Latinx
3%
The other day I came across a local article about the rising population of Hispanics from southwest Detroit moving into the downriver community with a focus on Lincoln Park. The article named various small businesses and people that work within those businesses telling personal stories, it was a nice article in that sense. However, what stood out to me was what felt like forced use of the word, “Latinx.” Within the relatively short article it felt like I read the word 200 times. Though the term is not dominate or extremely common yet, I have been noticing it popping up more and more within advertisements and in the media. In a recent poll it found that 76% of Hispanics have never heard of it and only 3% of Hispanics use it. The demographic making up that 3% was very defined, it was predominately American-born non-Spanish speaking college educated Hispanics. Latinx according to oxford dictionary is defined as, “Person of Latin-American origin or descent, a gender-neutral or non-binary alternative to Latino or Latina.” I personally don’t think of myself as Mexican or Hispanic, I think of myself as an American who happens to be of Mexican ethnicity, the same way I don’t think of myself as British. The term “Latino” doesn’t even technically represent people of Mexican origin as Mexico is not a part of Latin-America. Of Hispanics in this country, 61% describe themselves as Hispanic and only 29% as Latino. As an American of Hispanic origin I must say, I do find this rising trend curious as it is not an organic change in language otherwise defined as “Slang” but very much being artificially implanted into the language.
Irony
Although “Latinx” is just now starting to be used in society, it first started popping up in the mid-2000’s in feminist and LGBT publications and media outlets although the foundational source was social-science humanities departments within Universities. The phrase was not created organically by Hispanics but rather from white-progressives which gives it a sense of unrealized irony. The same types of people who use the phrase Latinx to describe Hispanics are those who are familiar with and use the phrases, “Cultural Appropriation” or “Cultural Imperialism.” To paraphrase and define the meanings of these words, it is when a majority group population either adopts the culture of a minority population or dominates and forces the majority’s cultural norms onto the minority group. To use an example, every Halloween some celebrities commit the cardinal sin of dressing up as Indians and cowboys or as Pocahontas and John Smith and are met with feaux-outrage. The phrase used to condemn is something along the lines of “Indigenous culture is not your costume!” The irony comes into play when you realize that the term Latinx is being forced onto the Hispanic community by affluent white-liberals, this is of course an example of “Cultural Imperialism.” A recent polling conducted by a Democratic firm, “Bendixen & Amandi International” that found of Hispanics familiar with the phrase only 2% use the phrase while 40% find it offensive. Within the Spanish language there are very few words that end in X (If any at all,) words that end in “O” are masculine however they are used to refer to a non-specific group of people, including being innately non-gender specific. To use an example, “Hola Amigos” or “Hello Friends” does not specifically mean “Hello my male friends” but instead it refers to a group of non-specific people as friends. There is a certain sense of patronizing narcissism to try and force a new foundational piece of language into an existing language that has been on this continent since the 15th century. It’s as if to say, “We know better for your culture than your culture knows for itself” Or, “Here is this piece of higher knowledge from white-liberal affluence to your unenlightened culture.” There is something perverse in it.
Symbolism
I do understand why people use it and what they’re trying to do, they are simply trying to be inclusive and accepting of all people and for that, I commend them. Although “Love thy neighbor” is a biblical term, it’s message is universal, we should absolutely never exclude based on external or internal features of identity. Although Latinx is a new word, it is not a new concept that is being promulgated from our universities, it is very much a re-packaged idea involving blank-slate society. The far-left belief that there are no innate aspects to human beings, we are infinitely mailable and if socialized correctly, can be perfected. All leaders and groups of the past that shared this ideology (Marx, Mao, Lenin, etc.) did have a focus on eliminating notions of gender differences since for most people biological sex is the foundation that their identity begins to be built. They believed to rid humans of individual identity is to be able to re-shape them to be part of the collective group, acting in the interest of the community as opposed to themselves. This is of course an ideology that runs counter to our nature which is why every single time it has failed miserably. With all of this being said, I am a free-speech absolutist. I am not saying this word should be outlawed or it is “Hate speech,” that runs counter to what I believe in. What I am saying however is to not be fooled into thinking this phrase is a word that Hispanics now prefer and in a world of tip toeing around feelings, this is the least “Culturally Offensive.” Actually, it is quite the opposite, according to all poling data it is actually the most offensive. Although appearing meaningless, the phrase is not a slight tweaking adjustment but rather it represents the corruption of language and installation of collective ideology onto a group of people.
But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.“
George Orwell
Is there a term other than Mexican that you’d prefer? Something less offensive?”
Michael Gary Scott