MSNBC contributor Paola Ramos fired the latest volley in The Great Latinx War while sitting in for weekend host Zerlina Maxwell. But her characterization of critics of the term may be more of a friendly-fire incident.
Take a look at Ramos’ characterization of those who criticize Latinx, as she sets up her related segment with columnist Jean Guerrero of The Los Angeles Times:
PAOLA RAMOS: I’m Latinx. That’s how I choose to identify myself. So it’s frustrating to see the term “Latinx”, a term that was created to foster inclusivity, be the victim of a culture war. A recent poll showed that only two percent of Latinos identify themselves as Latinx. And while that may be true, a bunch of bad faith actors used that statistic to paint the term as divisive.
Is it really bad-faith to call a term divisive if it is rejected by 97-99% of the people it was designed for? As you ponder that, also consider that the universe of “bad-faith actors” appear to include Democratic congressman Rubén Gallego of Arizona, who recently said:
To be clear my office is not allowed to use “Latinx” in official communications. When Latino politicos use the term it is largely to appease white rich progressives who think that is the term we use. It is a vicious circle of confirmation bias.
Another target includes Domingo García, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the nation’s oldest Latino-interest advocacy group, who told NBC that:
The reality is there is very little to no support for its use and it’s sort of seen as something used inside the Beltway or in Ivy League tower settings, while LULAC always rep Jose and María on Main Street in the barrio and we need to make sure we talk to them the way they talk to each other…
Neither of these individuals are conservative paragons. As readers of MRC Latino are aware, Gallego is part of the effort to impose censorship upon dissident radio stations in Miami. LULAC supports the federalization of elections. On this issue, both of these guys are spot-on, which proves the old adage about stopped clocks being right twice a day.
But some of the “bad-faith actors” include NBC talent. Take a look at the highlighted portion of the tear sheet that displayed over Ramos’ monologue, and you’ll see a Politico article titled “Democrats fall flat with ‘Latinx’ language”. The article, written by Marc Caputo and Sabrina Rodríguez, centered around a poll that found that 30% of Hispanics would be less likely to support a politician or organization that uses the term. The pollster, Fernand Amandi is a frequent MSNBC contributor. And Marc Caputo is now at NBC. So it is interesting to see MSNBC talent going after fellow NBC talent over a term that less than 1-3% of Hispanics embrace.
The revolution comes for its own.
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