Women, Latinos, Blacks, and, after they overwhelmingly chose Hillary Clinton in the California primary, Asians are big news in politics these days. But many of the people who belong to one or more of the above groups are getting increasingly pissed off at how their political choices are being trivialized in the mainstream media — particularly when the automatic assumption is made that the majority of Latinos and Asians voted for Hillary simply because they hate blacks. Last night, I had a little g-chat about the mainstream media's election coverage with my blogger friends Carmen Van Kerckhove of Racialicious and Maegan "La Mala" Ortiz of Mamita Mala and VivirLatino. Check out their thoughts (and mine) after the jump.
Maegan: Holas!
Carmen: Ni hao!
Lauren: What up!
Carmen: Soooo ethnic.
Lauren: Ha! Except my greeting was delivered in my best "white girl" voice…which is actually just my regular voice. So, I've never done anything like this on the blog before, but, i don't know. The mass media is so fascinated by what's going on in our heads.
Carmen: Totally.
Lauren: As if the same thing is going on in all of our heads!
Maegan: Si, we are an amazing monolith.
Lauren: So what are your thoughts about the Hillary love from the Asian and Latino communities?
I saw a headline today that said, "Do Latinos hate blacks?"
Maegan: There have been a ton of headlines like that.
Carmen: Yeah I think one thing that is getting lost in the discussion is that there are major differences between generations among Asian-Americans.
Maegan: And Latinos, too
Carmen: Not to mention ethnicities, too, of course.
Maegan: Yup
Carmen: Maegan, does it piss you off that the MSM makes it seem like the ONLY issues Latinos care about is immigration? (As if ALL Latinos are illegal)
Lauren: Or as if a Puerto Rican in NYC is having the same thoughts as a Mexican American in El Paso, TX? Just because they both speak Spanish?
Maegan: Duh, because apparently we all just snuck through the border. There was a Fox commentator who asked Piolin , a Mexican talk host, if Latinos were going to vote for the person who gave them the most for nothing — the most meaning open borders, welfare, etc.
Lauren: How does someone even answer a question that idiotic?
Carmen: Same way Obama answered that questions about whether Bill Clinton was the first black president, I guess.
Maegan: Well he did good, citing that we care about the Iraq issue, foreclosures, education and health care, where we're getting screwed. I just wonder when the media is gonna fucking get it, it's like every election it's the same ole stereotypes rehashed. And we have to go into teaching white folk mode.
Lauren: i know…finding all the black women in the salon or outside of church
Carmen: I didn't know you all hung out outside those venues Lauren
Lauren: I know..the only place a reporter could find me is on my couch behind my laptop.
Carmen: LOL
Lauren: But i guess I'm not the sort of black woman they're looking for
Maegan: I'm at the corner bodega….they got wireless now!!! But back to the point about the whole Latinos afraid of black Barack, they totally miss a whole chunk of Latinos that are black!!!
Carmen: Um, yeah
Maegan: Which is a pretty fucking huge chunk
Carmen: Latino and black are not mutually exclusive
Lauren: So why aren't there articles about how black Latinos have to choose between their skin color and their innate duty, which is apparently to vote for Hillary Clinton?
Carmen: That said, there are still a lot of Latinos who distance themselves from African/black ancestry though right, Maegan?
Maegan: that's not to say we Latinos don't have serious colorism issues. And a lot of that varies by region/nationality in terms of degrees.
Lauren: Of course. And you know, I think it would be silly to say there aren't Latinos and Asians who are choosing Hillary for the sole reason that she's white. But that's happening in all groups…on both sides of the coin.
Maegan: Of course, just like there are people who choose her because she has a chocha. And people choosing Obama because he's black. But is that the big picture?
Lauren: It's the picture the media is painting. As a female voter of color, at a certain point you just start feeling like a piece of meat.
Maegan: Ay, because it's great to see POC fight.
Lauren: Like all of us, with the exception of white men, are just followers in some way. Racist followers, at that.
