On Monday, June 15, a rioter/vandal was shot in New Mexico in a confrontation provoked by the leftists that wanted to remove a statue of a historical figure, a Spanish explorer. The incident is full of irony, which the liberal mainstream media and the Democrat politicians of New Mexico are ignoring.
The statue of 16th-century Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate stands outside a museum in Old Town Albuquerque, and it was targeted by leftists who view him as white, European imperialist who conquered native people. However, local Americans of Hispanic descent see Onate as colonizer and historical figure.
The news media is calling the leftist vandals who were defacing and trying to remove the statue "protesters." However, they identify the people who defended the figure as a "militia."
Furthermore, the news media and the politicians ignore the fact that a white "protester" was shot by an American of Hispanic descent named Stephen Ray Baca. An American Hispanic defending his history flies against the narrative of the liberal media and leftist politicians who want racially divide the nation.
A video of the shooting appears to show Baca acting in self-defense against a "protester" with a knife. Of course, the liberal/leftist Democrat politicians in New Mexico have sided with the "protesters" (vandals).
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the statue defenders "menaced protesters," and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said the statue was removed for "public safety." Who gave the protestors the authority to delete statues, and what about removing the leftist vandals for public safety?
America's history, particularly for Hispanics, is about the blending of many racial and ethnic groups. There are African Hispanics, Native American Hispanics, European Hispanics, and even Asian Hispanics. The narrative of "white imperialism vs. 3rd world colonialism" doesn't fit comfortably with Hispanics, where cultures and races have melded.
Another issue is the American immigrant experience that Hispanics have gone through. Many Hispanics have become assimilated and integrated into American society and lost their culture and language. The thing that feeds the Hispanic group identity is the massive, uncontrolled immigration that strengthens their numbers and the Spanish language media that sustains and separates them linguistically.
There are many Hispanics who are American first, and who resent the erasing of history by leftists who use uneducated minorities as their political front. Many Americans of Hispanic descent recently blocked vandals from defacing the Alamo in San Antonio.
While the liberal news media and leftist politicians excuse the destruction of American history, Americans will defend themselves and their history. This New Mexico incident needs to be publicly discussed and analyzed as an example of Hispanics protecting their American history.