Nicole says that having that Miami Cuban businessman tonite

[LiberalFighter]

indicates they don't have the Miami Cubans locked up for the vote.

[PatSeg]

1. He gave a very touching and emotional speech

The first thing that popped in my head, however, was the thought of all the people coming to our southern border because of similar hardships in their home countries. Instead of giving them a new life, Trump locked them in cages. I hope someone calls out this hypocrisy. Why was this man's suffering greater than those coming from Central America?

[octoberlib]

2. If the Cubans tried to come over here under Trump, Stephen Miller would have fixed that.

[PatSeg]

4. Exactly!

I can't believe that people like this man cannot see that. Trump would turn their boats away and let them drown.

[misanthrope]

6. It's pretty common

An old friend who lived in Los Angeles had a neighbor of Latino origin. One day, the neighbor was bitching about Mexicans, voicing some pretty broad-brushed complaints. My friend got fed up.

"I can't believe I'm hearing the things I am from someone whose last name is Rodriguez," my friend said.

"Oh, that different," the neighbor replied. "I'm Puerto Rican."

[PatSeg]

7. I had a neighbor from Mexico

and he couldn't stand black people. I explained to him that many people view him and his family the same way, a light went on in his eyes. He just needed a little nudge. Unfortunately, I encountered that attitude with quite a few immigrants from various countries, a tendency to look down on another minority. It is quite common.

[misanthrope]

10. I'll do you one better

Last edited Tue Aug 25, 2020, 04:17 AM - Edit history (1)

My wife's family is hyper-cognizant of their Lebanese ancestry. It's a huge part of their identity, to the point that some of her older aunts have been known to harbor and voice anti-Israeli attitudes even though they are second-generation American, have spent most of their lives in Mobile, Alabama and never stepped foot in the Middle East.

When the uproar was afoot over Syrian refugees coming to America during the Obama administration, my wife's uncle had a political cartoon on display at the Thanksgiving buffet table. It showed two historic Native Americans looking at European frigates approaching their shores. One Native is saying to the other, "Don't worry. We have a vetting process."

The subtext was obvious. The Syrian refugees posed the same danger to current Americans that Europeans posed to First People.

The uncle stopped me and pointed at it, smiling. "Isn't that good", he said and chuckled. He and most of those around me were staunch Republicans, opposed to the newcomers.

I said nothing but turned at looked at the serving table, the kibbeh, the hummus, stuffed grape leaves and tabbouleh. This is the same man who proudly boasts of his participation in Syrian-Lebanese clubs and federations, who is active in their efforts and conventions.

It's the same old "pull up the gangplank after me" mentality that has emerged in American immigrants and their families for centuries.

[PatSeg]

11. Yes

We also see people who were raised in dire poverty, grow up to become financially successful and then look down on people living much as they once did. Rather than display empathy and understanding, fear takes over and manifests as hate and prejudice. They are haunted by their own roots and can't bear to witness it in others. I suppose it could be construed as self-hatred and shame.

There are some, however, who are aware of their good fortune and out of gratitude, they feel compelled to give back.

[LiberalFighter]

14. I forget where I heard it recently...

but apparently historically differences in race was not a factor until coming to America. In Europe and other places it was not something dealt with. I think it was being applied to that time period.

[PatSeg]

16. I saw something on TV

about that awhile back and it was fascinating. White nationalists assumed that all those Greek and Roman statues were of white people because there was no color, but actually back then, people didn't pay that much attention to race and many of those statues were painted and the paint wore off long ago. Division by race appears to be a relatively recent phenomenon historically.

[radius777]

12. +1. Some Latinos think of themselves as white,

many hold ethnic hatred against other Latino groups. Puerto Ricans are notoriously racist against darker skinned latinos like Dominicans.

Overall there is ethnic tension (or rivalry) between non-white groups of the type that existed (and still exists in some places) among white ethnic (Italian, Irish, Polish, etc) groups.

Republicans are good at exploiting these tensions and playing to desire of some groups to 'feel white'. Nikki Haley, Michelle Malkin, etc are this type - they 'feel whiter' by beating down on 'lesser' PoC, to also gain brownie points with whites.

[PatSeg]

15. Oh yes

There is the caste system in India and in Italy, the northerners look down on the darker skinned southerners. Everyone seems to be trying to one-up someone else and it is so bizarre that it is so often based on something as unsubstantial as skin color.

If people like Nikki Haley or Michelle Malkin were secure, they wouldn't feel the need to put down other minorities.

[spicysista]

3. Exactly! n.t.

[BannonsLiver]

8. It's not uncommon

A lot of Cubans who came here 30-40 years ago have contempt for those who do the same thing today especially if they come here illegally.

It’s not unlike some Mexican immigrants in my area who have built a life here, some with financial success, who turn their noses up at those who come across the border today the same way they did — illegally. They fell for the same GOP bootstraps bullshit white people do. Or did. Before GOP politics became solely about personal grievance.

[PatSeg]

9. Yes, it is a very common attitude

among immigrants once they have become established. It's not that they forgot their humble beginnings and early struggles, it is more likely that they want to forget them. Also, I have found it seems to be human nature to somehow need to look down on another group of people.

It can be based on nationality, religion, race, geography, or economic status. The less secure a person is, the more likely they are to put someone else below them. And of course, some people are just inherently petty and mean-spirited.

[Awsi Dooger]

5. Given the significance of Florida our convention was a huge missed opportunity

To do the same thing. Instead there was very little Hispanic outreach at all.

I am not watching this convention but I'm not surprised at this thread. As I've posted here for years, the GOP prioritizes Florida day to day and is much sharper in regard to Hispanic and especially Cuban messaging. It is now well past the ridiculous stage that we voluntarily lag and somehow believe everything will take care of itself.

What does Nicole Wallace mean about "locking up" the Cuban vote? That block is up for grabs. DeSantis grabbed it more than deserved in 2018 when Gillum and Nelson did nothing except allow themselves to be defined as socialist.

[Awsi Dooger]

13. Florida controls the margin for error of this election

There are tons of variables nationwide but on election night the first massive indicator is going to be Steve Schale tweeting the percentages from every Florida county. If Biden looks good there then the pressure gives way toward jubilation, and as early as 8 PM.

That's why I have no idea why we aren't applying a full court press on Florida. This topic is nothing new. I mentioned several times last week that we didn't target the Hispanic community much, if at all, during the convention. Now we've allowed the Miami-area Cuban voter -- along with other Hispanic groups -- to remember that the GOP immediately targeted them with a high profile speech while the Democratic version was a blank slate.

Simply pathetic handicapping, but par toward how we always deal with Florida. I know there are lots of members here who passionately phone bank, etc. in Florida. Your job is made more difficult than it should be given the unnecessary deficit in overall emphasis and energy.

As always I am a big picture guy. We have to expect the second convention to receive the net bounce. It doesn't matter who is speaking or what the content or optics are. The system is designed to reward the last voice heard. I hope I'm wrong but I fully expected the settled polls in 10 or 14 days to reveal a tightened race with Biden dropping into the upper 40s nationally. Given a possibility like that we could not afford to jeopardize Florida, which is one of the few bonus states that Biden could still win even if his national margin dipped to 3-4 points instead of recent 8-9.

Remember, we hired a Hispanic messaging coordinator just a few weeks ago. If it had been done properly a year ago or more then he/she would have long since shouted and cemented the need to get a Florida-targeted speech out there, if not several of them.