Angel Gonzales
True to form, Donald Trump’s State of the Union address commended ICE for its Latino immigrant related deaths, children in cages and child separation policies. He then proceeded to disparage Latino immigrants by citing isolated incidents of largely unproven criminal conduct. And by association, he indicted all American Latinos considering that we are generally indistinguishable from our Mexican counterparts south of the border wall. Trump’s invective specifically invoked the border wall as the apparent solution to all of América’s security needs; but did nothing to protect the numerous American Latino victims of the El Paso, Texas massacre by a white American shooter within view of the border wall.
As América may recall, on Aug. 3, 2019, 46 people were shot in El Paso, Texas; including men, women and children, 98% of whom were Latinos. The border wall was a backdrop to the shopping mall where these Latinos were gunned down by a white supremacist apparently provoked by the white supremacist ideology of Donald Trump.
Of the total number, 21 Latinos were brutally slaughtered by the white supremacist who had previously ranted online virtually quoting Trump’s racist loathing toward Latinos in general. The white supremacist bragged that he came to El Paso, to “kill as many Mexicans as possible.”
Trump has habitually used the border wall as a symbol of his hatred toward the Latino community, regardless of legal status. Trump’s cold-blooded deceptiveness ignores the reality that the greatest majority of Latinos in América are here legally. Nonetheless, Trump continues to vilify and revile all Latinos, as if a relatively small number of undocumented immigrants (circa 7%) somehow represents the entirety of the legal Latino community (circa 93%) in América.
As a result, although I am an American born citizen like Trump, but due to his ongoing racial attacks against all Latinos, I have personally been victimized by a significant level of racial hostility, especially since Trump became president. That racial animosity combined with the awareness that Colorado continues to tolerate various white supremacist groups, is so disturbing to me, that I moved from Colorado to New México to seek relief.
It is also quite terrifying to realize that there has been a major increase of white supremacy throughout América at a time when Latinos have become a highly targeted people, as evidenced by the El Paso massacre.
Trump is hardly alone in his vile racial maliciousness. Trump has merely used the already existing monument of América’s racial bigotry toward Latinos (the border wall) to justify his own noxious racism and to enhance his own political ambitions. But now, Trump has literally sacrificed the flesh and blood of American Latinos to endow himself the Commander in Chief of a white-only América.
As a result, a large share of América that supports his malevolence—including the majority of the US Senate that corruptly acquitted him—are collectively just as responsible for the single greatest slaughter of innocent American Latinos in this country’s modern history.
Therefore, all reasonable Americans should condemn Trump, and all his despicable followers that support his corrupt and racist views. Equally, all elected officials that belong to the Trump-cult should be voted out of office. América must also stop supporting any further funding for the border wall, in that it only reinforces the already existing example of América’s most reprehensible symbol of racism toward all Latino people. Furthermore, considering that the El Paso massacre of American Latinos presents the most egregious recent evidence that white supremacists are an ongoing national deadly threat, it is outrageous that domestic terrorism laws still have not been enacted to protect the American public from white supremacist brutality.
The US Senate began holding hearings on domestic terrorism back in 2012, which eventually resulted in the introduction of the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2017 (S-2148). The bill was sponsored by 13 Democratic senators—without any Republican support. The measure then died on 1-3-19, exactly 7 months to the day of the El Paso massacre. The Democratic house also introduced a similar bill on 2-2-18, but it also died on 1-3-19.
According to the facts contained in the House bill (H.R.4918), between 1993 and 2017, there were 150 variable terrorist acts, resulting in 255 deaths and more than 600 injuries. We can now add 24 more injuries and 22 deaths to that total, considering all the victims of the El Paso massacre.
América must now realize, that Latinos represent the largest minority group in América (roughly 65 million strong).
Moreover, Latinos historically represent a vital part of the true foundation of América and will continue to be an enduring part of this country’s soul and character. Yet, the racial hatred toward Latinos desecrates the tremendously rich cultural and historical contributions Latinos have made and continue to make toward the viability of América.
This country should understand that the ongoing racial hatred toward Latinos is tantamount to throwing feces in the face of our revered Statue of Liberty which represents friendship, opportunity and freedom for immigrants coming to América. Hatred and lack of opportunity and freedom to pursue happiness is totally contrary to the values of América, especially when that hatred is being directed at its own citizens.
Americans should also be mindful that the Spanish arrived in North América in the early 15th century. Then, the 13 colonies declared their independence from Great Britain in 1776 and the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York in 1886. However, Latinos of Mexican ancestral origin, such as myself, have a Mexican cultural history that reaches back more than ten thousand years. Accordingly, perhaps the white society should prepare to endure us for at least another few thousand years.
Angel Gonzales, as a child, once lived in dire poverty at a converted World War II prisoner of war labor camp in Colorado. He is also a former teacher with the Domestic Peace Corps. and a retired Senior Officer with the Colorado State Justice Dept. with three decades of honorable service. He is now a documentary filmmaker living in New México and is working on a film about the El Paso, Texas massacre near the border wall.
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