Maegan: Well there's the sad and racist assumption that we are incapable of nuanced decision making
Carmen: I have to say though, that I am kind of surprised that I've seen the Asian-American vote mentioned at ALL in the MSM. Usually we're just assumed to be white, basically.
Lauren: It was California. The stats were very….definitive
Maegan: That's true Carmen. I've never seen the Asian vote issue come up so much. You are the new Latino vote!!!!
Carmen: Yay we're no longer the other white meat! 
Asian-American = pork.
Lauren: Did you guys see this post by Jeff Chang in Huffpo? Here is his theory:
The reason Hillary won is because the Latino and Asian American votes remain emergent, not yet insurgent.
Emergent voting blocs respond to leaders in their community. If the candidate wins the leader, she wins her followers. Insurgent voting blocs instead respond to calls for change, and may focus more on single issues or agendas. If a candidate stakes out a good position, she captures the community. Hillary played the politics of emergence.
Carmen: I think there's something to that - Clinton is a familiar face/name, and if As-Am or Latino leaders are backing her, then, well, it seems like a safe choice.
Maegan: My question about that is how long is the Latino vote gonna be considered emergent? Ricans been voting in NYC since the early 1920's. And Hillary's peeps haven't been no where near my hood, Obama has though. Then there's the whole Latino Democratic machine here in NYC, too, which is huge and evil and has totally backed Hillary.
Lauren: And do you find that influences a lot of the Latino vote in the city?
Maegan: In a way it does because the machine really pushes into senior centers and the like with their message
and they do it in a trickle down way that is really visible in the neighborhoods.
Lauren: It's a better explanation than "Asians and Latinos hate blacks." (Let alone that they just prefer Hillary without actually hating obama)
Carmen: Maegan, what role does the generational gap play amongst Latinos?
Maegan: It's huge. Despite the fact that many have JFK pics on their wall, the older generations are using the Hillary has experience reason for their vote. Young people, I found, were split. Half for Obama/half Hillary. Hillary is considered more part of the establishment that the older generations recognize. They don't like change. So that message doesn't resonate.
Lauren: I know a lot of older blacks that are firmly for Hillary. What were you going to say about the generation gap earlier, Carmen?
Carmen: Well I think that younger Asian-Americans are overwhelmingly pro-Obama. Whereas it's the older Asian-Americans who are more pro-Clinton (and of course many are Republicans, too). So I think that's a nuance that the MSM has really missed out on. I mean, Angry Asian Man (www.angryasianman.com) endorsed Obama. Yes that's just one blog, but AAM is massively influential.
Lauren: When the exit poll data came back from California, I was talking to my friend who lives there about it, and he said, "Blame the riots!" Which was basically to say Asians hate black people!
Carmen: Seriously, I think all this race war shit is massively overstated.
Maegan: Again, no nuance. Totally single issue.
Carmen: Especially the black/brown divide.
Maegan: Oh, please.
Carmen: That seems to be the hot new issue, nowadays.
Maegan: Don't get me started. I'm so sick of it.
Lauren: I'm sure people reading this will be like, these are three NYC women who blog about race. They are not a representative sample.
Carmen: But who is? Gang members taking part in a prison riot? That seems to be the main point of reference in these race war stories.
Lauren: Warring gang members in LA.
Maegan: We are a representative sample. We are more than just race bloggers. We are mothers, and workers, and members of our communities.
Lauren: And we all have a lot of fun together at happy hours! Take that, MSM! Okay, parting thoughts? As a Latina voter and an Asian non-voter who has valid political thoughts, nonetheless?
Carmen: My final thought: No more dynasties! It's time for change!
Maegan: Get over the whole monolith thing. Latinos represent dozens of countries and just as many shades so get over that we're afraid of black people shit (did I lock my door?).
Lauren: Oh, my final thought is that i want my vote for Obama to be respected as valid…and i want the same for a Latino, Asian, or Black person who votes for Hillary.
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"so get over that we’re afraid of black people shit (did I lock my door?)."
Classic! Hahaha, I love it!!
