* Isn’t the concept of ‘authentic’ exclusive, purist, and ‘racist’?
It would be like Nazis asking who is more authentically ‘German’ or ‘Aryan’.
Remember, everything is ‘fluid’. We are whatever we say we are.
The idea of ‘authenticity’ is hierarchical. It say something is MORE THAN something else.
Besides, aren’t we told that America is great cuz everyone becomes interchangeable? Well, if Cruz did more to meld into America, he deserves more support than Rubio who still clings to his ‘tribal’ identity by speaking Ingles.
Btw, if Mexico and Latin America were mostly defined by Hispanic or Portuguese culture, then it goes without saying that US was defined essentially by Anglo-culture.
So, if Latin Americans are Hispanics, then all Americans (regardless of race) who speak English and are part of American history are Anglos. And in that sense, Trump can be said to be more American than Rubio or Cruz.
But say that, and NYT will bitch.
Hispanic-America has a specific culture and identity, but even Anglo-ism isn’t particular to America, so the NYT tells us.
* Latin America has a caste system that all Latin Americans understand. At the top (often no more than 10% of the population) are the “Spanish”, the White descendants of the original conquistadors or more recent European immigrants. They run everything and control the wealth and political power, and they try as best they can to ensure it stays that way. Yes, there is “White privilege” in Latin American countries.
Next are the mestizos, the mixed blood Whites and Amerindians (or Blacks). Some can pass as “Spanish” (or Portuguese, Italian, etc.) and try to do so. However, like the Indians (the Hindi variety), people check and people know. You have to be careful or you will be considered “uppity” and prone to pretense. As a generalization, it doesn’t work.
Last are the campesinos … the Amerindians. They are the peasant farmers or farm workers and constitute the bulk of the immigrant invasion from south of the border as American corporate farms put them out of business.
In the Cuban Revolution, Castro and the mestizos overthrew the “Spanish”, who fled in droves to southern Florida. That left the mestizos and (typical of the Caribbean because the Amerindians had been exterminated) the descendants of Black slaves. The Cubans (a.k.a. “Spanish”) in Florida are anxious to go back to Cuba and reclaim their “White privilege” … their property and political power.
Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are not “Hispanic”, they are “Spanish”. Neither of them are authentic “Hispanic”. It is an open question whether the “Hispanic” voters in the United States … the multitudes of mestizos and campesinos who have fled to El Norte … will fall for the gambit and vote for them.
* Ted Cruz is not an authentic Hispanic. He does not speak Spanish and his mother is Italian and Irish just like Henry Hill from Goodfellas. Also when Ted Cruz speaks, he sounds like the super WASP Ned Flanders from The Simpsons. Ted is no Speedy Gonzalez that’s for damn sure.
* Silicon Valley’s Dr. William Jiang, also known as The Ivy Advisor, will be taking e-mails beginning at 2 am Pacific time on Tuesday so that his students can immediately report to him their SAT scores from the December 5 SAT test. Do not e-mail him unless you received at least 2300 out of 2400. Students with mixed white-Asian parentage are being advised to declare themselves “white” on their college applications because of now-clear evidence that mixed-race applicants who were accepted by Ivy League schools WOULD HAVE BEEN REJECTED if it had been known that they were part-Chinese.
* Back in the fall I was at the Cowboys game next to a bunch of Mexicans wearing Tom Brady jerseys. They were born and raised in Dallas, a few were from other parts of Texas, but all were from Texas. They were still Tex-Mex, but I would bet none of them had been to Mexico in a long time, maybe never. Perhaps on a family vacation as kids.
Anyway, I asked them how they could be Patriot fans and the answer was pretty simple. They look at the Patriots as America’s team. It’s a strange form of patriotism, for sure, but El Norte Mexicans are probably more patriotic than New Englanders. The military (mostly the Army) recruits from this cohort heavily for that reason.
Liberals have a cartoon version of Texas in their heads and that includes a cartoon version of Mexicans. The exception is Austin. The liberals there seem to have figured out that El Norte Mexicans are not going to be on their side. They hate them as much as they hate whites.
* Texas got Mexicans who were willing to fight for Texas against the Mexicans.
* When Rubio speaks Spanish I just want to punch him. He sounds like Leona Helmsley whining like a four year old boy having a tantrum. I know that it’s just his snotty posh Cuban accent that he learned at home but never used as an adult in business, but it hits me just the same. I wish you Anglos could hear how it makes our blood boil.
And it’ll do the same to all Mexican Spanish speakers like me. Actually, since I’m university educated and a big city liberal I’m less offended by that accent than most of us.
¡Jeb! is the true candidate of winning the Latino wave vote. And he’s the most authentic Hispanic by far over Cruz and Rubio. Mexican Americans will know the difference and probably overlook coloration by election day. We know that authentic Hispanics and Mexicans come in all colors and races, even though some are less common than others.
Of course, the Hispanic vote is of no importance in the presidential race. The swing states are going to be OH, VA, CO, IA, NV, NH, and FL. FL should go easily to the Republican nominee since they’re apparently going with either Rubio or Jeb! That leaves big states where Latino turnout is next to nil and makes no difference and a couple smaller ones where it makes a tiny difference.
It’s a little confusing why Republicans keep saying a Latino strategy exists. Maybe it’s just their undying love for the Zeroth Amendment.
