I´ve been reading some ANTI blogs lately and they are way off base when it comes to the term “La Raza.” One popular ANTI blogger friend of mine says, “La Raza" (The Race) is a broad term which refers to those whose ancestry is indigenous to the area of Mexico (or "Aztlan"). MEChA members refer to themselves as "La Raza" or "Raza," but the term itself is used to indicate camaraderie among those in different organizations with the same objectives (meaning Aztlanists).”
It is very clear my ANTI friend doesn´t have a clue of what he is talking about.
First of all, the vast majority of Americans who are Latino in this country have no connection to the Aztlan philosophy. The majority of us are hard working Americans, just like everyone else. We work every day. We eat dinner with our family. We watch TV, read books, juggle our checkbooks and enjoy our time off. There are no more “La Raza Bogeymen” than there are "ANTI Bogeymen" in fact, far less.
Granted, there may be a very few small groups that publish unread newspapers or publications who publish their Aztlanist philosophies, but they have much smaller numbers than the ANTI hate groups such as the KKK, Skinheads, Aryan Nation, Militias or far-right Minutemen groups.
The ANTI friend talks of some unknown professors in some universities who may have mentioned some Aztlanish type theories. Yet they never discuss the extreme rhetoric, rallying and of some extreme ANTI professors like Kris Kobach who frequently speaks on the various cable channels. What about Pat Buchanan or his sister Bay? How about Ira Mehlman the spokersperson for F.A.I.R. and the actual person who started “You don´t speak for me” the infamous ANTI group supposedly comprised of Latinos who are ANTIs?
My friend is right in one regard. Latinos do relate to one another. Other cultures relate to one another as well. To name a few: Italians, Asians, African Americans. Of course we relate to one another. Many of us have a common heritage. We like the same food. We like the same music. Many of us have the same religion and faith in God. We are close to our families. Being of the same ethnic group, many of us have similar hair, allergies, attributes and heredity.
We relate to one another. What is so hard to understand? There is nothing wrong with this.
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I love your blah blah blah. It means I got your attention. Perhaps next time, you will have the courage to leave your name.
The main thing that ties latinos together is the Spanish language. Because of the same language, therefore latinos like the same music, etc. More Americans like Mexican food than do Cubans, Puerto Ricans etc.
Regardless of what you say, the term "The Race" would not be accepted if "white people" decided to call themselves "The Race". Can you imagine the uproar? "We are "The Race"......--No, that would not sit very well with most people.
And when the Spanish language is lost and they start listening to hip-hop and eating bologna sandwiches and macaroni and cheese and drinking Mountain Dew are they still tied to Latinos? In this country, yes, but only by a surname, not by language or culture.
The problem is most non Latinos do not understand the word "La Raza." It is not a derogatory term. You cannot take a term like this and apply it literally to derogatory, racist term in English. You cannot change the intent.
This term is a term of cultural unity. It is like Italian Pride or Irish Pride or Gay Pride or African American Unity. These terms are all the same. A cultural group identifying with each other.
I am going to write another blog on this to help further explain this term.
Dee, IMO, you are wasting your time. Groups like La Raza, NAACP, and the Aryan Nation are one and the same. None of them can offer you true progress in your cause; they just sustain the status-quo and, instead of uniting, they divide similar peoples, with similar problems, in the United States. Simply pointless... My head hurts now.
Mirror, I think you are referencing NCLR not the term Que Viva La Raza. I am going to share what this term means to me in my next post.
From what I read, NCLR started out as a Humanitarian group there to assist exploited people and support them attain opportunities, progress in education, and more.
There may be some people within the group that may have questionable motives (just like in Business or Government) but I think the principles and concepts of the organization are still true.
This group (IMHO)is far different than the Aryan Nation or the KKK or the Skinheads.
The posts on my blog regarding La Raza and MEChA are not my sentiments but those I found when I googled those terms. The MEChA constitutional provision is indisputable and I understand there are chapters of the organization everywhere you look in the colleges and universities in the Southwest and elsewhere. If so, it is much more widespread with a much larger membership than the radical right organizations. This suggests that MEChA and the Atzlanistas may be a greater threat than you realize. However, I hope Mirror is right. He generally has a level head.
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