Interesting points, I agree with all of you.
seems thats what white amerikkka is concerned about also. Thats what lou Dobb's found out, is dealing with the subject of immigration with out being defensive, hateful and bigotted. [SEE HERE}
And middle class and poor white Americans vote Republicans because they hate Blacks and Latinos so much that they'd f–k themselves over just to make the coloreds more miserable. Since major news organizations are throwing out stereotypes, I might as well join in on all the fun.
gorgeous black women
Why cant someone vote for a beacuse they like the candidate's position on the issues. Why must insult groups of people's intelligence by assuming it is just about race/gender.
Good thoughts.
One thing that really bothers me though about MSM that has pervaded everyones minds is the idea that Barack Obama is definitively "black." It has been stated many times by himself and others that Obama's father is African and his mother is white, so why then would Obama be the first "black" president being just as white as he is black. I mean, he would be the first 'colored' president in that he is darker than most people of Anglo Saxon descent, but he is also lighter than a lot of African people, as well as black Americans. So why is America determined to see him solely as black?
~PeacE~
Eric-
Obama identifies HIMSELF as black, likely because his experiences in America reflect that of a typical Black man, well prior to running for election. If Tiger can call himself a Cabla…whatever the hell it is this week, Obama can identify as he sees fit.
And blacks folks ain't been colored for years…colored implies that you are not merely Black, but you ain't quite good enough to be white….er…no thanks!
Good interview…pretty much reflects the thoughts of my white, latina and asian friends. And while we don't all agree on a candidate preference, none of us hates the other candidate….
this was lovely ladies. very well put.
and to eric t: I believe the reason obama identifies as black is because the rest of the country does so. so he's had the same experiences/struggles. i have a friend who doesnt know a lick of spanish, but looks hispanic, and is therefore treated as such by people who judge the book by the cover.
interesting piece… most definately agree with *M*- why focus on race when the main focus should be what the hell is the candidate bringing to the table? Healthcare, education, immigration, economy etc etc are issues that affect everyone regardless of race. Cant we just vote for what we believe in and skip the discussion on the skin color of those running. What would we say if that blue guy ran? call me naive, but my race or their race is not influencing my vote one way or the other. Hope i didnt miss the point of this post, but thank you for posting- i get a sense of what other people think and that is great.
divaliscious11- When I said 'colored,' it was not meant to mean not good enough to be white, I simply meant that he has dark skin, and that his skin has color, as I already said in my post. All I'm sayin is that, while I do understand that Obama has probably had some of the same experiences/ sttuggles as other blacks, I dont think that he should identify solely as black because he isnt.
^^I agree.
It's safe to say that the Dem party - all demographics are evenly split btwn Hillary and Obama. I think it would do our party well to have them both on the same ticket rather than have a brokered convention and split the party in two. Yes, 70% Dems polled say they would be happy with Obama or Hillary as President, but why not have them both now in the WH?
As I canvas, call, etc. I am seeing more and more identity politics which is NOT good for Dems. We can't pit blacks v. latinos v. asians v. women. I am seeing that more and more. Black people hating other blacks who don't vote Obama. Blacks hating latinos who don't support Obama. Women hating women who support Obama, Asians supporting Hillary b/c, as I saw on CNN, "she's the white lady", etc.
At the beginning I felt that the race was healthy - and I even enjoyed Hillary not being coronated. I like a hard fought campaign! However I am of the mind that this primary is not good for the party at large. I mean, on Super Tuesday I volunteered and at some point i took a break to get some food. A brother with a "I Voted" sticker on smiled at me at the coffee shop I was in until he looked down and saw all my HRC buttons. His face totally changed. You would have though that I was wearing a white hood. He mad dogged me the entire time I was in the coffee shop from that point on and then he watched me leave with the most hateful look on his face. First, that's slightly psycho and second, it's not good for the Dem party that we are hating eachother now.
So I'm gonna Stan for Clinton/Obama ticket now. For the sake of the party. And for the sake of myself. I really don't like getting the mean mug while trying to enjoy a latte. Seriously.
I meant I agree with Areina.
