LatinaLista — Is discrimination against Latinos worse now than in the past?
It’s a question that begs to be asked in light of a new Pew Research study that finds Roughly Half of Hispanics have experienced discrimination.
Among the interesting insights of the study — and the reason for the question — is that reports of discrimination depends on age. According to the report, 65 percent of Millennial Latinos, ages 18-29, say they have “experienced discrimination or unfair treatment because of their race or ethnicity.” However, only 35 percent of Latinos, ages 50 and older, report the same thing.
That’s a 30-point gap!
The report’s authors don’t try to analyze why such a gap exists but it could be for a variety of reasons. Perhaps it’s because:
- The Millennial generation has been taught to speak up when seeing injustice, whereas the Boomer generation and older learned to deal with things the way they were because it was just an accepted part of how they’ve always been treated.
- Boomers and older age groups would rather not draw attention to themselves.
- Older Latinos adhere more to the traditional practice of respect found in Hispanic culture, though they themselves are not being respected.
- Older Latinos don’t recognize discrimination readily.
- Latino Millennials may be the most empowered of all generations and an infringement on their equality status is something not tolerated.
While this gap doesn’t reflect well on the Boomer generation, there is an encouraging sign.
The report reveals that 62 percent of Latinos sometimes or often have conversations about racial inequality. It’s a good first step for a generation that has been drilled into accepting the status quo and good practice for another generation to put situations into perspective as they decide how to address it.
