens have every right to speak out against the flood of illegals. Just yell 'RACISM' if you disagree. It's worked so far....
Dobbs has a show because there's an audience for his POV.
Incidentally whether someone is pro or anti-illegal immigrant doesn't necessarily break down among traditional Left/Right lines. There are plenty of extreme Right wingers (like the WSJ opinion page or US Chamber or Commerce) that would love open borders and cheerlead for just that.
It's a fair discussion for Americans to have-how much immigration is desirable and what should be done about illegals. No country can have a situation where one group of people just decide that they're going to move in and too bad if others don't like it. That's not immigration. That's an invasion.
+1 Shady. Well said.
Joe,
It isn't wrong to discuss immigration policy. However, if you're resorting to culturally or racially-tinged rants, which you are doing, it poisons the well and does a disservice to any discussion. That's what the Lou Dobbs and Tom Tancredos of the world do.
Speaking of sovereignty, you might like to know that US-backed policies of NAFTA have hurt sectors of the Mexican economy which has spurred a lot of migrants to seek work in the USA (or starve).
In any case, speaking of the economy, there are fewer folks from south of the border coming over because of the poor economy here. Many Mexican immigrants in the US have left because of lack of work. Happy now?
Is it just me, or is it funny to see Soledad on both sides of the non-white coin--speaking on behalf of black and also Latino issues?
Soledad's mom is Afro-Cuban.. =)
I don't know if Dobbs reported on this San Francisco decision to ease enforcement of driving laws to make live easier for illegal immigrants but it's precisely this sort of special treatment which just doesn't make any sense and ruins any debate about what to do with illegals.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13645172
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