OK Politicos, Let’s Have “That Talk”

Victor Landa, NewsTaco

I think now would be a good time to talk about Latino politics, being so close to the mid-term elections and all.

I won’t presume to direct this at any candidate, political operative or party muckety-muck. That way everyone has room for plausible deniability. I’ll make this as easy as possible, with a few simple tasks to get you started.

First, look for your bag of assumptions, the one you think is in someone else’s closet – probably the last person who did your Latino outreach, the same ‘ole guy or gal who’s been doing it for years. Once you’ve found it, toss it out, it’s not doing you any good.

Second, don’t get a new bag, don’t make room for new assumptions, don’t give-in to the impulse that wants to carve a space for Lah-tee-noh votes.

Third, sit down, stop talking and listen.

If you’re trying to “figure out” the Latino vote, you’re doing it wrong. I’ve been listening to you for decades and I know what you mean by “figuring things out.” It means you’ve taken the bag of assumptions that some consultant convinced you to buy, you’ve spread those assumptions across a messy strategy table, and then you’ve tried to arrange those assumptions so that they fit into your particular view of the world.

That’s great, if what you’re trying to do is fool yourself into a good night’s sleep. It’s not great if you intend to remain lucid.

This is the gist of Latino politics: there is no gist to Latino politics.

That nugget of advice will move you far down the road. If you’re looking for a gist, you’re not going to find one; if you use your old lens, Latino politics will look disjointed and contradictory: Latinos are by-and-large entrepreneurial, but we look to the government to impose order, protections and a level field. The majority of us don’t hate government because our entrepreneurial spirit is grounded in resourcefulness. Contrary to what many of you think, we don’t look for opportunities to “take.” Rather, we use what’s at hand to invent a living because what’s good for us should be good for our neighbor as well. We’re very good at that, but you see it terms of “boot-strapping,” which sounds condescending to us because we understand a world of interconnections. Our culture is imbued with a consideration of the community, and that doesn’t make sense to you if you’ve got an empire-building, rugged individual mind set.

Another contradiction: Latinos are mostly a religious people, but our beliefs stress openness and tolerance of others. We’re devout, but not rigid. We go to church for matters of the soul – politics has no place there. Don’t assume we’ll vote for you because of religion. If everything you do and say about us belies disdain and judgement, why would you expect religion to make a difference? And if everything you say and do speaks of taking us for granted, don’t think our devotion translates to politics.

Here’s the answer to a question you’ve been asking yourself for decades: if you want us to vote for you or just vote in general, ask us, and field better candidates.

And that brings me to another assumption: Latinos don’t vote. What you see as a problem is actually a demographic reality. The number of Latinos that register and vote grows each year, but so does the number of Latinos who become eligible to vote (because of age or naturalization). So it may seem like we’re treading water on the vote front, but that’s because the consultants on your payroll tell you that story. In reality the Latino entrepreneurial yet communal, religious yet tolerant vote is growing in strength. We’re young right now, so many of us can’t vote … yet. Many of us are immigrants, and with time we’ll be citizens. But the majority of us, 63% at last count, are native born, English dominant Americans. So go ahead and continue to think of us as Spanish speaking, Univision watching immigrants, or as a naive and inexperienced community that must be led to good decisions – just so you know, we can smell the snake-oil on you.

Also, for Latinos immigration isn’t only about immigrants. Yes, there are many immigrants among us for whom the issue is front-and-center. And yes, we all know someone who is directly affected by the immigration issue. But there’s something else of equal importance that your consultants can’t gauge in a poll or analyze in a study: your attitude about immigration is like a classic poker tell – what you think about immigration is what you think about us, whether we’re voting citizens or not.

We hear what you’re saying, and we know what you’re thinking.

Here’s something else you might want to consider: stop the pandering. If you’re confused as to what I mean by that, here’s a picture – when you speak of us as family loving, hard-working, patriotic members of the community, don’t do it only when you need votes or say it as if we’re not in the room. Ask your consultants about this, see if they can figure it out.

This is where my little talk leaves an escape clause for all of you. If you’re a conservative that maligns us one day and is hopeful about our “catholic, religious” vote the next, you can assume I’ve been talking about liberals. And if you consider yourself a good-hearted, well-meaning liberal and you think you know what’s good for us better than we do; if you think your tent is big enough for us but don’t include us in your decision making, then you can assume I’ve been talking about conservatives.

You can go on about your campaigns now. The clock is ticking.

[Photo by Elvert Barnes/Flickr]

 

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