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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAOC Blasts Fellow Democrats for Resisting Term Latinx: 'Not About Your Reelection Prospects'
AOC Blasts Fellow Democrats for Resisting Term Latinx: Not About Your Reelection Prospects
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) blasted critics of the term Latinx, including fellow Democrats who resist using it and think its bad for the party.
After a brief discussion of the term on Sunday night in her Instagram stories, Ocasio-Cortez launched into a mini-rant, in which she targeted unidentified Democrats.
I also have a mini-rant about this because there are some politicians, including Democratic politicians, that rail against the term Latinx. And theyre like, this is so bad, this is so bad for the party, like blah blah blah. And its almost like it hasnt struck some of these folks that another persons identity is not about your reelection prospects.
The gender-neutral term has been hit with resistance in recent years. A December poll from a Democratic firm found that 30 percent are actually less likely to vote for a politician that takes Ocasio-Cortezs advice and uses the term. The polling also found only 2 percent of Hispanic respondents actually said they use the term themselves.
https://www.mediaite.com/politics/aoc-blasts-fellow-democrats-for-resisting-term-latinx-not-about-your-reelection-prospects/
NoRethugFriends
(2,325 posts)Many similar articles
https://www.axios.com/2022/01/04/the-rise-and-fall-latinx-latino-hispanic
quaint
(2,578 posts)Dorian Gray
(13,498 posts)it's disrespectful not to use it in hopes of getting re-elected.
What if I don't use it bc the majority of Latino/a people do not like it.
If I were to meet up with AOC, I would use it when referring to her bc she obviously appreciates it. But the majority don't and she's totally wrong on this one.
ecstatic
(32,727 posts)I don't think anyone should force themselves to use a term that doesn't come naturally. You just end up looking phony and it won't be well received. For those who it does come naturally to, by all means, dive in, but be careful. It doesn't look like the term has taken off as much as AOC thinks.
Celerity
(43,485 posts)trying to ram this down their throats will just alienate them more.
The Democrats' Hispanic Voter Problem: It's Not As Bad As You Think--It's Worse
https://theliberalpatriot.substack.com/p/the-democrats-hispanic-voter-problem-dfc
By Ruy Teixeira (Center for American Progress, Brookings Institution, etc)
The Democrats are steadily losing ground with Hispanic voters. The seriousness of this problem tends to be underestimated in Democratic circles for a couple of reasons: (1) they dont realize how big the shift is; and (2) they dont realize how thoroughly it undermines the most influential Democratic theory of the case for building their coalition. On the latter, consider that most Democrats like to believe that, since a relatively conservative white population is in sharp decline while a presumably liberal nonwhite population keeps growing, the course of social and demographic change should deliver an ever-growing Democratic coalition. It is simply a matter of getting this burgeoning nonwhite population to the polls.
But consider further that, as the Census documents, the biggest single driver of the increased nonwhite population is the growth of the Hispanic population. They are by far the largest group within the Census-designated nonwhite population (19 percent vs. 12 percent for blacks). While their representation among voters considerably lags their representation in the overall population, it is fair to say that voting trends among this group will decisively shape voting trends among nonwhites in the future since their share of voters will continue to increase while black voter share is expected to remain roughly constant.
It therefore follows that, if Hispanic voting trends continue to move steadily against the Democrats, the pro-Democratic effect of nonwhite population growth will be blunted, if not cancelled out entirely, and that very influential Democratic theory of the case falls apart. That couldor shouldprovoke quite a sea change in Democratic thinking. Turning to the nature and size of recent Hispanic shifts against the Democratsits not as bad as you think, its worse. Here are ten points drawn from available data about the views and voting behavior of this population. Read em and weep.
1. In the most recent Wall Street Journal poll, Hispanic voters were split evenly between Democrats and Republicans in the 2022 generic Congressional ballot. And in a 2024 hypothetical rematch between Trump and Biden, these voters favored Biden by only a single point. This is among a voter group that favored Biden over Trump in 2020 by 26 points according to Catalist (two party vote).
snip
much, much more at the link, a tonne of data, this is not just one poll
comradebillyboy
(10,174 posts)Dorian Gray
(13,498 posts)to NOT use it. It's disrespectful to people who don't identify as LatinX to use the term.
