As a second generation Mexican-American who grew up in Los Angeles in the 90s, my choice is, and always will be, “it was all a lie.” I’m a moderate D, and I will never even consider voting R because as I was becoming politically aware, my view of the Republican Party was Gov. Wilson and prop 187 here in CA. I’m sure the other elements pl…
As a second generation Mexican-American who grew up in Los Angeles in the 90s, my choice is, and always will be, “it was all a lie.”
I’m a moderate D, and I will never even consider voting R because as I was becoming politically aware, my view of the Republican Party was Gov. Wilson and prop 187 here in CA. I’m sure the other elements played a part in all this, but I’ve always been sensitive to the overt racism spewed by the party.
It’s easy to overlook when your appearance codes WASP, but it’s super obvious if you don’t.
I didn't see this until 2016. I knew the racism was there but I thought it was a bug, not a feature.
I was a blue-collar white girl, intent on pulling my self up by my own boots straps, all about the hustle, doing odd jobs under the table for cash, gig work. All through high school, all through college, into medical school. It should be no surprise, many of my coworkers where first generation immigrants (or their kids) or Black. I went to a HBCU for summer classes, and met a lot of kids who were dealing with the same challenges (plus some big extra ones) as me. Work/school combo. How to get places without a car. Where to sleep over the summer. How to minimize student loan debt.
I was a Republican voter based on my values (hard work! Succeed!) and then in 2016, it became obvious to me that the Republican party had turned on the people actually living conservative values. I identified more with my Mexican co-workers and Black classmates more than I ever could with the likes of Trump, I was utterly disgusted and bewildered because this vehemently racist talk was coming from my family. And they were hating on the people who lived life the same way I did and it absolutely crushed me, and I've never gotten over it.
Having lived in a working class immigrant community for the last 30 years, their traditional views are more inline with many Republican traditional views, They are socially conservative, family oriented, entrepreneurial, hard working. They should be a natural fit except of course for the racism. When the Bush family moved away from anti immigrant rhetoric the Republicans got a larger share of the Hispanic vote.
BTW, the same can be said about the African American community. On the political spectrum they are just as diverse as the rest of the nation but the they vote solid Democrat because of racism.
Another thought, as moderate and conservative whites move to the Republican party, African Americans are the moderating force within the Democratic party. They are the reason we have candidate Biden rather than candidate Sanders.
I live in Montgomery County MD, the deep blue heart of Maryland, allegedly. Except that we and Prince George’s county next door are also home to Latino and West African immigrant communities. All of whom are socially conservative, entrepreneurial, religious and family-oriented...stop me if you’ve heard this before. If we ever get immigration sorted out, look for these groups to be leading Maryland’s political realignment.
As a second generation Mexican-American who grew up in Los Angeles in the 90s, my choice is, and always will be, “it was all a lie.”
I’m a moderate D, and I will never even consider voting R because as I was becoming politically aware, my view of the Republican Party was Gov. Wilson and prop 187 here in CA. I’m sure the other elements played a part in all this, but I’ve always been sensitive to the overt racism spewed by the party.
It’s easy to overlook when your appearance codes WASP, but it’s super obvious if you don’t.
I didn't see this until 2016. I knew the racism was there but I thought it was a bug, not a feature.
I was a blue-collar white girl, intent on pulling my self up by my own boots straps, all about the hustle, doing odd jobs under the table for cash, gig work. All through high school, all through college, into medical school. It should be no surprise, many of my coworkers where first generation immigrants (or their kids) or Black. I went to a HBCU for summer classes, and met a lot of kids who were dealing with the same challenges (plus some big extra ones) as me. Work/school combo. How to get places without a car. Where to sleep over the summer. How to minimize student loan debt.
I was a Republican voter based on my values (hard work! Succeed!) and then in 2016, it became obvious to me that the Republican party had turned on the people actually living conservative values. I identified more with my Mexican co-workers and Black classmates more than I ever could with the likes of Trump, I was utterly disgusted and bewildered because this vehemently racist talk was coming from my family. And they were hating on the people who lived life the same way I did and it absolutely crushed me, and I've never gotten over it.
Having lived in a working class immigrant community for the last 30 years, their traditional views are more inline with many Republican traditional views, They are socially conservative, family oriented, entrepreneurial, hard working. They should be a natural fit except of course for the racism. When the Bush family moved away from anti immigrant rhetoric the Republicans got a larger share of the Hispanic vote.
Yup, you hit the nail on the head.
BTW, the same can be said about the African American community. On the political spectrum they are just as diverse as the rest of the nation but the they vote solid Democrat because of racism.
Another thought, as moderate and conservative whites move to the Republican party, African Americans are the moderating force within the Democratic party. They are the reason we have candidate Biden rather than candidate Sanders.
I live in Montgomery County MD, the deep blue heart of Maryland, allegedly. Except that we and Prince George’s county next door are also home to Latino and West African immigrant communities. All of whom are socially conservative, entrepreneurial, religious and family-oriented...stop me if you’ve heard this before. If we ever get immigration sorted out, look for these groups to be leading Maryland’s political realignment.
My first vote as an 18 year old was for Pete Wilson, and I regretted it almost immediately, and never looked back.