Caracas Chronicles

Next Tuesday, the United States will either make history by electing the first Black and Asian-American woman President or give Donald Trump a second term. The Trump campaign’s rhetoric is far more aggressive and racially charged than in 2020, with the candidate and his allies deliberately vilifying immigrants –Venezuelans and Haitians seem to be the newest scapegoats– and emphasizing their vision of the U.S. as a white, Christian, patriarchal nation.
 
This racial resentment was clearer than ever at the October 27 Madison Square Garden rally where comedian Tony Hinchcliffe crudely stated that “these Latinos, they love making babies… they come inside, just like they did to our country” and referred to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage.”
 
The latter statement rightfully invoked outrage since U.S. citizens were made as the butt of a joke just because most are people of color who speak Spanish as a first language. For many prominent individuals in the Hispanic media industry, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, Ricky Martin, and Don Omar all endorsed Harris while Nicky Jam rescinded his Trump support. Even Latino Republican politicians like Marco Rubio and María Elvira Salazar strongly criticized the joke.
 
Many right-wing media platforms have accused Democrats of being “easily offended.” One such comment I heard recently in defense of Hinchcliffe was that his comments weren’t problematic at all because “if you ask any random person in the street in Texas, they’d say the same thing.” The celebration of bigotry and dehumanization of anyone who isn’t a white, straight, all-American male brought back many painful memories of being bullied by classmates for being Venezuelan as a teenager in the U.S during the 2010s. In hindsight, an arrogant teenage bully with a chip on their shoulder making a nasty comment for no reason but to make themselves feel better is peanuts compared to a comedian vetted to perform in front of thousands of people to promote a presidential candidate’s agenda.
 
One of the most disheartening things I’ve witnessed this election cycle is hearing educated people who used to pride themselves on adherence to political correctness and sensitivity towards marginalized populations ranting about Venezuelan migrants and dismissing them as criminals, gangsters, and invaders. I may not be Puerto Rican or Mexican, but I strongly empathize with my Mexican and Puerto Rican friends and everyone who has ever been insulted by such callous, incendiary remarks.

My family and I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to the country that received both my grandfathers from the devastation of post-World-War II Europe. One was a respected physician while the other was an engineer with a graduate degree from Stanford. This same country that some may like to mock as a “shithole” also gave both of my parents a free, world-class medical education

Last weekend I attended a Danny Ocean concert in D.C. Being surrounded by a mostly Venezuelan audience who share the same pain, frustration, and nostalgia for our beautiful homeland that was ruined by authoritarian thugs was such an incredible experience. Danny Ocean is one of the Venezuelan artists in exile who has been most vocal regarding the evil Maduro regime and the ongoing fight for democracy. He also was quick to call out inflammatory remarks about Puerto Rico since an attack on one Latino community is an attack on all of us. One silver lining in the rise of anti-Venezuelan and anti-Latino xenophobia is that many of us are getting louder and prouder of where we come from, instead of bowing our heads.
 
My family and I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to the country that received both my grandfathers from the devastation of post-World-War II Europe. One was a respected physician while the other was an engineer with a graduate degree from Stanford. This same country that some may like to mock as a “shithole” also gave both of my parents a free, world-class medical education. I may have never been able to experience the prosperous Venezuela that my parents’ generation grew up in, but I am dedicated to celebrating the successes of the Venezuelan diaspora, our rich culture, and how so many of us are contributing to the tapestry of the Latino experience.
 
As a graduate candidate in Latin American Studies, I’ve been taking courses related to human rights in Latin America, and honing my niche regarding a career related to protecting freedom in the Western Hemisphere. I am hyper-aware of my own privilege as someone who is a U.S. citizen, speaks fluent English without an accent, is extremely gringo-passing, and can easily code-switch depending on who is around me. To my fellow Venezuelans and non-Venezuelan friends, I plead that we learn from the atrocities caused by intolerance and call out racism and xenophobia every time we see it, no matter if it’s a microaggression or an outright slur. We never know when our respective communities may be targeted or pitted against each other.