Which is how I happened to catch CNN's Rick Sanchez. He's a bit over the top for me sometimes and I find it especially unnerving when he attempts to both interview a Spanish speaking person, and translate for them at the same time. But yesterday he said something that I feel needed to be said and I think he said it very graciously and diplomatically.
The backstory: He interviewed several "wise Latina" women in his life, including his own mother, to ask them how they felt about our next Supreme Court Justice. His mother spoke in Spanish. (Well, she was speaking to her son.) And then he responded to viewer feedback with this:
But some of you have written with some pretty harsh criticism about the fact that my mom doesn't speak English.
Look, I would be lying if I told you that that didn't sting me a little bit, but, hey, I understand that many of you are more than 100 years removed from your ancestor's arrival in America, and that gives you a different perspective on things than mine. That's fair.
So, rather than sharing research or historical analysis, let me take this opportunity now to share with you my perspective from kind of like where I come from.
My mom can't express herself in English because I can. She isn't accomplished and she isn't wealthy, because I am. My mom missed meals when I was growing up so that I could eat. See, my mom didn't bring me to America so that she could become successful or educated. She brought me to America so I could become successful and educated.
She couldn't go to night school because she spent 10 to 12 hours a day in a factory sewing leather shoes together while my dad washed dishes all his life and bussed tables at the fancy hotels on Miami Beach.
Their story is the story of millions of immigrants who come to America, maybe even some of your ancestors, who did the same exact thing. They struggled, they went without, and they even sacrificed their own betterment so that we, their sons and daughters, could thrive.
I mean, look, it's just some perspective for our national conversation. I also welcome your perspective on my blog at CNN.com/ricksanchez."
Bravo, you wise Latino man. 8-)














