Being Latino Is Not a Crutch

huffpo latinoBy César Vargas , Huffington Post Latino Voices

I’ll tell you what happens to a person of color once he/she “makes it.” They fall victims to the myth of meritocracy. Once they’re knighted kings and queens of the universe, they think they made it solely on their hard work, talent and intelligence. It’s insulting to think everyone else isn’t good or trying hard enough. Social capitaland a little luck goes a long way, by the way.

Don’t believe the lies. You are as capable as anyone else to be great. There’s no magic formula. There’s no genetic advantage. It’s the availability of opportunities. Which we are sorely lacking.

“Just do it,” “think positive,” “work harder,” “make your own,” is misguided, misinformed and dangerous raise-yourself-by-the-bootstraps advice. Demand for more and better opportunities. Don’t let people tell you that you’re not entitled to them, because your name, your money, your labor is exploited and neither you nor your children benefit from them as much as you should. The Latino/Hispanic buying power is quickly approaching $1.5 trillion. Use it wisely. Consume Latino content (publications, movies, theater, music, books), products, and patronize Latino establishments. Reinvest in yourself.

If you see a film/show that was shot in a location in which the Latino population is predominant and you don’t see at least a few of us there, walk out, change the channel, but not before vocalizing your displeasure. If you enter a business that has more than ten people employed and you do not see one Latino there, walk out. Find another one that does and not just hidden away doing manual labor. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but we are capable of …

This story was originally published in Hufington Post Latino Voices.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

César Vargas is a producer, activist, and social media strategist. He founded UPLIFTT (United People for Latinos in Film TV and Theater) and is president of Burning Ones Productions. His op-eds have been published on Fox News Latino, NBC Latino, Cuéntame, as well as his own blog at upliftt.com. You can reach him on Twitter at @CesarVargas365 and Facebook at facebook.com/vargas365.

[Photo by pixelcrazy]

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