A growing trend has caught 

the attention of U.S. politicians 
and no, it’s not Qanon. It’s the 
rise in the number of Latinx vot-
ers, which political pundits refer 
to as the Latino Vote. The Latino 
Vote is an elusive creature that 
many politicians have tried and 
failed to catch, insisting on trap-
ping it, but failing to realize that 
it’s less like a fish and more like 
the Loch Ness Monster: It isn’t 
real. The Latino Vote is a gross 
generalization of Central and 
South Americans that ignores 
the diversity of thoughts and 
values within such a varied 
body of people; there is no one 
“Latino Vote.” The narrative 
perpetuated by the media that 
all Latinx voters vote straight 
ticket blue is incorrect for sev-
eral reasons and harmful to any 
campaign that believes in it. 

My mother and my uncle 

immigrated from Ecuador as 
children. When they moved, 
they both did not know Eng-
lish and went through the ESL 
program in their public school. 
They both attended the Univer-
sity of Michigan. Though they 
had the same upbringing and 
same 
immigrant 
experience, 

they could not be further apart 
in ideology. My mother is a mod-
erate, Elizabeth Warren type 
of Democrat. My uncle is a rag-
ing Independent that responds 
positively towards Trump-like 
politicians. After the comments 
Trump made about Mexico 
sending rapists and criminals, 
I assumed my uncle would be 
offended by the situation. He 
was not. This experience dis-
plays several issues with the 
myth of the Latino Vote. Though 
there are common experiences, 
such as immigration, ESL and 
cuisine, Latinx voters do not 
always view themselves as a 
uniform group. Rather than 
identifying as Latinx, some 
will refer to themselves spe-
cifically as Chilean or Puerto 
Rican. Within these identifica-
tions, there are values held that 

are not held by the rest of the 
community. For instance, fifty-
eight percent of Cubans identify 
as Republican in comparison 
to thirty-eight percent of non-
Cuban Hispanics. This disparity 
can be attributed to the issues 
each group prioritizes; accord-
ing to the Pew Research Center, 
Cuban voters consider foreign 
policy, health care and violent 
crimes more than non-Cuban 
Hispanics. Foriegn policy is a 
major issue for Cubans, because 
a hardline foreign policy against 
Cuba means that Cubans have 
a harder time visiting family 
still on the island. This is not as 
much of a problem with non-
Cuban Latinx as U.S. foreign 
policy with Cuba changes more 
frequently in comparison to 
other Central and South Ameri-
can countries. 

Latinx voters also hold vary-

ing positions on social issues. 
Religion is an important fac-
tor that affects voting pat-
terns for the Latino Vote. More 
Latinx Americans are actively 
religious (i.e. going to service 
regularly) as compared to their 
non-Latinx counterparts. Typi-
cally identifying as Christian, 
many consider criminalization 
of abortion to be a crucial aspect 
of the party they are voting for; 
older Latinxs hold anti-abortion 
views to a much larger degree as 
compared to younger Latinxs. 
This creates a separation over 
this single issue alone. Across 
the board, Latinxs identify as 
liberal significantly more than 
other 
non-Latin 
Americans 

and are considered equally as 
accepting of the LGBTQ+ com-
munity as non-Latin Americans. 
Considering the variation in 
views of these different social 
issues, it is hard to determine 
what factors sway the Latino 
Vote right or left. 

As we move forward into the 

election cycle, it’s important 
that politicians consider all the 
oversights that come from cat-
egorizing the Latinx population 
into one vote. As diverse as the 
community is, the views within 
are even more diverse and have 
the power to greatly impact the 
outcome of the election. 

Before beginning this piece, 

I want to recognize that I am 
speaking from a position of privi-
lege; my family has benefitted 
from the caste system for genera-
tions, and many of the opportuni-
ties we have been afforded are not 
as easily accessible for some. In 
writing this piece, I do not intend 
to speak for or over a community 
that I do not belong to. My main 
purpose is to raise awareness 
about the detriments of the caste 
system in today’s day and age. 

--
On Sept. 14, a Dalit woman in 

the northern Indian state of Uttar 
Pradesh was gang raped by four 
men. Two weeks later, she died 
from the severity of her injuries. 
The men were identified as being 
from upper castes, with a his-
tory of violence targeted towards 
minority groups in the Indian 
community. As of this past Thurs-
day, the investigators claimed 
that “she was not raped” and the 
woman’s body was reported to 
be cremated without her fam-
ily’s consent. The caste system 
has been integrated into Hindu 
society for centuries, forcing the 
community into an abstract hier-
archy that determines how a per-
son is treated in the world, both 
in their personal lives as well as 
professionally. While some fami-
lies do not consider their caste 
any longer, many still refuse to 
marry outside of their caste and 
hold this classification as a point 
of pride. 

