JE#2

In a sense, many Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and everyone in between have forfeited their destiny through the miseducation of the U.S-Mexico War. The ultimate takeover of Mexican peoples was not the bloodshed or land ordinance policies that annexed Mexico to the United States, but the manipulation of history told in the Anglo perspective. This biased outlook not only implies that the end of the war was a mutual process, but that Anglos did this for the betterment of the country and their God given right. History told from this perspective contributes to the “lost” destiny for the descendants of the Guadalupe and Hidalgo by completely erasing the experiences of Mexicans, Indians, and Afrikan Slaves all together. In a sense, all peoples affected by this peaceful treaty experience a sense of historical amnesia when their side of the story is not told. History taught in American schools has conditioned society to think that Mexico was rightfully annexed to the United States and that White Americans expanded this country with good intentions and pursuit of friendship, despite the blatantly racist policies implemented on the national expansion and the construction of second class citizens by placing Anglo heterosexual males at the top of American social hierarchy. Compared to what I was taught in school, De Leon’s work really accentuates the true sentiments of Anglos towards Mexicans. Several times my teachers would mention the other side of the war and briefly touch upon the painful experiences of Mexicans, but we were always left with the Anglo viewpoint of friendly expansion and made to believe that our world now was set in a post-racial society since my classroom’s ethnic make-up was usually diverse. After having this kind of history lesson repeated to me throughout my k-12 educational experience, I was left to believe that Mexicans possibly are inferior because they let Anglos conquer them and were not prepared to defend themselves. I was forced to think that Mexicans and people of color in general truly are inferior/ second class and that the right way of living was by the standards of White America. A prevalent example of how mainstream U.S culture and education perpetuates cultural amnesia is through the public educational system itself. The U.S government likes to front education as the ultimate equalizer of the country’s citizens and residents through supposed equal access to quality education and standardized tests to gauge student merit. Unfortunately, performing well on tests (especially for History) the experiences of the conquered do not matter because our capacity of learning is measured on our comprehension of the Anglo perspective. Although I feel like I am much more conscious of my history than before, I still feel like there is so much for me to learn. As of right now I feel like I am at the stage where I've realized that I cannot be completely decolonized, especially if I plan to be successful in academia. Institutionalized racism is alive and well in too many spaces where individuals in society are expected to progress (workplace, school, community, etc.). On a scale from 1-10 (10 being the highest) I would say that I’m halfway amnesiac, considering I learn something about my past or my identities every day. I admit that I was very colonized in high school (who wasn't ) but I always knew there was another side to the story my teachers constantly professed, which is why transitioning into a conscious state of mind starting from my entrance into UCLA, was a healthy process of growth. I am appreciative of authors like Arnoldo De Leon for enumerating the experiences of Mexicans and the unjust decisions made on behalf of them by greedy, inconsiderate Anglo Americans. History repeats itself, and unfortunately cultures other than the dominant culture of the U.S suffer the consequences of living in a country that was not made for them to be successful.