#NotMyAbuela started last week when the Clinton campaign ran an article claiming the "7 Ways Hillary Clinton Is Just Like Your Abuela" (now "7 Things Hillary Clinton Has In Common With Your Abuela", "abuela” meaning grandmother in Spanish and this article being directed to young hispanic voters. What angered many Hispanic voters on the internet was that the campaign wasn’t just trying to say that Clinton is a grandmother that has your best interests at heart and cares about her family. The problem was that the campaign stated she was like grandmothers of Hispanic and Latino voters, many of whom faced struggles that Clinton has never been through. The article, in its attempt to appeal to them, then erased the experiences that many Latino and Hispanic people face.
By claiming to be someone from a different culture you erase or minimize the struggles that these people face. Clinton has gone through some shit, there’s no denying that. But she can see her family whenever she wants, she didn’t have to work in poor conditions, and she didn't struggle in a land that she may have had to flee to. The lesson that I hope she learned was that you can’t appeal to voters trying to be “hip” and "cultured”, like many others have done.
Marginalized groups such as Hispanic voters and young people are groups that candidates are hoping catch for the 2016 race. So some candidates are trying to brand themselves as being the candidate for Hispanic voters, as seen by Clinton's article and Jeb Bush’s Guaca Bowle (way overpriced by the way), and trying to appeal to young voters with memes, GIFs and being viral, see Ted Cruz’s The Simpson’s “audition” and Rand Paul’s photo editing app.
Candidates from both parties are gaining attention from failing to appeal to marginalized voters because these tactics are ridiculous and they are totally missing the point. Want to get any marginalized group's attention? Talk about student debt, being overqualified at jobs, immigration reform, military weapons being available to police departments, any topic that involves them and their political, economic, and social interests. Just because the internet is full of memes and GIFs doesn't mean that's all voters care about.
Listen, I love my grandmother with all my heart. She’s the bomb-dot-com, but she isn’t who I want for president. And I love memes but it doesn't meant that that's the only way a candidate can appeal to me. Candidates earn our vote by earning our respect with plans of action not with experiences they’re trying to pretend to have. Want to capitalize on being a grandparent? Tell us about how you like latin food or some show on tv? Go ahead, it humanizes you. But please do not think that that's what voters like me will like you for. I, like other minority voters, know politics are full of of broken promises and corrupt institutions, so tell me your action plans and how you will actually change the country I am a part of.
