Juav's Latino World

Por Eso No Anvanza el Mexicano

When I was in high school, one of my teachers gave the class a scenario.

There are two deep holes in the ground. One hole is filled with white people, and the
other hole is filled with Mexican-Americans. Which group gets out first? Well, the white
people will get out first, because they will work together to make sure one person reaches
the top so that he can go and get help. The Mexican-Americans, on the other hand, will
never get out because they will try to prevent each other from reaching the top. And they
would blame the white people for it.

Such is the case in this small town. With a population consisting of 70 percent Hispanic,
you would think that we would be a majority voice in our community. But many of us are
too busy trying to place the blame on the whites instead of uniting together to resolve the
many problems that our race continues to ignore.

Comedian Chris Rock once said that the most racist person in America is the old black
man. He has lived through racism and experienced it first hand. And he is bitter about that.
You can make an argument that the old Hispanic person is just as racist. This town has
experienced the Raza Unida movement, and it has also experienced a mass walkout by
the Hispanic students many years ago. However, times have changed, and I have never
experienced any hint of racism from white people. The only racism I have seen is from the
old, Hispanic school board member.

Being in the school board is an important position that affects our entire community. This
board member spews incredibly racist comments about the white board members and the
white faculty. I have walked out of the school board meetings on several occasions
because I could not tolerate what was being said. But what bother’s me the most is that
the other Hispanic board members do not speak out against him. And to make matters
worse, the local newspaper covers the meeting, and they like to print these ridiculous
statements made by this old, Hispanic man.

People like him are teaching a new generation of Hispanics how to hate for no reason.
The word racism has lost its meaning. If a Hispanic student fails his classes, the white
teachers are racist. If a Hispanic student gets suspended from school, the white teachers
hate him. Racism is not the problem. Ignorance is the problem. Racism cannot be excuse
for failure. It is our responsibility to do whatever possible to change the mindset of these
people. One of the phrases we used to say in high school was "Por eso no avanza el
mexicano." It was a joke back then, but now I take it seriously. I hope you will, too.