Incidents of violence against 

Dalit women are not few and far 
between. About a month earlier, 
a 13 year old girl died in the same 
region, and in 2018, a girl was 
beheaded in southern India by an 
upper-caste male. In a country 

that prides itself on being a boom-
ing modern society, why are these 
acts of inhumane violence so 
prevalent against Dalit women? 
Why are they so normalized? 

Many people, including those 

living in the Western hemi-
sphere, like to brush away caste 
as something outdated; legally, 
the caste system was outlawed 
in 1950, but this was never effec-
tively enforced. Those with privi-
lege in the Hindu community 
act like it doesn’t exist because 
they benefit from it constantly; 
for families whose entire iden-
tity and sense of pride revolve 
around some arbitrary, ancient 
label, it’s easy for them to forget 
that not everyone has that privi-
lege. While higher castes love to 
tout their status and look down 
at those who are “other,” they 
rarely pause and consider that 
the same system that gives them 
this privilege destroys the lives 
of those who don’t have that sta-
tus. The United Nations Human 
Rights Council, Human Rights 
Watch, and Amnesty Interna-
tional, 
among 
various 
other 

human rights organizations, all 
identify Dalit women as a vulner-

able population for violence and 
mistreatment. Why, then, does 
the majority of the Hindu com-
munity continue to perpetuate 
and uphold the caste system? 

Perhaps it is because they are 

afraid of losing the power that 
they have held for centuries. Per-
haps, like so many of the systemic 
issues we are seeing in the world, 
it’s difficult to come to terms with 
the fact that your privilege should 
not be normalized. 

The Hindu community needs 

to stop using the excuse that the 
caste system is illegal, because 
this gives people a way to brush 
aside these murders as isolated 
incidents. 
Putting 
something 

into law does nothing to uproot 
centuries of discrimination, vio-
lence and hatred that still per-
sists today. Our families walk 
around saying the caste system 
is illegal while still refusing to 
marry our children outside of 
our castes, while looking down 
upon those who aren’t the same 
caste as us, while turning a blind 
eye at the countless men, women 
and children who lose their lives 
every year for something they 
don’t control, something that 

should not even exist in the first 
place. Even now in the 21st cen-
tury, the caste system continues 
to perpetuate harm and pain to 
those who have done nothing 
to deserve it. A person’s right to 
education, 
employment, 
even 

to life itself should not be deter-
mined by an outdated system that 
predetermines a person’s level of 
success at birth. In this day and 
age, the Hindu community must 
move away from this assumptive, 
ancient system of classification 
that essentially degrades a person 
to less of a human. 

I don’t think anyone has a clear 

answer to how to effectively 
get rid of the implications of the 
caste system. As the world has 
observed throughout the past 
few months, changing something 
at the cultural, systemic level 
takes time, energy and frustra-
tion. It takes stepping out of our 
bubbles of ignorance and open-
ing up outlets of expression for 
those who have been barred from 
them in the past. It takes having 
the humility to understand that 
your own privilege means noth-
ing if others do not have the same 
privileges as you. 

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan In Color
6 — Wednesday, October 14, 2020 

 KATHERINA ANDRADE 

OZAETTA

MiC Columnist

puzzle by sudokusnydictation.com

By Jeff Stillman
©2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
10/14/20

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

10/14/20

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2020

ACROSS

1 Tranquilize
5 Req. for some 

IKEA purchases

9 Icy coating

13 Convenience
14 Construction __
15 Planning to, 

informally

16 “Is there a 

problem here?”

18 Peyton Manning’s 

alma mater, for 
short

19 Outerwear in the 

bush

21 Tiffs
24 Feminist author 

Wolf

25 Rhyming hair-

loss metaphor

28 __ vu
32 Metal in 

Montana’s 
motto

33 What snobs put 

on

34 Descartes et al.
35 Film critic Kael
37 Brother of 

Ophelia

39 City on the Ruhr
40 Draws a bead on, 

with “at”

41 “We ___ the 

World”

42 Grasps
43 Large urban 

areas just 
outside of a 
central business 
district

46 Goggle
48 Decorates 

superficially

49 Reply to a 

salesperson ... or 
a hint to the start 
of 19-, 25- and 
43-Across

54 Top dog
55 At risk of running 

aground, 
perhaps

59 Get fuzzy
60 Glamour rival
61 Breakfast-in-bed 

aid

62 Cut with a tool
63 Place to see 

runners

64 Kind of terrier

DOWN

1 Morning coat?
2 “Yay, team!”
3 G7 member
4 Bugs
5 “In your dreams!”
6 The Destroyer, in 

Hinduism

7 Cans under 

dishes

8 Emphatic 

confirmation

9 Drink on a chilly 

fall day

10 Fun run dist.
11 Elizabeth I’s 

mother

12 Sound off
15 Island east of 

Manila

17 Utility pipe
20 Java
21 Checks (out)
22 Part of a 

sentence

23 Stimulate
26 Article in Der 

Spiegel

27 Dr. with Grammys
29 Involve by 

necessity

30 Rode from the 

stands

31 Take stock of
34 Formally steps 

down

36 <
37 Fish story
38 “Mad Men” 

network

40 Look 35 at 45, 

say

43 Keen perception
44 Unmanned fliers
45 Common circus 

wear

47 Skier’s aid
49 Setups for 

knockout 
punches

50 Uma’s role 

in “The 
Producers”