* A couple decades ago I remember chatting with some Mexican cops in a small town north of Guadalajara. They were armed with AR-15s. I asked them if this seemed like a lot of firepower for such a small, sleepy town. The leader of the bunch told me, “No, sometimes we have to deal with guys who’ve had too much to drink and they start saying things about me and my mother and I have to let them know whose in charge”.
* Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
* The term ‘Hispanic culture’ is almost an oxymoron. Whatever there is that’s well known is imported such as Spanish soap operas, bullfighting, Catholicism, etc. The Hispanic world produces practically nothing cultural except for lowbrow stuff like low-rider car competitions. Anything higher than that is just a poor knockoff of Spanish culture. That’s why it’s observed that they adjust to the practices of the host culture wherever they’re at; they have little to lose.
* For my nickel, the people from Mexico who are the best people you’d ever chance to meet come from the south-central area. Trustworthy, great work ethic, loyal, everything that’s good. Those with the biggest potential for being shitheads usually come from up north. Arrogant, no problem with violence, macho, horses-in-the-living-room-dancing-to-mariachi sons of guns. And like most Texans, can get drunk off their asses and still show up for work on time Monday morning.
* Cruz and Rubio are both white Cubans and so not really representative of “Latino” immigrants. Most Latino voters will be loyal to whatever party promises them more free stuff from the government. If you understand the Democrats to be the party of ” mo’ free stuff” then you can understand why they have a lock on the votes of those interested in receiving same. Steve often speaks of Democrats as being the Black Party but what they really are is the Free Stuff Party. There are a few poor whites who are too proud to take free stuff from the government but most non-whites have zero qualms about receiving as many benefits as possible from cradle to grave. Free Stuff is also appealing to white women who are single mothers – they can raise a child without having to take care of a man and the gubmint will make this possible by filling in with free child care, food stamps, etc. How can the party that promises less free stuff ever prevail among the majority? Appeals to religion, patriotism, morality etc. will only get you so far in the face of Free Stuff.
* Ted Koppel recently compared Donald Trump to Mussolini. Was there ever a President who was more arrogant and who struck more Mussolini-like poses than our current President?
* To me, Cruz sees his hispanic roots in the same way that earlier Polish and Italian immigrants saw their roots – as something that could assimilate and adapt (over time) to American culture, rather than something that should profoundly alter American culture. That makes Cruz different than most other recent Hispanic immigrants, who seem to want US society to accommodate their language and perspectives. Of course, Cruz is whiter than the vast majority of hispanics in the US, even Rubio. (I consider Cruz to be white.) So that might have something to do with it.
* I’m not sure if Obama is just pretending to not know that his gratuitous race-baiting causes understandable anger in otherwise non-racist whites, or if he’s actually stupid enough to not realize it.
* Texas cattle culture—for a long time the core—started as as Carolina cattle culture. The growth of the Carolinas was based on an economy that sold beef to the Caribbean, which at the time was the happening place, sugar plantations and all that.
Carolina cattle culture was based on British cattle culture, filtered by the use of cattle during the age of exploration. Cattle were a leading world exploration technology. Portuguese and Spanish expeditions would dump a few cattle, enough to start a herd, overboard at the limit of their travels. If the cattle thrived, they would provide a base for further travels when the next expedition came along.
The Carolinas rapidly came to have large numbers of “free range” cattle. In the woods of the Carolinas British ranching practice worked really well. British practice depended on building “traps” (a wood pen, maybe an acre in size, in the middle of nowhere); using salt-blocks to attract cattle into traps; using cow-dogs to locate and move cattle; using bull-whips; using cow-dogs (and whips) to run cattle into traps; and using wooden chutes (narrow passages leading out of a trap, about a yard wide with fences on both sides) to work cattle. With cattle in a chute their is little need for ropes. Horses were not used that much, men and dogs could move cattle.
The Carolina cattle culture moved straight west and needed to change little until it reached the plains of Texas (even east Texas was still heavily pine forest).
On the open plains, without wood for traps and chutes and where cattle could spot men on foot and dogs it was much harder to apply Carolina techniques. Conversely, there were lots of feral Spanish open range cattle.
The Spanish had evolved techniques for working with cattle on the open plains for about 250 years at this point. Due to the ever-present possibility of hostility Spanish conquistadores had tended to travel in large groups and they continued to do this. (For instance, there apparently was an annual trading trip between New Mexico and Kansas that resembled a cattle drive crossed with a military expedition.)
Spanish open range practice depended on working cattle with horses; heavy saddles that could anchor ropes (essentially conquistador saddles); roping ropes; and moving cattle to where they were needed by cattle drives. Cattle were worked, when needed, by roping them and tying them down.
The US Civil War forced Texas ranchers to adopt Spanish practice. Instead of cattle being sold in the US, they were herded over open range to north-east Mexico. Elements of open range Spanish practice were immediately adopted. Cattle were also driven to feed Confederate armies. After the war, cattle drives moved cattle to Kansas City rail-heads, etc.. The period of real cattle drives only lasted for about 15 years.
* The only hope for Arab Christians living near muzzies to survive is under secular dictators like Saddam Hussein and Bashir al-Assad. The zionists and their stooges agitate for the removal of these dictators because they see Israel as safer with its neighbors in a state of chaos, which of course is inevitably what happens when one of these dictators is toppled. So Arab Christians have every right to look askance at the scheming of the zionists and their lemmings. This of course is not even taking into consideration the various indignities and atrocities visited upon Christians (Arab and other) in Jerusalem (e.g. Christian priests and seminarians being spat upon and Christian churches being torched) by Orthodox Jews.
