“Ethnic organizations do sometimes develop an image deemed “proper” for their group and exclude those who appear to contradict that image. To those members of Raza eagerly awaiting their admittance to the world of BMWs and designer suits, [Jose Luis] Razo and his East L.A. look represented that sort of contradiction. He was an embarrassment to some, a reminder of how close they still were to the world they’d left behind. He was dressed like the kid whose fate, we had been told, we could escape if we studied hard. So we did. And when, through all our effort, we arrived safely in the ivy-covered world of cashmere and Kennedys, there he was—staring us in the face and forcing us to deal with the painful realization that we had not progressed nearly as far as we thought we had. He made us feel uncomfortable, then guilty for feeling uncomfortable.”
— I just read ‘Harvard Homeboy’ by Rubin Navarette, Jr. and this bit was so good that I had to share. [LA Times, August 5 1989]
Aug. 9 2012
Via Los Angeles Times
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Notes

  1. queputa reblogged this from friendofhagrid
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  4. afroxander said: Navarette…I hate him but he comes up with a rare gem now and then such as that closing sentence in this quote.
  5. thenoobyorker posted this