Guerrero: L.A. needs a new generation of Latino leaders — not immigrants
I am not a big fan of “immigration.” It is a complicated topic that people use to say what they want to people. And it is easy to talk about without trying to get across the point. I do not like when people say they “want to come.” I don’t want people here. I believe it is wrong to take anyone who does not belong here and who is not a citizen and give him a chance to come here, and even worse, to “settle” and assimilate into our society. It is wrong to just give people a shot so they don’t get deported.
But this is not a point about immigration, this is a point about the future of the Latino community in Los Angeles. I am not talking because the mayor wants an increase in immigrants. I am talking because this is a point where I just don’t see the future of Latino families who live in Los Angeles when they are not in the minority community here.
I don’t see the future of Latino families who live in Los Angeles when they are not in the minority community here.
It is not that the Latino community is not going to rise. It is that the Latino community can rise, but when you don’t live in a majority of the neighborhoods, it is very hard. When you have to go to the grocery store to get food, you don’t trust the store. You don’t trust the people. You don’t trust the government. You don’t trust the police.
This is not a Latino community. This is a Latino community that is not living in the South Central area, it is not living in the neighborhood where the Pico, Olympic, Santa Clara and Santa Paula are. We live in some of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in the city.
I say that because this community has to take care of its own in a city where the majority of the jobs and the majority of the income are held by people who are not white. This is a community that has to be able to take care of its own