In 1989 the Wall Street Journal wrote, "Cheap labor and ready capital are making the region (Southern California) as a commercially fertile as the Far East." The resources of job-availability through the 80's-90's in California was abundant. The deconstruction of the work force in Southern California was to reduce all labor to a casual, temporary, and deskilled status and to force unskilled US Workers to compete with low-wage workers in the Third world. Many impoverished workers lived on the edge while policymakers debated whether increasing minimum-wage was good for the economy. For Los Angeles, reconstruction on the economy meant more service jobs. However, service jobs were unable to increase productivity. In other words, the jobs available were: sales-people, nursing aids, and repair personnel. It is noteworthy to say that the available jobs did not improve the life-style of improvised peoples in the slightest.
"In Los Angeles County, Euro-Americans made up 17 percent of those living in poverty; Latinos 56.8 percent; Blacks 15.5 percent; and Asians, 9.5 percent." Not every Chicano or Latino in Los Angeles is an oppressed worker. Many are white-collared workers, managers, professional, and business people. In Los Angeles, the working-age population increased by 50 percent, from 292,000 to 473,000, during the 1970's. The ideology of Mexican Americans is "work-first." The lack of opportunity and educational resources to survive has shaped an epidemic to the Mexican peoples. To fight for their survival for existence Mexican Americans embed within in the minds of their youth "the life of work" Young aspiring Latinos devoid of educational opportunity are obligated to help their families survive. Poverty remains high among Latinos. Over 50 percent of Mexicans in the work force earn fewer than 10,000 dollars a year. However, close to 50 percent of Mexican households with an absent father live in poverty. 37.3 percent of Mexican origin workers who do not have a high school education live in poverty, versus the 16.7 percent of non-Latinos. Over fifty percent of students in the LAUSD drop out due to the financial instability of parents. Seventy-five percent of parents of adolescents in LAUSD posse a seventh-to-eighth grade education. Contrary to the stereotype of stay at home Mexican and Latina housewives, participation within the Labor force by Latinas was higher than that of any other women; 61 percent of Mexican American women nationally between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-four worked outside the home, most of them without union protection.. Los Angeles's sympathy to the destruction of the role of Chicanos' mother and father and to education opportunities is decadent. Daily News columnist Linda Seebach reported on a meeting where the street vendor representative, Angelina Garza, made what Seebach called reasonable proposals. The audience responded angrily:
"I don't think illegal aliens should be here in the United States. I don't think they have any rights."
When Garza reminded the speakers that their own ancestors has been immigrants, a member of the audience yelled, "Legal," which is not historically true; many of European immigrants did not have papers. Seebach asked whether street vending was not preferable to welfare. As a reminder, street vendors often work 10 hours a day and earn a meager 20 dollars for their labors. However, Mexican Americans ideologies on work are: "Honest and dignified work." The family unit is a union of security in Mexican households. Each member by their position in the labor-force is securing the others' well-being. Unfortunately, working conditions for Latinos have not been as securing. A Los Angeles Times series in September 1993 described widespread safety problems facing Latino workers. According to the reporters, nearly one half the 875,000 manufacturing jobs in Los Angeles were held by Mexican (actually, Latino) workers; in 1991-1992, twenty-one workers died as a result of fatal accident. Additionally, mothers of East Los Angeles grappled with the problem of an installation of a gas pipe-line. They marched against a proposed toxic waste incinerate in Vernon.
