Latino Boycott of the Census: Cutting the nose to spite the face?

 

Latino Boycott of the Census: Cutting the nose to spite the face?

I've been holding my words  on this one since I heard Nativo Lopez come on a Spanish Radio Program (Hecho En CA - 1010AM) To passionately invite people to Boycott the Census, but he was back on this program again last week, also last week and on Monday March 1st,  pastor Miguel Rivera was a guest for substantial amounts of air time segments in the same program and radio station.

 

I must make perfectly clear the deep admiration and gratitude to Nativo and the many others on-board for this campaign for the work they have done  for so long and continue to do, more often than not, under political fire, there is not a scintilla of doubt in me regarding their pro people bona fides, sincerity or commitment to the cause for immigrants, all inclusive.
As far as the Evangelical Pastor is concerned, I'm ambivalent (Actually not thrilled with the company) at having him 'defending' equal rights based on how selective Evangelicals are on which, and whose, rights they fight for, or against to, as the case may be, as recent history attests (Prop8, Reproductive Choice/SCJ Sotomayor, health care reform, etc.).

 

However, from the start I had several questions, one of them was, 'Boycotting the Census will pressure Congress, Senate and the President to move ahead and enact Immigration Reform Legislation ipso facto, how?

 

For the life of me I can't see in which way they will be forced into action, I had a picture in my mind of Legislators in panic with hands on the sides of their heads clamoring "Oh my God! The Latino/Hispanic Community will boycott the Census! Oh my God!!!" And presto, then they move in the direction we want them to.

 

On the other hand, I'll add my voice to the many who point out the obvious ramifications if this boycott were to be successful (I define successful = massive participation) the main one being appropriations to fund social services, another less-talked-about related issue is legislative re-districting.

 

It occurs to me that the Latino/Hispanic community does not exist in a vacuum, whether anyone likes it or not, regardless of the many who paint and attack us as 'foreign', we are part of the larger society in the US, in addition, we are a large enough segment of the population to affect the other segments of the society with the outcome of our decisions and the reality is; that while we refuse to participate in an accepted National policy act, regardless of how flowed it may be, we will still have a need for services and representation, as do the other segments/ethnic groups/communities who will also be affected if this boycott is successful.

 

We, the Latino/Hispanic community, have been struggling for decades to achieve our rightful inclusion to all the benefits and responsibilities afforded to all members of this society (Mexicans-Americans have for more that 100 years)

 

I was going to sit on the side on this one because a) I do not see the strategic advantage to staging a boycott against the census. b) looking at history as a teacher, there are two recent examples of success with a boycott, the pro Civil Rights bus boycott of the 50s and the UFW grapes boycott of the late sixties, these actions had at a few factors in common, 1. they were sustained, 2. they inflicted financial costs on the specifically targeted entities, 3. influenced public opinion in favor of the cause.

 

There are many reasons given as to why we should boycott the census, I will agree that the sentiments and grievances that are listed are valid and righteous, but where I part company is when I don't see that this boycott has even a Lilliputian chance of achieving the goal, even in the best case scenario.

 

Instead, what I see is that our community is being urged to engage in an act as futile as the bratty kid who threatens to hold his/her breath until this or that is done.

 

Respectfully and with brutal honesty submitted,

 

Aurora Grajeda
SFCA 030210

"Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets."
-- Napoleon Bonaparte
"What you want in a media system is an ostensible diversity that conceals an actual uniformity."
-- Joseph Goebbels
 
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