Daisy Hernandez (no relation to Daniel Hernandez), co-editor of Colonize This! Young Women on Today’s Feminism, was recently featured on NPR’s All Things Considered with a Latin view on what happened Saturday in Tucson. You can listen to the report and Hernandez here.
Takeaway:
It’s safe to say there was a collective sigh of brown relief when the Tucson killer turned out to be a gringo. Had the shooter been Latino, media pundits wouldn’t be discussing the impact of nasty politics on a young man this week — they’d be demanding an even more stringent anti-immigrant policy. The new members of the House would be stepping over each other to propose new legislation for more guns on the border, more mothers to be deported, and more employers to be penalized for hiring brown people. Obama would be attending funerals and telling the nation tonight that he was going to increase security just about everywhere. …
It’s painfully ironic that a gay Latino man came to the aid of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the storm of gunfire. Daniel Hernandez, an intern with the congresswoman, ran to Rep. Giffords and helped to stop the bleeding. If a judge hadn’t blocked provisions of Arizona’s SB 1070 law, the intern’s surname would have easily qualified him as a target for police under different circumstances on Saturday. As Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of Pima County, Ariz., told reporters: “The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous, and unfortunately Arizona has become sort of the capital.”
This article appears in Jan 13-19, 2011.
There is nothing ironic about a gay hispanic male coming to her rescue. I would think that only extreme racists would think that a gay hispanic male couldn’t come to her rescue. Terrible choice of words IMHO
I’m sure there is nothing ironic if you are the mother of Daniel Hernandez, and you are so proud of the wonderful son you raised. I kept thinking about her every time they showed him sitting next to the president and Sandra. And what a great speaker. I look forward to seeing what he does in life, and I hope he considers staying in Arizona and putting his public-service heart to good use in his home state. However, it is ironic if you examine the decisions our state Legislature has made, from SB 1070 to making sure that marriage is only legal in this state if you are a man and a woman, and that two same-sex parents cannot share the adoption of a son or daughter.
Not really Mari, I think it would be quite a stretch that all or even most people who have archaic views towards homosexuality and marriage also think that a homosexual couldn’t possibly be heroic. Even through all the vile rhetoric about the ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ repeal I never saw anyone say that gays couldn’t serve their country admirably or be good soldiers it was just their homophobia about the close quarters. Do you think it is ironic that Jim Kolbe could have been our state representative for years upon years before Gabby? No.
It is important that we only brush people with the colors they have shown us not manufacture ones we think are there. Its the constant reminder of our differences that keep us from coming together.
Bullseye, on the money, whatever you want to call yourself right now, it isn’t the constant reminder of our differences that keep us from coming together.
I disagree again Mari. It may not be the only reason we don’t come together, but in itself it would be a deal killer almost every single time.
I work with multiple people I don’t agree with, and I work with them every single day. If every one of those days we sat down to talk about the current issue I reminded them of all the things from the past that I don’t agree with them on, and then used them as a basis to infer their stance or belief on a current issue we wouldn’t be able to get anything productive done. Ever.
I personally hate it when someone says “well since you are a (insert political label here) you must believe (insert political stance here).” They often find themselves surprised when the assumptions don’t hold true. Sure some people may be predictable, but most of us have views as complex as we are.