I don't care about elections. I care about communities of people where the majority don't like it.
FoxNewsSucks
(10,434 posts)that's why they bought up so many radio stations and converted them to the spanish-speaking version of Limbaugh/Hannity.
AM Hate Radio blanketing America worked on rural whites, and I would bet the spread of the same propaganda in spanish, in hispanic areas, would account for most if not all of that shift away from Democrats.
Seems to be just one more thing our side does nothing about.
Sympthsical
(9,097 posts)A shake-up in Spanish-language radio is in the works. Eighteen large-market stations across the U.S. are being sold. Some are known for being ultraconservative, and the new buyer - it's a group largely run by Democrats. The stations include Radio Mambi in Miami. That's where NPR member station reporter Tim Padgett is following the story. Hi, Tim.
TIM PADGETT, BYLINE: Hi, Ayesha.
RASCOE: Tell us more about the stations being sold and this new buyer.
PADGETT: Well, these are 18 stations - Spanish-language stations - in 10 of the country's largest Latino radio markets from across the country - from Miami to Los Angeles, from New York to San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Houston. And these are - as you mentioned, in some of these markets, such as Miami, these are radio stations that can be very conservative, sometimes right-wing and sometimes accused of being exponents of right-wing disinformation. And that's one of the reasons that I think you're seeing groups like this new Latino media network, that is led by Democratic investors for the most part, although it's bipartisan - it's one of the reasons you're seeing them throwing resources now at buying stations like these.
This is the sort of action needed on our side.
FoxNewsSucks
(10,434 posts)Air America was effective, that's why it was killed.
The article didn't say what programming was planned, and it was a little discouraging to see the word "bipartisan" and read that republicons are involved in any way. But I hope they plan on airing shows similar to Thom Hartmann, Randi Rhodes and Nicole Sandler.
orleans
(34,072 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)and thinks she knows things, but that means she might know very little. Her advice may not be as good as that from those who run in competitive districts.
Bok_Tukalo
(4,323 posts)Here at least
We shall be free; th' Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:
Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce
To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n.
~ AOC probably
GenX_Dem
(10 posts)nycbos
(6,037 posts)comradebillyboy
(10,174 posts)politician in either party use the term latinx. In fact I have never heard any public figure in this state use that term.
brush
(53,837 posts)I was once in favor of it as a simplification and not having to say "Latinos and Latinas", and also just a typical Americanization as we like to use shortcuts and abbreviations in language.
But after much reading and personally hearing Latinos say it's not proper Spanish and is an anglicized word being forced on them, I've changed my mind about it.
As a party we really need to increase inroads into the Latino community and one way to do it is to advertise much more on Spanish language TV and radio. That's what the republicans are doing and it's showing in polling preferences. We can not afford to lose the Latino vote if we want to hold the House and Senate. Also state legislatures.
ProfessorGAC
(65,159 posts)Most people of Latin American descent (or immigrants from there) are proud of their culture & their language.
There language makes the "o" or "a" distinction.
Their pride in their culture & language seems at odds with the "x" designation.
I guess I'm unsurprised that most Hispanic folks don't like it.
Response to comradebillyboy (Original post)
Post removed
Autumn
(45,120 posts)Always. I believe young Democratic politicians are more aware of the pulse of young people than activists
brush
(53,837 posts)Most Latinos don't like it and don't think it's proper Spanish.
To keep Latino voters we should actually be aware of the pulse of the Latino community which doesn't seem to prefer the term Latinx.
Autumn
(45,120 posts)Mexican, Caribbean, Central American, Colonial, and Spanglish, with Mexican being the most common. Castilian Spanish is proper formal Spanish. Most Latinos I know don't speak proper Spanish. I have found it is the older conservative Latinos that don't like the term Latinx.
Dr. Strange
(25,922 posts)LeftInTX
(25,515 posts)There is no "Spanish" noun that ends in "X"....
Lots of indigenous words supposedly have "X"s in them like Mexico and Texas etc
The X's were put in by the Spanish because they had trouble pronouncing them, so they stuck X's in there....
Latinx is anti-Spanish language. It's rebellion against Spanish colonialism. It's a merge of Latino and indigenous. It's kinda like Chicano. Chicano is an activist term and so is Latinx.
