Mythology and Its Injustice to Immigration-Part 3

 Mythology and Its Injustice to Immigration by Sam Hernandez                                   March 2020

Part 3

Myth number 3: Today’s immigrants do not want to learn English. It is not true.

History shows that today’s non-white immigrants learn English slightly faster than the first white European immigrants who quit coming when the conditions in their home country improved.

The English came first, as colonized people of the British Empire, and succeeded in establishing “first power” and way of life in the first colonies. They instituted English as the present and future primary language. As other white European nations came, the colonies became populated with enclaves of white groups more comfortable in their own native culture and language, trying to retain their “self” while in transition to a new language and culture being built by the British elite and trade ship companies. It took them a long time to learn English, partly because they were starting their own businesses and work within themselves while trying to remain their own ethnic selves. Still, they were all white and European. They were no longer indentured and liked to see hard physical labor done by “others.” They were proud that they had eliminated the “inferior” Native Americans and embraced a legalized slavery in the South. Winning the Revolutionary War proved that they were white, proud and privileged, and had “melted” into “the pot” of one culture--all white.

Keeping one’s native culture, or not, does not seem to slow or speed up learning English. English is today’s most needed language for global trade and business. It still takes time to learn it. Everybody who came and now come to the U.S. wants and needs to learn English in order to live, work, and communicate with everyone. Then and now, the elders take about a generation (20-25 years) to learn English. The children and youth learn quicker because school is part of their day. The second generation becomes more English proficient. The third generation begins to even forget their first language as they “melt into the pot.” Some continue to try even after they find out they are not “meltable.” Learning English while living in enclaves and working daily is very difficult. For example, German immigration peaked in the 1860-1870’s. Three generations later, during the WWI period of 1917, there were still 700 German language newspapers available! Language is the essence and retainer of an ethnic culture. If you are not white, it is best to keep your language.

Learning English is a most serious undertaking. Are you learning English in the U.S. just because you need it to survive? To forget your native language and assimilate into a white non-ethnic “melting pot” culture where you find your ethnicity is “non-meltable” because of your color? To become bi- or multi-cultural so that you can live and work with different cultures and still be “you”?

The whites came already having had experience with elements of the start of the Industrial Revolution and wanted it here. To get it done, all white groups decided to forgo their similar ethnic cultures and accept one language. They had to forgo their family-extension systems in order to direct more of their time to the revolution of mechanized production and profitable labor. They became a “nuclear” family, responsible for only the parents and siblings. Other values were given up for those needed for success in the new non-ethnic “culture of the machine”: cyberculture. For example, they went from group to individual, from relationship orientation to task orientation, from cooperation to competition, and from “to be” to “to do.” It got them what they wanted--to become the most productive and richest nation in the world. It also made most of them white nationalists and racists. When non-whites do what it takes to “melt”, they are told that they have to do “one more thing” that they didn’t have to do: change their color. The “unmeltable” non-whites decide to either live on belonging neither to their original group nor to cyberculture; to become culture “floaters “or return to their former “selves”, remain or become bilingual, and have one group in which they can have equality. They often become mentors to the continually arriving non-English-dominant relatives who need their love, hope and direction.

Cyberculture has capitalism, nationalism and kleptocracy. Its inequities are hard on family extended or nuclear systems. Nuclear family is breaking down. Fragile families crumble into single-parent homes. Children are being raised by other than their parents. Seniors find their final years are often alone. The social ills of drugs, loneliness, poverty, depression and suicide keep rising. In 1960, 78% of the U.S. children lived in nuclear families. Today it is 48%. Many are directionless and ill-disciplined at home and in school. The world is in such turmoil that immigration will continue and most of them will be non-white. As always, they are needed.

Mythology and Its Injustice to Immigration-Part 2

 Mythology and Its Injustice to Immigration-Part 2 by Sam Hernandez               February 2020

Part 1 was published in *November 2019, and covered Myth 1: Most of the immigrants are here illegally. Not true. 

The mythology that will be covered in Part 2 is: It is as easy now to enter into this country as it was when European immigrants first entered in the beginning of the 17 th century (1607). That is far from true. Before responding to that, the statement causes me to respond to a couple of other misconceptions.

