Social Inequality of Mexican Americans - Research Paper Example

Social Inequality of Mexican Americans The society consists of a variety in composition of its constituents. Similarly, the American society since historical time continues to accumulate and accommodate immigrants from various locations, eventually leading to the current debates over the subject of immigrations. Inequality as an issue in the society denotes the condition of lacking equality, constituting various disparities. Social inequality, thus, denotes the aspects of unjust partiality among the people of the society in consideration. The social inequalities in the spatial containment of the society entail the aspects of unequal resource and service distribution among the people. Social inequalities emanate from the factors associated with race, poverty, religion, and culture, elaborated from the various aspects of numbers, political and financial power distributions. The Mexican Americans constitute a vast group in the states, resulting in the institution of the New Mexican State (Maril 17). Further, the community of the Mexican Americans constitutes a vastly distributed population, with the members habiting various states at the southern side of the country. Further, the issue of immigration between Mexico and the United States continues to contribute elaborately to the issue of social inequality in this group. In depth, analysis shows various approaches to the issue as the factors contributing accordingly to the social inequality affecting the Mexican Americans. The New Mexico state located in the southwest expanse of the United States is amid the mountainous states of the country. It is the fifth most expansive state and the sixth less densely populated. The state originally inhabited by the indigenous people of the Americas for centuries before the influence of the Europeans, later became part of the New Span, part of Mexico. Later, it became a U.S. territory and attained statehood. As a U.S. state, New Mexico contains the highest percentage of Hispanics including the descendants of the Spanish colonists, as well as, immigrants from Latin America (Maril 21). The state also has a vast majority of the Native Americans, coming fourth after California among other states. The reality of the life and history of Mexican Americans offers an elemental critique into the assimilation theory, which argues over the aspects of racial inequality as emerges from the ethnic and cultural value differences among the various groups (Feagin & José 17). Moreover, the subject of contention also coincide with the class of theory that the racial inequalities also emanate from the class difference and resultant effects of the records of discrimination among the various groups in consideration. From focusing on the actual relations of the Mexican Americans of the United States, it facilitates a remarkably grasping and accurate look into evidences that indicate the factors of inequality focusing on an array of grouping of the people from various countries of origin residing in America as belonging to the Mexican American community. The various factors in consideration in establishing the social stratifications project the social inequality issues entail an evaluation of the cultural traditions, differing structure of the nation of origin, religion, skin color and education levels in establishing jobs in America (Feagin & José 23). Additionally, he various experiences of the people from historical relations with the natives, as well as, other races in the country continues to impact the relations among the people accordingly. The origin of the Latinos as they exist in America brings with it influential aspects inferring to the political power and resource distribution in the regions they occupy (Maril 35). In essence, among the states with vast populations of Mexican Americans include California, Texas, and New Mexico State among others. The records of development and cases of social stratification leading into social inequality are evident. In view of the process of establishment of the south and southwest states, as Mexico ceded control of the various states such as New Mexico, Texas, and California to the Americans, the U.S. promised various privileges to the people. For instance, the U.S. guaranteed aspects of religious freedoms, property rights, and cultural integrity, allowing for the continuation of the Mexican and Hispanic cultural traditions (Walter 91). However, the subject of consideration in this issue changed with the subsequent events leading to the treatment of the Latino community as second-class citizens. The ideology spread accordingly to the extent that it influenced the establishment of the federal government accordingly. The federal government denied essential privileges to the Mexican American community due to the establishment and treatment of the people as second-class citizens by the Anglos among other communities. This factor institutes the resultant impact of the disparity and inequality in development of the Mexican Americans as a people of the country. Another wave of the limitations incorporated in the social stratification of the people in the United States is the waves of immigration. Immigration into the Americas especially during the times of war saw the incorporation of various people into the region. The Mexican immigrants crossed over to work on the Pacific Coast farms, on minimal standards of living (Feagin & José 58). These factors established the origin of the passive treatment of the community by the Anglos and eventually the other groups. In essence, the people of Mexican origin from this period, due to the nature of jobs they sought as they migrated, led to their eventual classification as illiterate and second-class citizens levels. These factors contribute accordingly to the social structure and treatment of the Mexican Americans as poor and unworthy proponents of the American society. The unique nature of the Mexican American immigration process also contributes accordingly to the establishment of the social factors in play to date. For instance, the processes of immigration of the Mexicans into United States occurred in uncontrolled and unregulated manner until 1965 (Maril 73). This absence of legislation to manage the subject of immigration emanated from the proximity of the countries. The migration unregulated threatened the existence of the Anglos among other groups, causing the hostility and eventual unequal treatment of the immigrants. The establishment that they lived in the slums of the time grew the notion and to date, most of the Mexican Americans live in the poor streets, with poor housing facilities among other social amenities. These establishments contribute accordingly to the factor of consideration that the social inequality was a continual and widely rooted issue with relation to the treatment of the Mexican Americans by the other groups in the country. In view of the factors of federal establishments to handle the process of the immigration, the propositions included initiatives such as massive deportations during the depression period to alleviate the pressure on the welfare of the people. Further, the deportation initiative sought to reduce competition for employment and facilitate quality services to the people. However, the issue as it emerged and the federal government debated accordingly to the issue in consideration, the disparities in the groups in consideration worsened. The strict immigration quotas instituted recently ignited the debates into the factor of social disparity among the various constituents of the American population. The Mexican Americans envisioned the move as vastly targeting their ethnic groups, as it hinted on their very existence in America as illegal and constituting social pressure into the country (Walter 46). These factors create animosity among the various groups, leading to factors of increased racism