Let me amend my statement. All demographics are not evenly split btwn them. The party as a whole is evenly split btwn HRC and BO.
SP is just glad that ppl are tuned into this election in 2008. So many other elections ppl haven't bothered to even register to vote. Nothin like a marathon to get ppl to get interested.
SP's vote is extremely nuanced. If Hil=Dem nominee, then write in Ron Paul
If BO=Dem nominee, cry tears of joy and pray without ceasing.
Actually I would never imply that race doesn't matter because well that's just playing the kumbaya song let's all hold hands in a rainbow connection sort of way that is not the reality here. What I was saying was that the way the mainstream media has been playing it is that it's all about race, that the Latino won't vote for a black man etc etc etc. When the reality is that who to vote for is a much more nuanced decision
I'd like to thank you for this interesting discussion. I'm not a blogger, and posting to blogs is a new experience for me.
I'm 60+, I've been anti-electoral politics since I was a teenager. I am a member of the real Rainbow Coalition (not the one that Jesse Jackson stole the name from) founded by Fred Hampton in 1969 - which included the Black Panther Party, The Young Lords Party, The Brown Berets, I Wor Kuen, The American Indian Movement, The Patriot Party and many other organizations born in the 60's and 70's.
We were, and are black/boriqua/chicana/indian/asian/white/straight/gay/feminist/anti-war and from the grass roots.
For the first time in my life I've actually given money to a presidential campaign - Barak Obama's.
I am spending time these days reading on the internet what young people in this country, and those around the world want their future to be, and for the first time in many years I have hope that the struggles of my brothers and sisters, many of whom died for their beliefs, or who were imprisoned, and those who came before us might just have a chance.
This is not about kumbaya - it is too serious. This about a global crisis, an AIDS pandemic, poverty, unemployment, the widening gap between the haves and have nots. I have lived and worked, and organized around the world and this election is not just of importance to those of us who live here in the US. We all have the chance to not only redeem a political process that has excluded the majority but has also signalled to the rest of the world that the US is hell-bent on imposing its will on the global majority. Sending a signal around the world that this can be reversed is critically important to your future. I won't be alive 30 years from now more than likely, but you will.
As a woman I cannot vote for Hillary Clinton. She is simply the old Democratic Party machine in a pantsuit. Barak Obama's experience as a grass roots organizer, as a person raised by and surrounded by strong women (his mother, his sister, his wife) as a global citizen - born in Hawaii, schooled in Indonesia, roots in Kenya and Kansas resonates with me.
Race is a social construct. Racism is alive and well. It IS important that Barak Obama is not tied to that social construction of mutally exclusive boxes we have all been imprisioned in for too long.
Right On -Pa'lante Siempre Pa'lante
Obama - pa'todos
Denise Oliver-Velez
Obama is black. Black Americans can have any amount of "white blood" and still be considered black by other black people. This historically has been because of slavery. In general, black people didn't want to penalize other blacks because "massa" raped the female slaves. It wasn't their fault they had "white blood" in them. This has carried over to today and when someone who his "biracial" identifies as black; there is a place in the "black family" for them as simple as that. The white community does not have a place for "biracial" people- you are either white or not. We have all kinds of black in our community and BTW some people are PROUD to be black. Obama is one of those proud people so he doesn't feel insulted to be called black.
I go on working for the same reason a hen goes on laying eggs.
– H.L. Mencken
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Megan is 100 percent correct . .
but huge diveristy in latino comunities first
So called chicanos are the ones warring against africans america in southern califorina
this doest exsist in northern cali not even with the gangs how the salvordrean gang called MS -13 Formed in suburb of los angeles called Van nuys/Pacomia
was Mexican-chicanos gangs killing central americans . so they formed to protect them seld every central america knows this fact in southern califoria
\i have been relatives who are most of chicano decent and many of them hate blacks and even hate mexicans from other regions . but Boricuas o nthe east coast are complete different group they skin color range from white to black in the same familia alot time as k any boricua and so does the Domicanos and Cubano and many braizilians etc