Denise, I too have been impressed with the work ethic exhibited by the Latino community in general, to include Mexicans if they're not included in the "Latino" designation.
Denise, I too have been impressed with the work ethic exhibited by the Latino community in general, to include Mexicans if they're not included in the "Latino" designation.
The term "Hispanic" generally refers to Spanish speaking people while "Latino" or the more gender-neutral term "Latinx" refers to people from Central or South America.
Most people we refer to as Latinx, though, dislike that term. They prefer sticking to Latino, at least that's what I understand. Probably like pronouns, we should be asking those about whom we are using the term what they prefer. Just a side note, not a criticism.
Reid, I have never used the term "Latinx" but to tell the truth, I am just as ignorant about the term "Latino." I call myself white because I'm never sure how to spell caucasian. Seriously.
Well, and Caucasian is a term invented by eugenicists in an attempt to distinguish those of Western European descent from other light-skinned people who were nonetheless "beneath" the Western Europeans in the racial hierarchy. It's an especially amusing term when you consider that the Caucasus region is in a part of the world from which immigrants to the U.S. would no doubt have been considered lower caste and not, in the eugenicists view, Caucasian.
No worries, Lynell. Last spring, when I was optimisticly planning lessons for the school year that sort of "wasn't" I came across an article in Teaching Tolerance (now Learning for Justice) that talked about the differences in the terms. Up until then I didn't know...
It's easy to have a work ethic when you're a third world native in a first world country. If I could go to a country where they quintupled my earnings, I'd probably work a lot harder too. But picture yourself a low/no-skilled American worker. Your wages are sh!t by US standards. You are at the mercy of your employer. You have almost no social capital, and you could lose your crappy rental apartment if you have to pay for a major car repair or a medical bill.
Illegal and legal immigrants have the additional advantage of having something of a community with the people they work with--a small group of countrymen working together to pull themselves up.
But their presence in large numbers in the United States depresses the wages of our own workers still further. It's Econ 101: too much of any resource depresses its value. Too many low/no-skilled workers depresses their value. For the immigrants, it's no big deal because they're making far more than they were, and sending a lot of it home to relatives. But for the US workers, if they are meat packers or construction workers, for ex, their wages have plummeted over the last generation.
Denise, I too have been impressed with the work ethic exhibited by the Latino community in general, to include Mexicans if they're not included in the "Latino" designation.
The term "Hispanic" generally refers to Spanish speaking people while "Latino" or the more gender-neutral term "Latinx" refers to people from Central or South America.
Most people we refer to as Latinx, though, dislike that term. They prefer sticking to Latino, at least that's what I understand. Probably like pronouns, we should be asking those about whom we are using the term what they prefer. Just a side note, not a criticism.
Reid, I have never used the term "Latinx" but to tell the truth, I am just as ignorant about the term "Latino." I call myself white because I'm never sure how to spell caucasian. Seriously.
Well, and Caucasian is a term invented by eugenicists in an attempt to distinguish those of Western European descent from other light-skinned people who were nonetheless "beneath" the Western Europeans in the racial hierarchy. It's an especially amusing term when you consider that the Caucasus region is in a part of the world from which immigrants to the U.S. would no doubt have been considered lower caste and not, in the eugenicists view, Caucasian.
Racists and eugenicists are very bad at geography.
Thank you, Reid. Another "thing" I didn't knowЁЯдФ
Thank you for that, Reid, I agree! I think it's always better to ask than to make arbitrary assumptions.
Jennifer 100%. Always better to call people what they want to be called.
Thank you, Jennifer. My old age is showing. I forgot about the term "Hispanic."
No worries, Lynell. Last spring, when I was optimisticly planning lessons for the school year that sort of "wasn't" I came across an article in Teaching Tolerance (now Learning for Justice) that talked about the differences in the terms. Up until then I didn't know...
Thanks, Jennifer. Hope you thrive in the coming months.
May we all thrive in the months and years to come!
It's easy to have a work ethic when you're a third world native in a first world country. If I could go to a country where they quintupled my earnings, I'd probably work a lot harder too. But picture yourself a low/no-skilled American worker. Your wages are sh!t by US standards. You are at the mercy of your employer. You have almost no social capital, and you could lose your crappy rental apartment if you have to pay for a major car repair or a medical bill.
Illegal and legal immigrants have the additional advantage of having something of a community with the people they work with--a small group of countrymen working together to pull themselves up.
But their presence in large numbers in the United States depresses the wages of our own workers still further. It's Econ 101: too much of any resource depresses its value. Too many low/no-skilled workers depresses their value. For the immigrants, it's no big deal because they're making far more than they were, and sending a lot of it home to relatives. But for the US workers, if they are meat packers or construction workers, for ex, their wages have plummeted over the last generation.
https://americancompass.org/the-commons/worker-power-loose-borders-pick-one/