SOC 400 Week 3 Peer Discussion by Joey Being Latino in the United States is a unique perspective, with other overlapping identities often contributing to the creation of a greater Latinidad identity. While Latino’s in the United States share a lot of cultural identity and can have a degree of cultural similarities, it must be understood that Latino’s are not monolithic, and that different national identities that many Latinos’ identity with can have vastly different cultural perceptions, values, and even dialectical variations of Spanish that are hard to understand to other speakers. One of the most crucial factors of Latino immigration that has not changed is the desire for economic and political security. In the Golden Door video, the narrator notes that “America is their best, and likely last, opportunity for economic survival” (PBS, 2013, 3:20). The reality is that many Latino immigrants come to the United States for economic opportunity, often coming from conditions of systemic poverty, political violence, or social upheaval. The first Mexican migrants escaped the Mexican Revolution, seeking refuge to the north to wait out the conflict to keep themselves and their families safe. Today, the reasons for undocumented migrants remain the same, seeking refuge and safety from violence and poverty while searching for economic opportunities to secure a better life for themselves and their families. Takaki discusses the nature of the work that migrant workers would find themselves in during the 20th century, which also is reflective of many of the occupations that undocumented migrants work in contemporary society, noting that “Indeed, Mexicans worked in a wide range of jobs” (Takaki, 2022, p. 295). These jobs included fieldworkers, building railroad, working as a waiter or elevator man in the hotel industry, or laying down asphalt, much of which includes menial labor that is often perceived in a negative manner, but is still critical to a functioning society. The usage of migrant labor in these industries comes directly from a need of worker labor, often being the next step after domestic workers simply show little interest in such positions, as is the case in the contemporary United States where many migrant workers work positions that domestic workers show little interest in, which creates a need for migrant workers that are much easier for those in positions of power to exploit. During World War II, the United States government initiated “the bracero program, which recruited migrant workers in Mexico under contract to work in the United States, and then be returned upon fulfillment of the contract” (Takaki, 2022, p. 364). The reality is that many key U.S. industries that made use of migrant labor in the past to offset labor shortages are not reliant on migrant labor to keep prices of goods down while keeping supply for fluctuating demand in stock. U.S. agriculture makes extensive use of sponsorship programs for migrant workers, highlighting the demand and need for migrant labor. One of the greatest challenges that Latino’s face in the United States is significant linguistic discrimination. In a country without an official language at the federal level, there is significant amounts of discrimination in many areas towards people speaking Spanish in a public place or place of employment. This is something I have experienced personally, with racial slurs being used against me for simply speaking a language. The United States has well over forty million people who speak Spanish, making the United States technically one of the largest Spanish-speaking nations by population. REFERENCE: PBS. (2013). Destination America Part I – the golden door – youtube. Youtube. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v＝pfbBLtLsMhI TAKAKI, R. O. N. A. L. D. (2022). Different mirror: A history of multicultural america (Revised).
