Racial discrimination has a long history in the United States of America. It dates back to the days of slavery. Mexican descendants are migrating to the United States at an alarming rate. The culture that the Mexicans experience in their own country is very different from the culture they experience upon arriving in the United States of America. The U. S. Census Bureau created the label “Hispanic” for convenience. Some people of Spanish descent think of themselves as “Hispanic” and others prefer the term “Latino”; however, most identify with a particular country, such as Cuba, Argentina, or Spain (Macionis 2006) Hispanics accounted for 14. percent of the population in the United States of America in 2006 (www. prb. org). The percentage was 15. 4 percent in 2008. Hispanics owned 6. 8 percent of the businesses in 20002 (www. census. gov). Hispanics and Latinos come to America for a better life. Someone in our sociology class advised that her husband’s family migrated to America where they could have a better life. She stated that once a person reached the age of 30 or so they were forced to retire. She also stated that the people working in Mexico only make about $60. 0 to support their families. It would be hard to move to a different country in which the people spoke a language that you did not speak or understand. The older people that are living in the United States rely on their children and grandchildren to translate for them when they have to communicate with people that only speak the English language. Many older Hispanic adults do not have any formal education. The younger generation that is living in America now is completing at least high school. Some even go on to college and become successful college students.
There are programs in some schools that offer the curriculum taught in bilingual. Many school systems across America are experiencing budget cuts and some of these bilingual programs may be cut, even if they have been successful. One such program is in danger in Orange county Florida. The Parent Leadership Council, the League of United Latin American Citizens of Florida and others say eliminating the program is a bad idea. Advocates note that English is a critical skill that will not only help students graduate from high school but also will help them assimilate into the culture and become successful citizens.
The one-way program is one of many ways that the district teaches English to speakers of other languages. Overall, about 18 percent of Orange County’s 175,000 students take classes to learn English. Spanish is the predominant foreign language spoken in the county’s public schools. A federal court order requires Florida’s districts to treat non-English-speaking children equitably, and it regulates how that should happen. The council argues that the cuts violate that order in part because officials did not include parents in the discussion (Hobbs 2010).
The existence of a large Latin American community living and working in the United States has been the main cause for the Spanish language to have gradually found its way into the North-American society. Those belonging to this community use both Spanish and English on a daily basis, although not usually to the same degree: Spanish is normally spoken in colloquial situations, whereas English is the language used in work or academic contexts. The code-switching between the two languages emerges as a tool of identification with both cultures.
Over the past few years, the cultural reality of all those people who are able to alternate English and Spanish in the same conversation has emerged in the United States as a new theme for movies and television shows (Carra 2009). The people today that are bilingual are in great demand in many jobs. There is a job where there is a great demand for an individual that can speak Spanish and English. Law enforcement as well as the court system has a great need of such individuals. The one problem that individuals face when learning to speak Spanish is that the Spanish you are taught in schools proper language.
There is several different dialects with Spanish as it is with English. The Spanish classes teach proper, and when you try to communicate with Hispanics and Latinos, they cannot understand you any better than you can understand them. I have observed that the people that can communicate with them are people that have lived and/or worked with them for a long time. I work in law enforcement so I have responded to calls, which involved people from Mexico. They are very polite to you when you are speaking to them. They may nod their head and smile at you while you are talking.
This does not mean that they know what you are saying. If you think about it, they probably feel the same way as we do when you are talking and they do not understand it. We feel like they are speaking in some type of tongue. We have communities in our area that are dominantly Hispanic and/or Latino. Many people do not treat the Hispanics in our community as they should be treated. The criminals will target them because they know that most of them are afraid to call law enforcement because they may not be in America legally or someone in their family has come to America illegally.
Many may feel that if they call for law enforcement, they will be arrested themselves. Many times this is not true and as a community, we have to educate them as well as get educated ourselves on their culture. Not knowing about a culture is almost a guarantee that you will end up offending someone. I know as far as law enforcement goes Hispanics tend not to trust officers because the most of the law enforcement officials in Mexico are crooked or mean. In our county, we have the 287G program.
This program does not profile Hispanics, but if they break the law and are arrested, their name is ran thru the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) system to see if they are in the country legally. They have to commit a crime and be arrested before their name can be run. If it is determined that they are in the country illegally they have a detainer put on them. This means that once they are tried and convicted of the crime they committed, served their time for the crime they are then deported back to the country they are from.
Women in Mexico are not treated as an equal to the men. They come to America with their husbands or families and soon see American women with jobs and careers. Most of the women arriving from Mexico do not have much education or documentation. Some will go to work in the factories while others will get jobs in housekeeping at the area hotels and motels. People may see the large families out and think they are seeing a large group. The Hispanic community is generally Catholics. They generally are close knit.
In our area, a few Hispanics are dating and marrying African Americans. Some African Americans do not like the Hispanic because they feel they are taking many of the jobs they use to do or maybe getting the public assistance that many of them have gotten. I grew up on a farm in the southern part of our county. Many of the farms around us sold out to the government when they had the opportunity. Many of those that did not sell out have Hispanic families living on the farm in mobile homes furnished by the farmer.
The males in the family will work on the farm for a salary and the rent money. The Hispanics that I have observed working are hard working individuals that work do not make a big salary. Some of the females stay home with the smaller children and do not work outside of the home. Some of the Hispanics have told me in our community that when they are paid they send money back to Mexico to family members live there. Some of the money may be for aging parents that did not come to America while some of the money may be saved so a family member or members can come to America soon.
References Carra, N. (2009). The presence of Spanish in American movies and television shows. Dubbing and subtitling strategies. Vigo International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 51-71. Retrieved from Communication & Mass Media Complete database. Erika Hobbs. (2010, May 8). Hispanic leaders, parents rally for bilingual classes. Orlando Sentinel, B. 1. , from Orlando Sentinel. (Document ID: 2028571711). Http://www. prb. org Http://www. census. gov Macionis John J. Society: The Basics, (2006) Published by Prentice-Hall