within the confines of the country. The aspects of skin color constitute a vast effect into the social differences among the communities inhabiting the United States. In view of the relations associated with the Mexican Americans, various factors are evident as constituting the issue o social inequality in the region. The factors of ethnicity and origin in discrimination, in the various industries constitute the characteristic of the treatments given to the Mexican Americans in the United States. For instance, with reference to the recent reports from the New Mexico state, the state has the largest cases of disparity in factors of employment (Feagin & José 45). Further, the issue worsens when combined with the issue of education levels among the groups in consideration. According to these reports, which show evidence of gathered data from the states of New Mexico and Texas, the disparity and prejudice propagated by the issues of race and skin color there is a high correlation in the various causes of the social inequalities. In the evidences, which venture along the three issues of education, employment, and settlements, as they contribute to social inequalities, they present the findings that the social inequality entails the characteristic of the relations of the Mexican Americans in the country. The discrimination along the factors of education as relates to the groups show a high correlation of the factor of the race and education limitations. The Mexican Americans, as they migrated into the country as well as those initially living in the ceded regions sought jobs rather than the facility of education. Thus, from this time, they projected their disinterest in the unit of education. Further, the accessibility and cost of education was a significant factor in determining the approach into the subject. However, the leading factor of consideration is the discrimination in schools along the lines of the skin color (Maril132). These factors indicate that the respondents project as higher reflection that the people of the Latino origin are less likely to join college. In comparison to the white race, the odds for gaining college education are too low for the Mexican Americans. Thus, considering these statistical establishments, the factor of the low levels of education constitutes a significant contribution into the social inequality among Mexican Americans and other groups. The issues of racism in these contexts affect the opportunity available for the people of Mexican origin to gain education. Further, the issue of education as a contributing factor to social inequality, it results in the subsequent consequence of unemployment; hence, the standards of living of the people. The levels of education in the various states in consideration as having vast majority of the Mexican American ethnic groups indicate high levels of unemployment. The suffering of the people results from the unequal opportunity and treatment of the people in the areas of employment. The towering intensity of illiteracy and deficiency of professional skills contribute accordingly to the social disparity in the employment context (Feagin & José 97). The occupational differences among the groups habiting the states show that the majority of the Mexican Americans can only acquire limited job opportunities, most of which are insecure and have low pay. These results also reflect that the unemployment rate of the Mexican Americans is higher than the other groups habiting the states. The occupational status also indicates aspects of discrimination and ethnic considerations. For instance, given a white and Latino people, both of the same qualification in education, the white person is more likely to secure a better status job compared to a person of Mexican origin. Thus, these discriminative approaches to the people also contribute accordingly to the issue of concern of the social inequalities. Additionally, the factor of the high unemployment and occupation status consideration contribute accordingly to the subject of the standards of living of the Mexican Americans. The Mexican Americans live vastly in the suburbs and streets with poor housing facilities. These are evidences of the considerations of the inequality in economic status among the various groups. The Mexican Americans, due to their lack of adequate education and skill to secure better job opportunities, they lack the resources to acquire and lead a successful life in the housing (Maril 104). Thus, their living standards in comparisons to the other groups in the states remain remarkably low. When the people lack the adequate resource to live comfortably, chances of gaining education are minimal, creating a cycle of the three factors leading the projection of the social inequalities among the Mexican Americans. Thus, in essence, the factors of education, unemployment, and standards of living contribute interchangeably in the social inequalities evident in the case. Lastly, the factors of contribution in the aspects of social inequalities as evident in the Mexican American group also incorporate political stratifications and propagations. The subject of politics is vast as it incorporates the privileges initially guaranteed by the U.S. to the Mexicans as they ceded their lands to the U.S. government. These factors include the various perspectives contributed by the Mexican Americans as a significant voting bloc in both the state and federal governments. The Mexican Americans are a vast majority in the country. Additionally, in the states they vastly habit, including California, Texas, and New Mexico, they remain groups for consideration in the policies of the region (Walter 34). However, their participation in politics also contributes accordingly to their disadvantages as the political authorities instituted through collective bargaining of the other groups that unite against the Mexican Americans leads to propagation of federal and state government discrimination towards the group. The initial guarantee to the rights of religion and traditions cost the Mexican Americans as repeated regimes of leadership use this as a campaign tool, promising to alleviate the issue of political and economic racism against the groups. However, the politics of the regions, instead of bridging the gap, they contribute accordingly in the inequalities among the groups, as each political power favors its side of representation (Walter 78). These aspects affect the relations among the Mexican Americans and other groups, particularly the whites in the states they occupy. The result is increased inequalities in presentation of resources, social services, and economic opportunities among the groups in consideration. In view of the increasing debates over the regulation of the immigration processes, putting the Mexican Americans at a disadvantage accelerate the issue in consideration. The factor affects the establishment of measures to address the issues of inequalities among the Mexican Americans as politics take focal position in the debates. The factors resulting in the inequalities, in the social establishment of the Mexican Americans continues to reflect themselves, worsening the standards of living of the people, and inflicting conflicts and issue of racism among the groups. Thus, the take of the group in various issues such as the immigration debates among other initiatives has to reflect in the course of addressing the social inequalities as they affect the Mexican American population of the country. Works cited Feagin, Joe R, and José A. Cobas. Latinos Facing Racism: Discrimination, Resistance, and Endurance. , 2014. Print. Maril, Robert L. Living on the Edge of America: At Home on the Texas-Mexico Border. College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2009. Print. Walter J. Nicholls. The DREAMers. How the Undocumented Youth Movement Transformed the Immigrant Rights Debate (Stanford University Press, (2013). Print. Read More