U.S. History is filled with errors, misnomers and sins of omission. Readers are led to believe that the whites who arrived at Jamestown were the first non-natives to settle in lands that are now the U.S.A. (1607). That is incorrect. In what is now Florida (land of flowers), the Spanish had officially settled the town of St. Augustine in 8 September of 1565. The Spanish had entered what is now Arizona and New Mexico in 1540, 67 years before Jamestown. They had Santa Fe as a thriving settlement about the time Jamestown was struggling. The landowners were Spanish but the majority of the land workers were “mestizos”--Mexicans that were part original “Indians” and now also Spanish. Many of their ancestors had long lived in the Southwest as full-fleshed Native Americans before becoming mixed-blood. This status puts to question if they are “Mexican American” or just “Americans-from-Mexico” and/or if they are “immigrants” in the way we perceive them to be. Since they were “Americans” before the Anglos in the Eastern seaboard and history shows the U.S. quite unjustly took Texas and then today’s Southwest from them--it might be more fair and just to give them more opportunity to immigrate and become U.S. citizens than the other current contemporary immigrants that are coming and not born in the U.S. It would be fairer, more humane and more reparative in nature. Today’s international law would not allow the way the U.S. exploitively and militantly took over indigent people, land and resources. The U.S. has continued to exploit other “American” Latino nations of Latin America, mostly from Central America via regime-change tactics. They should also be given "reparation" consideration via their current desperate immigration to the U.S.

Now, as to Myth #2, immigration was easy only at the outset. The New World was open. There were no rules, regulations or opposition. The natives were migratory and moved with their portable homes to wherever the animals they hunted would go. The lands were virginal in the way our national parks are today. Their concept of land was the belief that no one could own it. It was there for all. It was when they discovered that whites believed land could be bought and owned and they would lose their hunting grounds and their way of life that wars started from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They observed that white’s attitude and behavior showed dislike, hate and racism due to their non-whiteness and way of life. They treated them as if they were slaves and tried to make them Christians.

From 1607 to the middle of the 18 th century, the greatest challenge to the European immigrants was just getting here. Most of them were destitute and came as indentured servants until they could pay back for their voyage. By the time they settled California they were mostly white nationalists and started to bar the entry of the Chinese. From there on the rules for entry have become harsh, cruel and racist. Today, a wall is being built at our southern border and thousands are being camped by Mexico awaiting rigged processes to enter the U.S. Often, children are separated from their parents and may never be united again.

Among the many immigration entry rules are the proof that you can be self-sufficient and trained in a field that needs you and are sponsored by your to-be employer. Many of our ancestors who came after 1790 would not have been allowed in! 

This issue of unjust immigration, in need of dire reform, is not being taken up by any of the remaining candidates running for President. There should be a movement called “Immigrant Lives Matter” with chapters in the key U.S. cities and states. They should be led by trained, charismatic and dedicated Latino leaders. We currently do not have such leaders in the nation like we did during the Chicano Movement (Cesar Chavez, Corky Gonzalez and Lopez Reis Tijerina). A leader must have followers. Recent research showed that we do not have a single national Latino leader (the closest potential one we have is Senator Ted Cruz)! It might be Julian Castro. The dynamic, dedicated local leader I know, with committed active followers, is Adriana Cerrillo from Minneapolis.

It is quite clear that we need more leaders at local, state and national levels. Let’s get organized and struggle together!

*published here January 8, 2020

Mythology and Its Injustice to Immigration-Part 1

 Mythology and Its Injustice to Immigration by Sam Hernandez                                 November 2019

Part 1

The definition of “myth” for the purpose of the subject of this article is that it is a story that generally is of unknown authorship and its unknown base has unproven elements of facts or truth. Yet, the story operates legendarily and traditionally as truth. If it is not true or it is not a fact, time and its legendary repetition (often by oral tradition) will cause it to come to be accepted to be true. A few myths have “good” intent and are left to “do good” even if we know they are not true – like the Easter Bunny. However, there are many bad myths about immigration and immigrants that are not true but promoted as truth. They generally do great injustice to the real “good” of immigrants and immigration and the benefits from their productivity.

This article on myths will be in several parts. Together, there will be an overview of 10 myths. It will briefly show the fact or fiction of each one. A few may later be offered as separate articles if there is a need. Some may be more thorough than others. An appeal will be made to the readers to become personally more active in the need to express dismay at the way contemporary immigrants continue to be ill-served and falsely presented via racism and white nationalism. We need to personally show that we are keepers of all brothers, with a current focus on our Latino brothers. Our protest needs to be loud, seen and read.

