Hispanics in Pitt (Pittsburgh, Dormont, Oakland: tenants, stores, duplex)

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Copanut

While I can believe that statement, I'd love to see the proof.

Here you go (complete with video):

'******* Wednesday': Oakland Bar Sign Causes Controversy - Pittsburgh News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh (http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/15516462/detail.html - broken link)

[BrianTH]

By the way, that was an ignorant and insulting idea for a special, but to the credit of the local community they were overwhelmingly opposed and it quickly ended. So while I wouldn't claim there are no such problems in Pittsburgh, at least in this case it wasn't indicative of a widely-shared attitude.

[pman]

I'm surprised they knew the word. not sure what I think about that except they couldn't advertise on this site. WT is banned too. I'd guess the place hasn't even heard of tecate and serves pace taco mix stuff. nonetheless,

[Copanut]

Hard to believe I missed that, being a news junkie. I joke about living in the Great White State of McCandless, and being the ultimate white bread boy, as my Syrian wife calls me, I still find it hard to believe that people haven't grown up yet.

Semi off topi, Hi Yac, my street is fairly diverse. Asian, Brazilian, Irish & Jewish,(does that count?), Indian(dot, not feather), African American, all on a street of 20 homes. I'm one of the few BDWGs.(big dumb white guys)
Anyway, yesterday I added a new one to the list. As I'm retrieving my mail I said hello to a 30 something woman pushing a stroller. Her reply, "I do not speak English, I am from Estonia." Man, my neighborhood is going to the dogs.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Somewhat off topic, but the guy I work with went on this big tirade about "hispanics taking over our country" via illegal immigration. I told him that I'm Puerto Rican and that subject wasn't covered again.

Although Asians and Indians have been pretty much accepted by Pittsburghers, Hispanics (Mexicans in particular) seem to be too much into "scary brown people territory" so far. Don't know if it's the news with all the anti-illegal immigration talk as of late or just Yinzers not wanting to look outside their bubble.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Somewhat off topic, but the guy I work with went on this big tirade about "hispanics taking over our country" via illegal immigration. I told him that I'm Puerto Rican and that subject wasn't covered again.

Although Asians and Indians have been pretty much accepted by Pittsburghers, Hispanics (Mexicans in particular) seem to be too much into "scary brown people territory" so far. Don't know if it's the news with all the anti-illegal immigration talk as of late or just Yinzers not wanting to look outside their bubble.

From my lifelong Pgher perspective, I don't see a problem. Hell, I tried to hire some Hispanic day workers since none of the local teenagers will lift a finger to work, and was turned down. They wanted more money, they've already learned the American way. More power to them.

[RRANGEL09]

I'm of Mexican and Italian descent. I know I bring it up quite often since this topic (Hispanics) always comes up. I go to Tienda La Jimenez (Mex Grocery Store) in Beechview sometimes and I do see latinos in the store. The owner is very nice. I recommend going to that store if you're into cooking latin foods. On saturday's they sell fresh tamales and quesadillas. In fact I'll be there this saturday

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by RRANGEL09

I'm of Mexican and Italian descent. I know I bring it up quite often since this topic (Hispanics) always comes up. I go to Tienda La Jimenez (Mex Grocery Store) in Beechview sometimes and I do see latinos in the store. The owner is very nice. I recommend going to that store if you're into cooking latin foods. On saturday's they sell fresh tamales and quesadillas. In fact I'll be there this saturday

Sounds like fun! I was at the new Mexican grocery store in Brookline (Las Palmas) recently and it was very nice. Their fajita meat is really good and they have a good selection of Mexican groceries, including "real" Coca Cola! For those that aren't familiar, Coke in Mexico is made with sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup and tastes much better. Not many places around here where you can buy it so seeing it available was pretty awesome.

Also, the same guy going on a tirade about Mexicans yesterday was heard shouting "those damn beaners!" today in the middle of the office of a very well known company. I just laughed because not a whole lot bothers me, but it just kinda confirmed the idea that Mexicans aren't quite accepted by all in Pittsburgh yet.

[BrianTH]

So a big picture thought: we're hitting the point in the United States where there are going to be more and more second-, third-, and so on generation Hispanics in the mix. The big wave of Hispanic immigration started in the 1970s, and since about 2000 or so there have been more second-generation babies born in the United States than new Hispanic immigrants, with the third generation predicted to start taking off in about 2015 or so. As with all prior waves of immigration in the United States, these subsequent generations are assimilating (e.g., fewer and fewer speak Spanish as their primary language--down to 7% in the second generation and 0% in the third; there is more intermarrying with other ethnicities in each generation; gaps in economic and educational outcomes close; and so on). I think the upshot is that over the next couple decades, people with Hispanic ancestors will more and more be seen as just part of the standard American mix, like the descendants of the Irish, Italians, Chinese, and so on before them.

And in Pittsburgh in particular, I suspect the local Hispanic population may end being even more disproportionately second/third/etc.-generation than the national average. Basically, that is because historically new immigrants tend to go where there are already a lot of other new immigrants from the same country or region, creating a "gateway city" effect where certain places get the new immigrants, and they only gradually spread out across the country with subsequent generations. Pittsburgh obviously hasn't been a gateway city for Hispanics (or anyone else since 1980, with the possible minor exception of Indians), and it may be too late in the cycle for that to happen with Hispanics in a significant way.

So interestingly, we may actually more or less skip over the sorts of issues some places have been dealing with over the last 30 years, and go straight to the next steps in the process (assuming our Hispanic population does grow, but with a disproportionate number of second/third/etc.-generation people in the mix). Of course even assuming that is true, I'm not suggesting there would be no friction, bad behavior, or so on at all. But such issues may be a lot less common, and considerably more muted, in Pittsburgh than in some other places in the recent past.

[pman]

new immigrants go where jobs are. while NY is a gateway, many, many intend and frequently do move elsewhere for employment. If Pittsburgh's reputation as a job center grows, so will it's share of immigrants (legal and otherwise).
anyway, OT gripe: every country I've been in except our own has coke made with sugar (I'm still waiting for "real coke" made with sugar and coca).