Stereotypes prevail in UW survey about Latinos
Sep 13, 2013, 11:33 AM | Updated: 2:20 pm
A statewide survey of attitudes about Washington’s Latino community finds while there’s widespread acceptance, some stereotypes prevail.
The University of Washington/K-C-T-S TV found state residents value diversity and think it contributes to the economy. The poll revealed a perception that Latinos are honest and family oriented. Respondents mostly reject the notion that Hispanics take jobs from Americans.
“The majority of our respondents said ‘no,’ they disagreed with that sentiment,” said Matt Barreto, director of the Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at the U.W., “a rejection of that common national stereotype.”
But other stereotypes prevail. The survey of 800 adults in Washington found 36 percent generally agree with the idea that Hispanics refuse to learn English.
“We know from nationwide polls that that’s simply not the case,” said Luis Fraga, director of the Diversity Research Institute at the U.W. “Over 90 percent of Latinos report wanting to learn English.”
The survey also asked questions about social issues, including crime and immigration.
“And here you see a very large percentage of respondents saying that a culture of crime and gangs applies to our community and I think that’s very troubling,” said Barreto.
Fifty-percent of those surveyed agreed that the perception that Latinos are illegal immigrants fit the community “well” or “somewhat well.”
There was a wide gap in perceptions of patriotism, 71-percent considering whites patriotic but just 41-percent thinking Hispanics are patriotic.
The poll found half of those questioned agreed that Hispanics seem less willing to adopt the American way of life.
“The sense that the immigrants that came in the early 1900s, they assimilated so well and what’s the matter with Hispanics today?” observed Barreto on KCTS T.V. “While we see that a majority do support the idea that they’re assimilating, there are still large percentages that reject that notion and I think it flows with the idea that [Hispanics] refuse to learn English, are unpatriotic and that’s a very troubling stereotype.”
The poll found that negative stereotypes and unfavorable views of Hispanics also translate to election results.
