Opinion: Ruben Navarrette Jr.: Growth of Latino population in U.S. is a story that can't be ignored - San Jose Mercury News

Opinion: Ruben Navarrette Jr.: Growth of Latino population in U.S. is a story that can't be ignored - San Jose Mercury News

By Ruben Navarrette Jr.
Posted: 04/02/2011 08:00:00 PM PDT

SAN DIEGO -- Dear U.S. Census Bureau: I know you mean well and only want to give Americans a snapshot of what their country looks like. But please, hold off on releasing more figures about the phenomenal growth of the Hispanic population.

Most Hispanics I talk to around the country are excited because their community is becoming more prominent. But they're also nervous because they realize that population figures scare the daylights out of many Anglos, who respond by pushing repressive and repugnant ideas -- from Arizona-style immigration laws to a ban on ethnic studies to shredding the 14th Amendment by denying citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants.

The figures are hard to miss unless you're part of the elite media, especially the broadcast media, much of which seems to have a blind spot when it comes to changing demographics. While the growth of the U.S. Hispanic population is one of the biggest stories of the decade, many reporters and editors seem unsure how to cover it.

I saw this firsthand recently when, booked on a major cable news network, my segment on the census was cut from five minutes to three so the anchor could get back to talking about events in Libya.

The census story deserves more attention. We're only talking about what the United States will look like for the next 100 years, about how it's being transformed from one thing to another. No news there. Besides, TV news needs images. And have
Advertisement
you ever tried to squeeze 50.5 million people into a photo? It's not easy.

That's the number of Hispanics in the United States -- 50.5 million. And these are just the people who -- as comedian George Lopez says -- answer the door when the census worker rings the bell.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Latinos now account for 16.3 percent of the U.S. population. The Latino population grew 43 percent from 2000-2010, and it accounts for more than half of the growth of the entire U.S. population in the past decade. Eight states are home to a million or more Latinos: California, Texas, New York, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Florida and New Jersey. California, the nation's most populous state, is home to 14 million Latinos. But, in a surprise, the largest increases in the Latino population were actually in Southern states such as Virginia, Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina.

And, demographers predict, the Latinizing of America will only intensify from this point on. According to an analysis of census data by the Brookings Institution, whites are now a minority -- 49.9 percent -- of Americans age 3 and younger.

Estimates are that, by 2050, Latinos could easily account for as much as 30 percent of the U.S. population.

Here's something people don't often talk about in census stories: Many of those who believe there is strength in numbers now hope that there is also respect in numbers. The assumption is that, as Latinos become more numerous, it will become harder for them to be ignored by the media, corporations, foundations, and political parties.

However, it's just as likely that the more the Latino population grows, the more frightened and desperate Anglos will become. Republicans are the official party of "frightened" and "desperate." And so, in state legislatures, you'll see more of those proposals intended to either run off Hispanics or at least put them in their place.

But the irony is that Anglo-Americans have nothing to worry about.

Hispanics are changing America -- just like the Germans, Italians, Irish and others before them. And, just like with those groups, America is having the last laugh by changing them right back. Just like before, these changes are making the country stronger, not weaker. This dynamism is the essence of America. It cannot be avoided, and it need not be feared.


RUBEN NAVARRETTE JR. is a syndicated columnist.

http://bit.ly/fTLlcV
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Join! Humane-Rights-Agenda Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Humane-Rights-Agenda/

The Humane-Rights-Agenda Blog
http://humane-rights-agenda.blogspot.com/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++