Autumn
(45,120 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)Latinos would refer to men or all, Latina to women. The very reason to resort to the X is that Spanish just doesn't have a gender neutral term, or if it did, someone would have to find something like "gente" (people) and use it in English.
AntivaxHunters
(3,234 posts)someone? We should be able to discuss our differences. We're Democrats, it's how we treat one another, like adults. And that's what makes us so different than the assholes on the right.
Response to AntivaxHunters (Reply #32)
Post removed
AntivaxHunters
(3,234 posts)Do you mean AOC or do you mean the OP?
Because it read like you were attacking the OP.
CrackityJones75
(2,403 posts)Me.
(35,454 posts)TheRealNorth
(9,500 posts)Let the candidate decide what their electorate is most comfortable with.
JohnSJ
(92,372 posts)This was the response Padilla gave: Thats [Rep. Gallegos] opinion, and I respect it. I dont completely agree. Here you say it and it just throws me back to the years and years of debates, not just in college by the way, of Hispanic versus Latino versus Chicano versus Mexican American, when we get caught up in the terminology. It comes across in different ways to different people in different parts of the country. Latinx, look, for the younger generation especially, it is purposeful. It is more than just symbolic. In the Spanish language, you have feminine versus masculine nouns, and the move to Latinx is one way of saying, You know what, if were all equal, lets let our language reflect that.'
[Latinx] is relatively new for some. Id be interested in the cross tabs, if you will, the underlying data in polling. For older voters, maybe not nearly as popular. For younger voters, which is the growing part of the Latino electorate, they embrace it, Padilla added.
And this is where we will say that Padillas answer is somewhat accurate if you look at recent data and cross tabs. As Pew noted last year, the term is no way near being popular in use, but when broken down by older and younger groups, there is clearly greater awareness with younger people and increased use of the term."
https://www.latinorebels.com/2021/04/10/padillalatinx/
nycbos
(6,037 posts).. if someone want to use Latinx for themselves I respect that because I am not an asshole"
ColinC
(8,327 posts)But it is an important issue, and I'm glad people like Gallego, Padilla and AOC are discussing it.
Just A Box Of Rain
(5,104 posts)*sigh*
Magoo48
(4,720 posts)NoRethugFriends
(2,325 posts)And your response is knee-jerk. Have you read any of the articles which uniformly agree that a large majority of Latinx people dislike the term Latinx?
ripcord
(5,503 posts)Just A Box Of Rain
(5,104 posts)and it is "beat up the progressive Latina day?"
Don't think that flies.
JI7
(89,262 posts)Autumn
(45,120 posts)who are looking for a more inclusive and gender-free alternative to "Latino" or "Latina.
JI7
(89,262 posts)Autumn
(45,120 posts)English language and dictionaries all the time. Some people do use it, it will catch on or it won't. There is no reason for a politician to opine on a word they don't like. I doubt half of them know what it means . There are better things they can and should be doing.
Also, using any gender terms is a personal fucking choice.
andricv
(51 posts)In Spanish, general terms are expressed in the masculine form.
Niño=boy
Niña= girl
Niños = children.
padre = father
madre = mother
padres = parents.
Why limit the x to the term "latinx"?
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)The entire language isn't going to degender overnight, my dude. No one in favor of the change expects that it will. This is about getting the ball rolling.
andricv
(51 posts)Should children be called "Niñxs"?
And is it sexist that children are called by the masculine form. You typed two paragraphs without answering.
treestar
(82,383 posts)the only one I can think of it "gente" and using that in English would be a bit strange. It would have to be explained at first.
hlthe2b
(102,343 posts)AOC should be cautious about such broad generalizations.
Dorian Gray
(13,498 posts)even here in NYC. Maybe at Columbia University and NYU. But in immigrant communities, very few people identify that way.
Tomconroy
(7,611 posts)themaguffin
(3,826 posts)dalton99a
(81,568 posts)Autumn
(45,120 posts)"Latinx" has typically been adopted among people who are looking for a more inclusive and gender-free alternative to "Latino" or "Latina." Spanish words are automatically gendered to signify a man or a woman, leaving no option for those who choose to identify as non-binary. I do know that older Latinos are more resistant to any change than younger ones, it's a generational thing. That is why the tempest in a tea pot here. Huerta is 89, AOC is 32.
andricv
(51 posts)In spanish, the term siblings is the masculine form.
