The author Charles Ramirez-Berg in the book Latino Images, he discuses the negative images that are stereotyped against Latinos. Berg argues that the image of a bandido is often perceived as a lazy, violent, criminal, Mexican person (Berg 2002). He further argues that the image of a Mexican bandido has remained in American media through different shapes and forms; the contemporary bandido is now a criminal portrayed through drug dealers or gangsters (Berg 2002). Berg argues that the reason behind this negative stereotyping of Latinos is the underrepresentation of Latinos in the media. Furthermore, the concept of negative stereotyping is seen in the Lemon Grove Incident, when the school board member of Lemon Grove argue that the Mexican school is needed because of the lack of hygiene Mexican children have. One of the argument of the school board was that overcrowding was causing a decline in the cleanliness of the school restrooms, and are quickly to blame the Mexican children. In connection to Berg’s argument of Mexicans seen as bandidos the Lemon Grove board members in fact believed that Mexican children were inferior to white children due to unrealistic hygienic …show more content…
Elena Gutierrez discusses the impact that negative stereotyping has on innocent immigrants that are targeted by a nativist approach to policy making. Furthermore, Charles Berg discuses the concept of negative media stereotyping of Latinos, which as seen through the Lemon Grove case, causes wrongful perceptions of Latinos that results in exclusion from society. As seen in the Lemon Grove case, the Mexican children were seen as “incompetent” unfit for an all white school, furthermore, the Mexican children were seen as a burden and inferior to the white children. The Lemon Grove Incident serves as a constant reminder that Latinos oppression continues to be a problem in contemporary politics, but as scholarly work shows, Latinos continue to fight against these accusations and reach the equality they