The first myth touches the issue of illegal versus legal. This myth infers that: Most of the immigrants are here illegally. It is impossible to offer exact numbers of immigrants in the U.S.A. legal or Illegal. All of us who came to the “Americas” after Columbus are immigrants. The only ones that are not are the Native Americans – whom we wrongly call “Indians”. Columbus was not in India. We, not him, know that. Let’s finally correct his ignorance (by not perpetuating this myth and misnomer).

All of what today is the U.S.A. was “indian” populated before white immigration started basically with Jamestown. Don’t forget that the Blacks joined the whites as immigrants at about the same time. My people (Mexicans) were “indians” before and after Columbus. We came into what is now the U.S.A. Southwest, as part “indian” and part “Spanish” in 1541. That is why we are called “mestizo” – person of mixed blood. A few “indian” “tribes” of “Mexican” lineage were there as long-term residence before the arrival of us “mestizos”. We “mestizos” were in what is now western U.S.A. (mostly southwest) over 100 years before Jamestown and around 350 years before whites come following the cry of “gold” and we (Mexico) lost the Southwest to them. All this data is offered so you can consider the question: Are we Mexicans “immigrants”? We stayed as U.S.A. citizens after we lost the lands to the U.S.A. Many of us have always been residents and citizens of the today’s U.S.A. Trump claims he wants to ‘Make America great again’. Mexico, and 35 other nations of America (the U.S.A. being one of the 36) are “American” of America. Again – Are we “immigrants?” “Undocumented”? “Illegal”? These are good and valid questions for you to consider. We Mexicans and other Latinos of the 34 of the 36 American nations make up the majority of the current number of immigrants trying to enter the U.S.A. When you hear and ponder the issue of immigration, do you ever think they are talking about you – or is it about them? Or is it more about your feeling that it is not that they are coming but that they are doing it illegally? Much of how you perceive your objective/subjective definition of “legal – illegal” quite likely depends on how much bias and racism you have been taught to use in your perspective. Those two forces and their use will depend on your overall knowledge of the issue. You can be ignorant because you lack a given set of data or you can ignore the offered, tested and valid data.

Contrary to popular myth – Most immigrants do not come here illegally.

To better understand “immigrancy” for our overview, we will mean “immigrant” to be those now coming who were not born here. That leaves most of us out of our immigrant status.

The media, either due to intent or outcome continues to lead us to overlook the fact that most of the foreign-born now living in the U.S.A. have generally followed immigration rules and have the right and permission to be here. There are currently between 35 to 40 million foreign-born people living here right now. Exact figures are difficult to determine always, specifically at this time when census data is almost 10 years old. About 25 to 30 million of them are either citizens or legal residents – most of them preparing themselves toward citizenship. Of those who do not have authorized documents to be here, over 45% entered legally and continue to stay after their papers have expired. Their situation back home is so dire economically and even a risk to life and liberty that they risk staying home, to be found and sent back, knowing they cannot get a visa again for at least 10 years. If you humanistically put yourself in their shoes, you would do the same thing.

The world has always been in turmoil. Different countries at different times for different reasons. When things become dire in one’s country you emigrate out of it and head for the one area you hope or know that it will better assure your survival. That is why all of the forefathers of those of us here of European white stock came here and started anew. The reception was open. You would think we would be grateful and would be celebrating a thanksgiving every year with the indigenous natives. We did it only once. We showed our gratefulness by not only coming here for succor, but via war and genocide, we took over their lands and abundant resources and placed those still living on “reserve” status (reservations) until one day we may decide what to do with them that might be just and humane.

What do you think? None of the current contemporary immigrant groups have been coming over to take us over and replace us. Yet, we are being taught, via white nationalism, hate and racism, to fear that they might try, just like the white original immigrants. Do you believe that?

Those of us non-whites must become personally active and committed to awaken our white brethren that we are now in the desperate condition their forefathers once were. They are not coming anymore because they don’t need to. We Latinos need to collectivize, and through inspirational focality and teamwork, squelch the upcoming myth that a “Hispanization” movement is pushing lack of ambition and acceptance of poverty. It may succeed in getting you to believe that walking thousands of miles to get to the U.S.A. shows lack of ambition and that getting here shows that we love poverty and therefore want to live under welfare. Bovine excrement!

Basta! Enough! We Latino citizens here are the few brothers who are doing well because our parents (mostly poor and/or low income) suffered hard in order to get us prepared to graduate and hopefully into higher education, and into the job and income we earn. As keepers of those of us in need, we can do better if we create voiceful groups and local/national committees with special services. One of those services is spreading enough information to squelch the mythologies that hurt us. We owe it to ourselves.~ Sam Hernandez