For example,
Brother = hermano
Sister = hermana
Siblings = hermanos
Why stop at Latinx and not continue just deleting all the O's in plural forms?
The DNC is going to have to explain that one to Hispanics.
brush
(53,837 posts)they would've heard of it. Many haven't and most of those who have don't consider it proper Spanish. IMO terms referring to an ethnic group should emerge from the cullture of that group. Latinx is a well-meaning and non-gender but it's obviously an Americanization as we like to use shortcuts and abbreviations in language. But if it didn't emerge from the Latino community and most don't like it and feel it's being forced upon them by white Americans, we should leave it alone and not try to force its use.
brooklynite
(94,703 posts)Our goals should be to address the issues Hispanic voters are concerned about...not the issues Party activists THINK they should be concerned about.
Just A Box Of Rain
(5,104 posts)here in Los Angeles there is a pretty strong aversion to the term "Hispanic" being used to describe people who have roots in Mexico/Central America/South America and other Spanish-speaking regions.
One, many of these people don't speak Spanish (or at least not fluently) and two it has taken on the onus of "cop talk," as in "the suspects are two twenty year old hispanics." "Caucasians" has a similar taint.
So "hispanic" is a term that is generally not well-received. Those using it are typically regarded with suspicion.
mcar
(42,372 posts)she called elected members of her own party corrupt, now she's criticizing them for this.
I can't imagine why she is doing this.
msongs
(67,436 posts)She is in a safe district. I wish she would care more about Democrats in swing districts whose elections depend on good turnout.
I also wish she'd turn her attention to the real corrupt legislators - the Republicans.
Silent3
(15,259 posts)...just to confused everyone, and/or appeal to the Hispanic/Korean community.
dalton99a
(81,568 posts)BlueTsunami2018
(3,503 posts)This is among the very least important things we have to worry about and its a priority for her? No one cares or uses the term, its an irrelevancy.
Focus on the important things for fucks sake.
Sometimes, a district can be too safe.
BlackSkimmer
(51,308 posts)These silly buzzwords that someone comes up with. Ugh.
Autumn
(45,120 posts)the Spanish Language and dictionary. Latinx" has been adopted among people who are looking for a more inclusive and gender-free alternative to "Latino" or "Latina" . Spanish words are gendered to signify male or a female, leaving no option for those who choose to identify as non-binary. You would think these politicians have never heard of new words.
Crunchy Frog
(26,619 posts)generally emerge organically, and within the community who speak that language.
Maybe things are different for new words in the Spanish speaking community. They probably appreciate having English speaking ideologues impose new words on them.
Autumn
(45,120 posts)word on the Spanish speaking community. It's their choice to use it or not. Some who do not identify as being of the male or female gender are using it.
BlackSkimmer
(51,308 posts)They find that word abhorrent.
Autumn
(45,120 posts)We have no problem using it or with people who do. I actually like the term Latina but I'm from a time when everything was gender-based. I have a younger transgendered family member and friends who use the term Latinx. Not everyone fits into neat little categories of masculine or feminine. I also think it's a generational thing.
Gender pronouns are a personal choice.
BlackSkimmer
(51,308 posts)It's that stupid made up word Latinx.
Autumn
(45,120 posts)using the term Latinx if someone prefers it. I use the word Latina because I identify as a female. Like AOC my pronoun is she/her. For those Hispanics who are LGBT and gender-nonconforming the 'x' is for them, the people who dont feel included within the a or the o.
62. I can only speak for myself as a Latina and my friends and family.
We have no problem using it or with people who do. I actually like the term Latina but I'm from a time when everything was gender-based. I have a younger transgendered family member and friends who use the term Latinx. Not everyone fits into neat little categories of masculine or feminine. I also think it's a generational thing.
Gender pronouns are a personal choice.
tishaLA
(14,176 posts)even though it's ubiquitous at the university where I teach, I always disliked it because it sounds strangely un-Spanish and awkward. Then one of my students, a Latina, asked me to use it to be inclusive of nonbinary people of Latin descent. I could either offend, I guess, this alleged majority that dislikes the term or I could offend LGBTQ people of Latin descent. So I started saying Latinx.
