Some Good News and a Little Ansiedad

As most of you have probably already figured out, I read the evil, failing, fake, etc. New York Times and Washington Post on an almost daily basis, and in the past day or so there has been some good news for the Latino community and everyone else who cares about social justice.  For one thing, the pardoning of Arpaio DIDN'T happen when 45 visited Phoenix the other night!  Also, a Texas judge has ruled against voter suppression legislation in that state and ruled that a comprehensive and fair measure be passed to completely replace what's currently on the books.  There is also a heartening article in the NYT today (8/25) about the resilience of the Spanish language and Spanglish in Latino communities despite the fact that few members of the younger generation are fully fluent.

 However, in spite of these good developments or perhaps because of them, I have a sneaking feeling that 45 is about to stir the "identity politics" pot again by doing something hateful to our people--probably eliminating the DACA program or perhaps...pardoning Arpaio!    Keep strong and

                          safe in the coming storms--both political and meteorological--everyone!

Thoughts about "Latinx"

Saludos, everybody!  I have just been boning up on the new expression "Latinex," and yes, I must admit , I am one of the "older generation" who isn't crazy about it.  For one thing, it has the sound to me of some sort of pesticide or cleaning product that Gringos could use in order to rid their homes or  neighborhoods of Latino (a)s! This just hearkens back to an old convention of Madison Avenue advertising lingo, I suppose; and like most of my reflections, is no doubt terribly outdated.  But just think about it for a minute and see if you can get my drift!

I am a language nerd and though I'm generally not at all conservative as a person, that is one area where I have to admit that I am. It stems from my particular Mexican American upbringing (a long time ago!) and I'll explain how.  My father was a very gifted and ambitious Chicano guy, born in Brownsville, Texas in El Valle. He figured out early on in life that one way to get ahead in the Anglo world was to speak the English language perfectly ( though of course he never abandoned his beloved primary tongue of Spanish.)  But that was how we were raised in our family; to speak perfect, unaccented English and never to vary the way we talked by means of slang, newspeak, etc.  Linguistic conservatism--this was the key to upward mobility, and to a certain extent it worked.  Of course, we were also taught to revere Spanish in the same way, though he never taught me enough to become really fluent. (😕)

So, I guess I will come down on the side of people who would not use the term "Latinx" personally. But on the other hand I am all for self-determination, so I completely support anyone who feels that gendered Spanish is oppressive and prefers Latinx. We are all pretty non-binary in our family genderwise, I'm glad to say, so I can relate. We should never allow others to define us!

So to wrap this up,  my feeling is that we're all free to use whatever words make us feel best in how we express ourselves---to present ourselves to the world as we truly want to be seen, heard, written, sung, and talked about. All I've been reading and seeing online about you Latinx jovenes is utterly impressive and beautiful, and I'm proud that the torch is being carried forward by all of you in all of our dazzling diversity. I think we all agree that language is powerful, so let's be empowered in our use of it!

Emily Peña Murphey