LatinaLista — The Pew Research Center released a report today meant to evaluate how blacks view the state of “black progress,” especially since Barack Obama was elected president.
Not surprisingly blacks responded favorably to most of the survey questions. In fact, they even admitted that the biggest group now facing discrimination, isn’t blacks anymore, but Hispanics.
Ever since the Latino population began to gain numbers in the United States, an unspoken camaraderie and competition have existed between the two groups. A camaraderie because many of the discriminating and racial struggles impacting blacks also impacted Latinos and competition to see which group could ascend these obstacles first.
For these reasons, it’s always been unspoken that Latinos and blacks had more in common than had differences. Yet, the Pew survey revealed the opposite. According to the survey, only 26% of Latinos felt that Obama shares their values and interests A LOT versus 31% for whites and 60% for blacks.
A man of mixed heritage, of which most Latinos identify as being; a product of a single mother raised by his grandparents – a story not uncommon in the Latino community; a parent from a foreign country with family still living in that country – again, not an uncommon profile in the Latino community are all elements that can be found in most Latino families, and definitely in every Latino community.
So why did the Latinos surveyed feel they had less in common with Obama than whites?
It could be that the Latinos surveyed were basing their answer on what Obama has done for Latinos since he’s been in office and the feeling is not A LOT.
Forty-two percent of Latinos surveyed felt that Obama is not paying enough attention to Latino concerns. To be fair, 42% of Latinos believe that he is paying the right amount of attention to the concerns of Latinos.
Yet, the 42% who feel they’re getting the short end of the attention is the highest number by far of all the other groups: 10% for blacks; 13% whites; 18% for women and 35% for seniors.
The major issue driving that feeling may be Washington’s inaction on immigration enforcement. While it’s understandable that the financial sector, the job market and healthcare have been the administration’s top priorities, there has been hardly a nod towards certain elements of the immigration issue that don’t need congressional approval for change, and which are the causes of the impatience and frustration felt by some Latinos.
For example, if the Obama administration had appointed a separate task force to investigate immigrant detention conditions once he took office then the bigger picture of the needless deaths, negligence and abuse that have been occurring and were documented in a recent New York Times article could have been addressed before more needless deaths occurred under ICE’s watch.
It wouldn’t have taken an act of Congress to direct Sec. Napolitano to issue a directive to stop separating families and deporting parents leaving the children behind.
It doesn’t take an act of Congress for the President to personally take to the podium and strongly denounce assaults against Hispanic immigrants and set a stronger national tone of intolerance for such actions.
In most of the other questions, the Latinos surveyed didn’t answer that differently from blacks. It means that Latinos see Obama less as the first black President and more as the first President who promised he would give the necessary attention to Latinos’ needs — the survey shows that Latinos are still waiting.
Comment(3)
Alonzo
It’s not Latinos or African-Americans in general that are now having buyer’s remorse, but ultra left wing progressive Democrats who had unrealistic expectations of enormous wealth transfer. They expected BO to be a Santa Claus and Messiah at the same time.
The bottom has dropped out of the pork feeding trough that the corruptocrats use to buy off special interests and the drool on their faces has dried up to form an ugly crust. The payoff carnival that is taking place between Congress, special interests and the White House is perfect evidence that some of us will be treated differently when it comes to paying for health care. Peter will be cheated to pay Paul. Just look at the treatment of the Caddilac plans that will be exempted from taxation. These people get better health care than the rest of us, yet the rest of us will have to pay more in taxes to pay for that exemption.
The truth is that so-called Latino and Hispanic leaders, consisting entirely of Democrats, have taken advantage of their so-called constituency and do not truly represent the majority of us.
Karen
Re: “So why did the Latinos surveyed feel they had less in common with Obama than whites?”
Obama has a white mother, so they might feel they have something in common with him.
It’s obvious that he cares nothing for Latinos. I think we figured this out during the primary, which is why most of us voted for Hillary.
He’s a disaster. He doesn’t seem to care at all about the economy or the plight of the unemployed. So far, he’s done nothing but funnel our tax dollars to the banks and push for legislation that helps health insurance companies. Ours is a conservative country and Democrats are only elected when the Republicans screw up the economy. If Obama doesn’t fix the economy soon, he’s gone in 2012. The Democrats will probably lose the Senate in 2010. I read an article–don’t remember where–but it said that the Dems are poised to lose all of the western states.
Cary
“For these reasons, it’s always been unspoken that Latinos and blacks had more in common than had differences. Yet, the Pew survey revealed the opposite. According to the survey, only 26% of Latinos felt that Obama shares their values and interests A LOT versus 31% for whites and 60% for blacks.”
Most people knew that this was purely delusional on the part of left wing extremist Latinos like La Raza, MALDEF, et al. These groups felt so isolated from the rest of America in their view of the political landscape that they were grasping at any straw in hopes of support.
Sort of puts the lie to Latino hysterics that Sheriff Joe is profiling. This from AZ Central.com………………
Program with Sheriff Joe Arpaio defended by top ICE official
ICE official: Migrants in U.S. without criminal records cannot be ignored http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2010/01/21/20100121arpaio-ice-chief.html
A top U.S. immigration-enforcement official on Wednesday defended a federal program that lets local jail officials from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office check the immigration status of people booked into jail.
During a large protest on Saturday in Phoenix that drew 10,000 people, immigrant-rights advocates called on the Department of Homeland Security to end the program, saying some Valley police officers are engaging in racial profiling by arresting Latinos for minor crimes in order to check their immigration status during the booking process.
Quantcast
But John Morton, the assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that is “not in practice what we have seen in the program” known as 287 (g).
Furthermore, he said that while the agency places a priority on arresting illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes, it also cannot turn “a blind eye to people who are here unlawfully simply because they don’t have a criminal record.”
Morton said the program has been consistent in meeting the agency’s priority of arresting illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes.
“Sixty nine percent of the people we receive in Maricopa County
have been convicted of Level 1 and Level 2 offenses, which are serious felony offenses, drug trafficking, assaults, rape,” Morton said during a meeting with editors and reporters at The Arizona Republic.
More than 90 percent of the cases presented to the U.S. Attorney in Arizona involving people who committed a felony crime of re-entering the U.S. after deportation from the Maricopa County jail, Morton added.
In October, Morton refused to renew a contract between ICE and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio that let deputies arrest immigration violators on the street.
ICE said it didn’t renew the contract because Arpaio’s controversial crime sweeps were inconsistent with the agency’s priorities of focusing on criminals.
The new contract, however, left intact the jail program allowing Sheriff’s deputies to check immigration status of all people booked into the jail.
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