Crunchy Frog
(26,619 posts)A group of university students may view things differently than a group of ranchers.
I think it's a good thing to take your cues from the group that you're dealing with.
LeftInTX
(25,515 posts)Goes well with avocado toast
tishaLA
(14,176 posts)Vinca
(50,302 posts)This is a nothingburger.
Kid Berwyn
(14,951 posts)Ill go with AOC.
harumph
(1,910 posts)brooklynite
(94,703 posts)asa4ever
(66 posts)My parents never referred to anyone by anything but their name. My parents never asked me the color. the religion, or the sex of the person I had a date with.
Tarc
(10,476 posts)This is a swing-and-a-miss, no one use "Latinx" outside of hipster circles. It is grammatically incorrect and awkward to pronounce.
betsuni
(25,598 posts)In It to Win It
(8,279 posts)electric_blue68
(14,932 posts)I started using last year, then I heard sometime this year it wasn't being accepted.
I'll keep an ear out.
LeftInTX
(25,515 posts)So it isn't just young Latinos, it's mostly LBGT, progressive, hipster type Latinos. So it's a subset of young Latinos.
The word came about to be "gender inclusive" and a "snub" to Spanish colonialism.
How Mexican-Americans feel about their mixed indigenous roots and Spanish roots is a mixed bag...Some people get activist about it, disavowing their European heritage. Most people are proud their indigenous heritage, but not activist. However, most Mexican-Americans don't have particulars on their specific indigenous heritage. That was because the Spanish had missions and much of the true culture was lost early on.
I'm in a Mexican genealogy group. Someone was appalled that she didn't have much indigenous DNA and she said, "Oh no! I'm mostly conquistador"..
My husband's DNA is 1/2 indigenous, but we recently found out he was descended from several conquistadors.
electric_blue68
(14,932 posts)I'm in a Mexican genealogy group. Someone was appalled that she didn't have much indigenous DNA and she said, "Oh no! I'm mostly conquistador"..
My husband's DNA is 1/2 indigenous, but we recently found out he was descended from several conquistadors
Complicated much?! And a touch emotional, too.
LeftInTX
(25,515 posts)I found them in hubby's family tree. In the US, not too many of us are related to "Founding Fathers". However, in Monterrey, everyone is related to these guys (Diego Montemayor is one. Alberto del Canto is another. Montemayor killed one of his wives for having an affair with with Canto.)
I said to my son. "Here is your 13th great grandfather"
Son: "I like his outfit"
?
I can't trace any family lineage of mine like these dudes..LOL...I'm Armenian on one side. (Trail runs cold around 1900)
I'm Scotts Irish on the other. Everyone on that side seems to have arrived before the American Revolution, but records in the US were horrible, so tracing lineage is challenging.
electric_blue68
(14,932 posts)Your son 😀
Yes, very fancy threads!
Learn something new everyday re those guys. 👍
So what are Scotts Irish? Inter married?
Re: Founding Fathers - no most people don't have any of them on their family tree!
However I have a long time Texan friend who can trace on which ever side of her lineage back to the Mayflower! 🚢
😄 That's pretty wild.
I'm half 2nd Gen Greek-American, and half
Ukrainian-American.
I guess I'm part 2nd Gen Austrian bc on my dad's birth cert they list his mom's birth place as Austria. Back then either she moved earlier, or the borders changed!
LeftInTX
(25,515 posts)The Irish part is generally Northern Ireland and Protestant. I don't believe boundaries were very strict. Once they moved to the US, they seemed to marry whoever as long as they were Protestant. I don't think there was much tabu against marrying a lower tier Brit. As long as the person was Protestant, it seemed to be OK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch-Irish_Americans
I believe blue-grass music is their legacy.
The settled primarily in the South, the Appalachians etc Hatfields and the McCoys are classic examples.
Behind the Aegis
(53,976 posts)This is not the mountain top; it isn't even a fucking crag on the cliff.
themaguffin
(3,826 posts)Demsrule86
(68,643 posts)she can say...it is not about getting elected because she is in a deep blue district and should win easily. Should she face a primary or decide not to continue as a Representative, that district remains blue.