As an individual who struggled with identity for many years because of the many false, negative, & ignored narratives & stories that surrounded me (due to the embedded colonization, patriarchy, & white supremacy within our cultura), as a person who sees themselves as Latinx- because I am an amalgamation of what makes Latinx Americx TODAY, I feel very strongly about honouring OUR HISTORY & truth.
Although each Indigenous nation on Turtle Island (North Americx) is distinct & unique- similar to how we as Latinx/Caribeñx people come from different regions/dialects/groups within each country, the entire Americxs share similar troubling histories & pain. As guests on Indigenous land, it is our responsibility to raise an awareness onnwhat it took for canada to become a nation. As descendants of people who endured great suffering, it is our responsibility to honour our culture & people to ensure the erasure of our truth doesn't happen, & that our children & those who came onto our lands as supposed guests, know the impact of what it took for them to be there- the expense of our ancestors' blood. It meant Indigenous people across the Americxs welcoming the white man and teaching them to survive these foreign territories only to lose languages, stories, traditions, culture, food, music, ceremonies, medicines, animals, land, water, people in return.
The aftermath of settler arrival & attempt to "get rid of the Indian" by death or assimilation paved the way for heavy, traumatic, barrier- filled life experiences for Indigenous/Indigenxao/Latinx/Afro Caribbean/Caribeñxao communities across North, Central & South Americx. You see, this where the british, spanish, french, etc. invaded, stole, exploited, enslaved, raped, murdered, & made great efforts to extinguish those who were already on the land & gave zero f*cks about what they did to 100's of 1000's of innocent men, womxn, & children.
I'd like to remind readers that the british are to North Americx (and Belize) what the Spanish, Portuguese, French, etc. are to Central & South America- conquistadors. Colonizers. Prime examples of true savages.
Google is your friend.
In Indigenous worldview descendants of Latinx Americx are cousins to Indigenous peoples of North Americx (Indigenous peoples from other parts of the world, too, of course).
That being said I'm disappointed that there are others out there who will do anything to make a quick buck without really holding any sense of integrity & meaningful impact of their brand let alone the product they are putting out in the world for the consumer public. We as Latinos/Latinas (even more so for those who prefer the term Latinx) are already witnesses & first-handedly experience the struggle of being heard, seen, & respected in this world.
Thankfully, we are also from a generation that no longer settles for what has been fed to us for years whether its through books or media &I'm hlad to say that I feel generations are just becoming more woke & are seeking their own answers, doing their own research! Esoooooo!!✊🏽🙏🏽❤
I recently saw a brand (or a few) out there that have decided they'd like to try to take a stab at reaching the Latinx community, with seemingly little to no knowledge of the term, its meaning, & ultimately the history of the Americas, & therefore, their own people.
I don't have as much of an issue on a brand "copycatting" another's work/ideas (a tad bit annoying yet flattering, thank you) BUT I take great issue with misrepresentation & with sending out msgs that further help the colonizer be seen as anything other than the very same if not worse, savages that they claimed our ancestors & kind to be.
This particular brand has "created" a product that places a symbol representing "the king" in (the british crown) right above the word 'Latinx'. The british crown at the time of colonization of "The New World" a.k.a The Americas, were a group of people that behaved in a cruel & inhumane manner towards to the Original people of these lands. They justified their disgusting acts in the name of "God" & "Christian/Catholic faith". They told our people we were "uncivilized & were damned" if we didnt follow their suit, & needed to be taught how to be human to be "saved".
Our spirituality & connection to the land & earth was considered brujeria & became illegal. We were killed for honouring the land & animals that fed & took care of us. In fact, Indigenous ppl & Black ppl weren't even considered humans in the eyes of the man & thus, gov't for maaaaannnyyy decades.
If you feel the need to copy another's doing, at least know the history & DO IT RIGHT, porfa please! You're working backwards & are in fact hindering our growth, progress, & awareness by being out here trying to making money & in the process portraying & embracing- the opposite of what we should be doing, Latinx & colonial unity.
SO
You got the british crown (kings crown)
&
You have the term "LATINX".
If this brand knew their history & cared about the same people who are buying their products, this would definitely be removed from their roster & would quite possibly not have existed at all.
Why?
Por lo siguiente:
- the term Latinx is meant to be inclusive & embracing of anyone regardless of gender/sexuality. It is a gender neutral term instead of using the common, & for the longest time, the only accepted (male/female) "Latino"/"Latina". It is therefore widely adopted by people who don't fit into the typical patriarchal/machista male/female gender binary embedded in these languages y cultura. If you haven't realized it yet- this gendered crap was brought over by the above mentioned colonizer pendejos.
- the term Latinx refers to a person of Latin American descent. Meaning, a beautiful, intricate mixture of ethnicities including Indigenous/Indigenx(a)(o) & for some even Black/Caribbean blood. If you refer to yourself as Latinx, you are a member of the Latinx community advocating & embracing marginalized people. You stand together in solidarity in support of one another & others that share similar suffrage from other parts of the Americxs.
- the term Latinx creates a space for anyone & everyone to express & use a term that is subjective to their own experience(s) as a Latinx/a/o individual- INCLUDING those who are part of the LGBTQ2S+ communities (something that goes very much against the "morals" of the spanish/english language & historically, culture). Why do you imagine it has been a struggle for these communities to be their true selves in this world? OUR HISTORY!
- the impacts of the british/spanish crown still exist today. All I gotta say is:
1. el mamon de trump;
2. children mysteriously missing under the custody of ICE;
3. murdered & missing Indigenous/Latina/Black (including members of the LGBTQ2S+ communities) womxn & girls being the highest UNSOLVED cases;
4. look up incarceration rates & let me know where coloured people are up on that list;
suicide rates & where the gaps are in these so-called systems of gov't that are supposed to provide equitable, culturally safe & relevant supports (white ppl get all the funding);
5. reserves & the funding they get from the gov't. The same gov't that won't let a city be without running water for 24 hrs & calls it a "crisis" but don't give no fucks to let YEARS go by where Indigenous communities don't even have water to brush their teeth because they've been under advisories for so damn long;
6. check out the covid19 statistics for Indigenous/Latinx people & how we are 1.5 to 5x higher than white folks to contract it because these are already marginalized people due to systemic racism.
I can go on...
SO everything that has oppressed our people, & our cousins across North Americx- is what that crown, the symbol of the king's highway (QEW & 400-series highways included) stands for. I
'm quite appalled and was shaking with fury at the irony of using the symbol AT ALL. In my honest opinion: this "design" is symbolic for accepting of all the wrong doings the crown & its subjects is responsible for, when it should in fact be the opposite. This isn't the "kings highway" because THIS LAND & these People don't belong to ANY BODY of gov't that was imposed upon them. Y PUNTO!
It feels completely inappropriate to honour such a rotten & horrific history by coming up with something you aimed to copy & failed miserably in doing so. We are supposed to move forward & stand together with Indigenous peoples all over the world, especially those who are the Original people of the same lands we live on (writing from Toronto/tkaronto). Your efforts to make profit de tu comunidad has clouded your ability to see the importance of solidarity & honouring our people & those who have suffered like us at the hands of colonial settlers. You're continuing the cycle of colonization & assimilation of our culture & heritage by selling the same dream & lies the white man did to our people when he first arrived - a vision of unity between the colonizer y La Raza only to exploit & make profit for personal greed & gain.
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