A growing sliver of Latinos isnt having it
By Hector Luis Alamo
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. In every other year since 2004 Ive written about how despite past turnout rates Latinos were going to shake up the world and finally show up at the polls in numbers. Yet every other year since 2004 Latinos have disappointed everybody by doing what they always do: stay home.
In the last elections in 2014 Latino voter turnout was more than
10 lower than the statewide averages. Black voter turnout has surpassed 55 since 2000 while Latino voter turnout
hasnt reached 50 since 1992. The Latino population has
doubled since 1992 yet Latinos have failed to capitalize on their growing numbers by marching to polls on Election Day.
Ive been aware of the trend since 2004 though it has never stopped me from calling on Latino readers to register and vote every election year. Im not stupid just hopelessly optimistic. I cant be a pessimist" James Baldwin memorably admitted because Im alive."
As a living breathing Latino American a Latino of and in the United States Im compelled to believe U.S. Latinos possess within themselves the power to control their own destinies and the destiny of their people. If I believed otherwise I would stop writing on the spot. (Then again writing being the daemon that is Id probably keep on writing even while the ship goes down.)
I want to believe that voter turnout among Latinos will finally surpass 55 or even 60 (blacks and whites vote at a rate somewhere in the upper sixties) but experience tells me not to hold my breath. After all having seen the sun rise and set every day of my life Id be a fool to expect something different.
Seeing as Latinos didnt seem to vote again this year the question is: Why?
I have two theories:
- One has to do with fatalism.
- The other is tied to the immigrant mindset.
Even atheist Latinos such as myself are all too aware of the phrase
Si Dios quiere or God willing. It is a mantra which insinuates itself into every action and plan of action taken up by a Latino. Whenever I start charting a future course either for the coming week or the coming year some old-school Latino is usually there to check my ambition with a Si Dios quiere."
At first glance the phrase sounds like a harmless expression of humility but its much more sinister than that since to implies that nothing is possible without the approval of a supreme being and that this celestial version of Abraham Quintanilla already has a plan and his will is destiny.
You get a good whiff of fatalism whenever you hear the average Latino on the street talk about the 2016 election which they seemed certain Hillary would win. Most Latinos still dont understand what all the debating and campaigning has been about when in their minds Hillary need only pick up the White House keys from her former boss and future predecessor.
The fatalism argument falls apart however when we observe how tirelessly Latino workers work and Latino students study.
If Latinos truly believed their lives were part of some divine plan they wouldnt break their backs or wrack their brains in hopes of advancing themselves. And yet break their backs and wrack their brains they do all the time everywhere.
Plus Latino fatalism cant be the reason voter turnout is so low considering
voter turnout is high throughout much of Latin America where most of Latino culture and customs originate. In fact voter turnout in Latin America towers over the overall U.S. turnout rate. Then again voting is required by law in many Latin American countries so maybe those governments know more about their citizenry than U.S. Latinos are reluctant to admit.
Another tether of the Latino-American mind is the notion of not only being an immigrant and therefore a newcomer to the United States but also a guest. Many Latinos perpetuate this idea that the United States doesnt belong to Latinos but to white people (they may have a point there unfortunately).
How many young Latino boys and girls are told by their elders to keep their heads down not make too much noise not trouble the waters and be grateful for whatever little they manage to receive? Even one of the most hardworking Latinos I know a friends mom talks of her paycheck as though it were an allowance as though she didnt earn that money and wasnt deserving of it and
much more. And whenever her check arrives shes quick to add: Gracias a Dios" or Thank God! thank goodness.
Too many Latinos are blissfully the same in this regard.
The immigrant mindset is what instructs most Latinos to be happy simply living in a country as safe and generous as the United States; petitioning the U.S. government to reform society in any way is pushing ones luck and wearing thin the welcome. Let the
geros decide who runs things caution our
papas and
abuelitos.
In the end Latinos will get by as they always have
a huevos.
Still a growing sliver of Latino population isnt having it. These Latinos whether they believe in a god or not mold their own destinies and believe that the United States belongs to them as much as anyone else regardless of whether they are fifth-generation
neomexicano or just took the Oath of Allegiance last week. They
always vote at all levels of government… even in primaries and caucuses… and in midterm election years too.
Some of them for instance were the 1000 Iowa Latinos who caucused in 2012 or 2016 knowing full well they were part of a negligible minority.
These Latinos vote because though others may ultimately decide the fate of Latinos they refuse to go quietly into the teeth of the system. They vote because they know voting matters and that the Latino vote would matter more if more Latinos voted. They vote because should the tug of war over immigration reform multiculturalism health care economic justice criminal justice and other important issues be lost they dont want anyone to be able to say it was because they dropped the rope.
Whether this minority of voting Latinos will grow large enough to one day be a majority I have my doubts.
But Im optimistic.
Hector Luis Alamo is a Chicago-based writer and the deputy editor at Latino Rebels. You can connect with him @HectorLuisAlamo.