51 Gush forth
52 Pitcher’s goal
53 Teed off
56 TV planet
57 Bit of hope
58 Watch

SUDOKU

1

7

8
2

5
7

3

7

4

9

2
1
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8
4
3

3
8
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4
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6
9

8
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8

6

WHISPER

“Ryan, bet you 
can’t shoot 
this >:D”

“EHS is hiding the 
fact that we have 
multiple cases 
in brusley, One 
who’s an RA. (It’s 
been a week)”

10/07/20

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

18 British detective 

33 “Jeopardy!” whiz 

Content warning: This article 
discusses violence and rape.
Dismantling the caste system is long overdue

 SUBARNA BHATTACHARYA

MiC Columnist

The myth of the Latino vote

A few years ago when the 

term “Black Girl Magic” became 
popularized by social media, 
as a way to celebrate the suc-
cesses of black women, I imme-
diately caught on and started 
referring to myself as having 
“Black Girl Magic.” I finally felt 
appreciated by the society that 
had rejected me for so long. In 
a world where Black women are 
stereotyped as unprofessional, 
unattractive, loud and angry, 
why shouldn’t we want to be 
considered magical? Growing 
up, I scarcely found people who 
looked like me casted in mov-
ies as a princess, or even a fairy 
alongside Tinkerbell. The idea of 
me being perceived as magical 
felt out of reach, but I wanted to 
embrace the title so badly. When 
I heard actress Taraji P. Henson 
denounce the saying, I got defen-
sive and felt a little discouraged. 
Taraji P. Henson, a phenomenal 
Black actress that I look up to 
and consider to be magical, said 
the term is “dehumanizing” to 
Black women? There is no way! 
How can something that gives 
me so much hope cause so much 
harm?

The more I started to investi-

gate, the more I started to agree 
with her. In a world where Black 
women are disproportionately 
neglected in doctor’s offices, 
coined as angry when express-
ing the tiniest bit of passion, and 
deemed “ratchet” and “ugly,” the 
phrase “Black Girl Magic” only 
hurts us by saying we are able to 
undertake unnecessary amounts 
of pain and rejection, because 
we are built to withstand the 
toughest of challenges. But in 
reality, that is not just.

According to the Endometrio-

sis Foundation of America, Black 
women are three times more 
likely to die and suffer from life-
threatening disabilities due to 
pregnancy complications and 
childbirth than white women. A 
study conducted by the Proceed-
ings of the National Academies 
of Science found that 40 per-
cent of medical students believe 

that Black people have “thicker 
skin,” and are less susceptible 
to pain than white people. In an 
interview with Vogue Magazine, 
Serena Williams described her 
near-death experience after the 
birth of her first daughter. Wil-
liams felt a shortness of breath 
that she was afraid was linked 
to past medical issues. When 
she tried to communicate the 
problem to her doctors, they dis-
missed her pleas for help. The 
problem ended up being serious, 
and she had to have emergency 
surgery in order to save her life. 
Her doctor’s negligence almost 
resulted in her death. If a woman 
of her status and power is being 
overlooked in this type of situ-
ation, just imagine what is hap-
pening to the Black women all 
around you. 

Black women feel pain. A 

brave face is worn as a disguise 
to 
mask 
fragile 
vulnerabil-

ity. Our feelings get hurt, we get 
sick, heartbroken — we are not 
inhuman. In a society that tries 
so hard to dismiss every human 
thing about us, the term “Black 
Girl Magic” is dehumanizing, 
and it serves as a rejection of all 
the suffering that others have 
implemented in our lives. We 
must stop referring to ourselves 
as having Black girl magic so 
when we get in those hospital 
rooms and say we are in pain, 
they believe us and feel a respon-
sibility to keep us Black women 
alive. We must become vulner-
able so that our feelings will 
stop being dismissed, and we are 
given the respect we deserve as 
human beings. 

While Black women have sur-

vived a lot, we are not above the 
pain everyone else feels. Our 
hearts are fragile and must be 
handled with care. Black women 
deserve a life where we are not 
expected to take our own punch-
es as well as everyone else’s — we 
deserve to be loved and nurtured 
as we love and nurture. We are 
capable of so much more than 
what society tries to say we are. 
Black women are remarkable. 
Black women are emotional. 
Black women are breathtaking. 
Black women are vulnerable. 
Black women are human. 

MARIA PATTON

MiC Columnist

The harm of Black Girl Magic

