Heritage’s Mike Gonzalez Needs a Major History Lesson About Latinos

Apr 24, 2014
11:11 PM

In a scathing opinion piece slamming Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s now epic dissent about this week Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling, Mike Gonzalez, the VP of Communications for The Heritage Foundation (the same person who defended Jason Richwine’s Latinos are stupid dissertation), wrote the following to explain why Sotomayor needs to calm down (boldface emphasis is ours):

There are many reasons to oppose affirmative action: It imposes the soft bigotry of low expectations on whole groups of people; it delegitimizes the hard-earned diplomas of minority graduates; it flouts simple principles of fair play, and, by rewarding characteristics that have nothing to do with talent or hard work, it contributes to national decline.

Even after considering the above, some Americans are still willing to make an exception for the descendants of Africans forcefully brought here in chains in centuries past. The view is that they can make a case that they’re still suffering from the legacy of the horrible system of slavery, which is only four or five generations in the past.

Hispanics simply have no parallel claim. There’s nothing in the Hispanic experience in America that compares with the repulsive system of slavery. Some Jim Crow laws did affect some Mexican-Americans living in the Southwest, but there was nothing comparable with the African-American experience.

And the vast majority of today’s Hispanics either immigrated here or, more likely, descended from people who immigrated of their own volition. They chose to come here to better their lives.

With that said, we would like to share some examples as to why claiming that “nothing in the Hispanic experience in America that compares with the repulsive system of slavery:”

Exhibit A: Hernandez v. Texas, 1954

Mexican_We_Serve_Whites_Only(1)

Exhibit B: Mendez v. Westminster, 1946

la-times_february-19-1946_400x450

And don’t forget, Lemon Grove.

Exhibit C: Deporting Mexican-Americans during the 1930s

Exhibit D: As for the bizarre immigration comment by Gonzalez, just read this. For those playing at home, the article is called “19 Reasons Latin Americans Come To The U.S. That Have Nothing To Do With The American Dream.” (link)

Exhibit E: Arizona.

Exhibit F: Immigrants for sale.

We know that there are more examples, and our readers are more than welcome to share them. As for Gonzalez? We will keep it simple: know your history, Mike. Slavery comes in many forms, and to suggest that “Hispanics simply have no parallel claim” is insulting. And wrong. But we’re sure that the rest of Heritage (yes, even the ones who get funds from anti-immigrant hate groups) is patting you on the back this week.

While we are at it, please stop right now with the while “Latinos are victims” as well. This is not about victimization. This is about telling the truth about history, a history that Gonzalez conveniently overlooks because it doesn’t mesh with his dumb opinion piece. Hit it, Gollum.

And you wonder why Heritage still has “Latino problems?”

By the way, Gonzalez did write, “There’s nothing in the Hispanic experience in America that compares with the repulsive system of slavery.” Anyone who knows anything about history knows that the ‘repulsive system’ of slavery was also part of the Latin American experience as well. And since Gonzalez wrote America… well, you know.