The following article was originally posted by 'Vivirlatino' and then cross-posted by 'The Latin Americanist', I wanted to post it and share it as well. It is an interesting and important topic to be discussed.
It is an issue that reveals the propaganda that is used and can be used against us within this society. As the article states, a larger issue is the perpetuating of the stereotype as so-called Latina women as hyper-sexual, lustful baby-makers. A perspective that Anglos have long carried with them in their relationships with our people. We must only harken back to the days in Puerto Rico of forced sterilizations and experimenting of the birth control on Original women. Also, the large numbers of Native American women who were forcefully sterilized throughout the United States. We need to continue to educate our people and provide for them so that we can raise our babies in the best conditions possible. We should continue to reach out and aid our sisters in need. Not just to avoid being labeled or prevent an issue from being used as propaganda against us. But so that we can do what's right and what's best for our ninos. Of course we want to resist, and fight against the labels and stereotypes projected upon us. But it is better to have understanding then it is to be understood. First and foremost, our ways, words and actions should be concentrated on the progress of our families and our communities. So that we can show our children ways to be successful within this society, without sacrificing la cultura, and so that they do not simply repeat whatever efforts we have made in the struggle. We have to create avenues for this to be possible.
Those who seek to do so, will continue on teaching falsehoods about us and slandering our people on the world stage. They will continue to fabricate and formulate propaganda against us to mislead the masses. They will continue to be 'them'. We need to continue to be 'us'. And still, be wise. La matematica de hoy es 'sabiduria'.
Making Babies is The Cause of Latino Population Growth, Not Immigration (and no one else is concerned with this framing?)
We'll say it once and I'll say it again, all those new brown faces in your hood are not coming from across the border. They are being born here. A study done out of the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute shows that the growth in the Latino population has to do with births increasing, not immigration.
This natural increase — more births than deaths — is accelerating among Hispanics in the USA because they are younger than the U.S. population as a whole. Their median age is 27.4, compared with 37.9 overall, 40.8 for whites, 35.4 for Asians and 31.1 for blacks.
And while the blogosphere and the media is using this study as an opportunity to say, "I told you so" to anti-immigration activists, My concern is another direction that this information could be used in.
There is a growing resurgence of the stereotype of Latina women as prolific breeders, reducing the role and image of mujeres to animals concerned with feeding their hot blooded lust and then feeding the babies that follow. There is a growing concern in the anti-immigrant movement with "anchor-babies", a disgusting way of describing children born in the U.S to undocumented women with the idea that these children will allow the women to stay in the U.S. or to take the fucked up analogy, anchor them to the U.S.
For declining counties, many in the Great Plains, the growth in young Hispanics may be the only way out of a population spiral.
"Demographically, they can't recover unless something like this happens," Johnson says. "There's no way older white populations can replace themselves."
Because more than half of births to Hispanic immigrants are to low-income women who have no high school degree, a natural population increase challenges communities, says Steve Camarota, research director at the Center for Immigration Studies, which promotes limits on immigration.
"It's a huge growth in low-income population and low tax payments," he says. "If the town is not viable economically, immigration is not going to fix that problem."
Along with the image of the perpetually hot, knocked up mami, comes the image of what people expect to happen after children are born. These Latina women and their children are assumed to go onto the welfare rolls, to overwhelm the public school system, the change the language and way people communicate.
Just read some of the comments under the original USA Today article (if you can keep from going off).
Immigration activists and all (hey feminists want a cause to get behind), need to be on point for a resurgence of eugenicist calls that only certain people, meeting certain requirements should have babies (these requirements of course based on the intersections of race and class). Be prepared for calls for mass sterilizations and forced birth control.
There is no analysis of what families consume more. Be prepared for so called environmentalist pointing their green fingers at brown mamis and their babies.
No comments:
Post a Comment