Latinos Part Dos

So, none other than the Pew HISPANIC Research Center (my emphasis) has weighed in on how people who can trace some of their ancestry to Latin America living in the U.S. actually identify themselves. It wasn't much of a surprise that most Latinos don't identify as such at all. They don't even identify as Hispanic for that matter, making a lot of the debate that happens in intellectual circles and the media of little consequence. Their findings reveal that 51% identify by their country of origin and only 24% use a pan-ethnic label that groups them together, such as Latino or Hispanic. And when looking at those pan-ethnic labels, much to the chagrin of Latino studies programs all over the country who claim that Hispanic is an imposed label that affirms Spanish hegemony, only 14% of those surveyed would choose the term Latino, compared to 51% who don't care, and 33% who prefer Hispanic. As for the argument of denying imperialism, I never understood why trading a moniker associated with one empire for another would solve the problem. A critical race theorist might argue that any pan-ethnic label is really just a tool to bring the overall average down, to deny diversity, and create a garbage category that legally confirms the inferiority of said socially constructed group. As someone who does embrace the occasional label and who is ultimately pragmatic, I do think there is a reason for us to continue the push for unity, even though the Pew report also shows that more than two thirds of Latinos don't believe that we share a common culture. The reason is simple: there is power in numbers. We do share enough that working together could go a long way for improving the U.S. as a whole, especially given the demographic trajectory of the nation. Finally, for as much as us intellectuals would like to assert our uniqueness, I am reminded of Malcolm X who noted that to outsiders we all pretty much look the same anyway.