No Accident

Placita Olvera present day, where tourists come to experience "authentic" Mexican  life.

            Its hard to believe that the current social inequalities present in today's world are not just by coincidence. That every aspect of the modern world ,in terms of social inequality  ,has occurred through deliberate thought and a long drawn out history of actions made to better fit a certain group. Though this is exactly what has occurred in American history time and time again. It seems since its inception the united states of America has only really been interested in furthering the advancement of the white male. Through countless acts in history , American society has been shaped to benefit whites while leaving other groups to be cast aside or assimilate into a safer white friendly version that present no fear to whites. 

         While reading "Construction of the Ghetto" from American Apertheid by Douglas Massey and "Creative Destruction" by Raul Homero Villa, the more I read the more I found myself frustrated by how blacks and Mexicans were always made to be second class citizens through the acts of domestic segregation. I couldn't believe how underhanded and vile people could be in terms of making sure a racial group would be put down. Although I'm familiar with history and the civil rights movement ,its different when you read an article that deconstructs and analyzes exactly how we got from point a to point b. For example when in article he talks about how the reason blacks exist mostly in inner city low income areas is because of a long drawn out intent to segregate blacks from whites. The powers that be made sure that even if a black person had the means to leave these ghettos that they could not simply because they were black.  

           A similar thing occurred in the west to Mexican as they also underwent segregation. The article talks about how over time the Mexicanos in California slowly lost land in Los Angeles until they were displaced into certain sections of the city. The article makes it clear that it is no coincidence that a east la is where a majority of Latinos live today as they were displaced into these areas. Something that bothered me was how white people would romanticize the Spanish culture by organizing their own fiesta days or things of that nature all while at the same time putting down the local Mexicans. To me that seems as though they were mocking them by enjoying this mythic cartoonish version of Mexican "traditions" and imagery.This is still scene everyday as the article talks about how most authentic plazas were displaced and what most people associate now with being an "authentic" plaza is Placita Olvera , which he goes on to say was a sort of experiment in themed streets like you would see in Disneyland. 

          Although there are many reason to why our country has been shaped to be this socially unequal landscape it seems white fear has played a major factor time and time again.

-Christian M.