As seen above Mexican American homes are thus decadent and grossly under supervised by any parental guidance for their children. Countywide, an estimated 450 to 500 gangs operated on the streets of Los Angeles: by the 1990's, there were 60,000 Latino gang members on the streets of Los Angeles. The fact is that 38% of all teens live in poverty and that 38% is responsible for 83% of all teen pregnancies. Latino fathers are severely limited from perpetual activities with their children. Economic reasonability is an intrinsic influence placed upon the Latino youth. Adolescent Latinos take on jobs to provide for the sociological and economical needs of the family. Latino fathers persuade an adolescence's cognitive belief through "hard-work and integrity." Sanchez Janowski writes:
This situation usually conjures the image of a young Cholo [Chicano hoodlum] sporting baggy clothes, thick gold chains, tattoos and a wad of cash that could choke a horse. However, nearly all studies of contemporary barrio youth life (read: gang literature) support the notion that young Latino men turn to 'street culture, informal -- oftentimes illegal -- economy, as a means to eke out an existence and earn respect in the absence of many viable opportunities
Fathers powerless to be the primary construct of their children's morality leave amid their children the burden of financial stability. To survive, young Latinos will immediately give up school and work more than 12 hours a day to provide for their families. In a recent interview performed on a young 20 year old Chicano the question was asked: What about your Father? Beto the interviewee answered:
Do you know my dad? If you know him you better tell me where he is. The guy went to Texas about six years ago to find work and never came back. News came up from the valley that he's in la pinta [prison]. My jefita [mother] don't believe it, though, 'cuz one of her comadres [best friends] told her that she saw him in Sananto [San Antonio] with a girl and a baby. I don't doubt it. If I ever see him... lo voy a destripar [I'm going to disembowel him]. We don't need him anyways. We got along fine since he left and we're doing good now.
Sadly, the majority of fathers (if any) play this limited and inadequate role. The yoke of financial stability devastates numerous Latino men and as a result, the role of fatherhood is abandoned and forgotten. Countless adolescent Latinos destitute of a father are obliged to be the role-provider for the family. Consequently, Adolescents already on the downgrade from their poor performance in school are required to entirely drop-out.
A woman's childbearing is directly correlated to her and her mate's education. Sixty percent of uneducated women bear a child before the age of twenty. While only ten percent of women have a child before the age of twenty with a high school education. Beto was again questioned: "A lot of guys your age have babies, but not too many of them take responsibility and since you already had so much responsibility, why'd you choose to drop out of high school to play daddy?"
Now it's tricky. Let's see... number one, I was already pretty much on my way out of school anyway. I mean, I wasn't really doing anything at school, but getting into trouble and trying to keep my carnal out of trouble. So I figured, what's the difference? I don't want to be there... they don't want me there. I was already working 40 hours and my jefita [mother] still couldn't make ends meet. So, I left. Number two, when mijo [my son] was born, my vieja [old lady] told me that if I didn't take care of him then I'd be just as bad as my dad. That really pissed me off so I got two jobs and brought my girlfriend, who's now my wife, to live with us. It was hard at first because there were so many of us, but after I started really working and not having to go to school, we were able to get a bigger house.
On the other hand women traditionally were the homemakers of the family. However, this assumption has drastically changed in the course of thirty years. By 1970 12 out of 100 women 12 years or older worked for economic gain. By 1995, 35 out of every 100 women 12 years or older was working. To take care of home responsibilities work load must be divided. In Mexico, it is traditional to give authority to the father or the oldest member of the family. Both working women and men do not provide for proper care of children. Ignorantly, numerous Americans will fault the parents for lack of educational and economical gain. Recent surveys have shown only 1.15 percent of the Latino community have the capability to both work and study. The fight for survival does not allow Latino parents to participate in advanced education goals. The reasons are two-fold. Firstly, countless Latinos living in the LAUSD posses no more education than the average seventh-to-eighth grader. Secondly, funding commencing from the state will permeate (more then often) schools whose aptitude is above the average. Environmental concerns dealing with Latinos located in Los Angeles should be plight of concern, rather then the individuals themselves. The generational cycle for Latinos in Los Angeles will continue unless saturated with increased educational and sociological opportunity. Adolescent Latinos will carry on to live in the barrios devoid of hope or expectation of the better life burdened with reasonability beyond their age. In Rudy Hernandez's survey, he surveyed another man whose name was Andres. Andres was admitted to college and currently is above his class. Hernandez asked the question: "So you had a kid, did that make you a man?"
It's not that simple. I had to take a real hard look at myself. I had never seen my father cry -- not even when my older brother went to prison. I wanted him to be proud of me. I'm not gonna tell you that it was an instantaneous decision. I wanted to finish school. And, I had already made a name and life for myself over at college -- and it didn't include a kid. You know, I'm not stupid. I know that my father didn't want me to quit school. I know that he wanted me to claim my child. But, I needed to figure out a way to claim my child and not quit school.
Andres is a common Los Angeles urban inner-city child. Andres is not without the common problems of the barrio, however, Andres is one of the more fortunate adolescents who left the barrio for the better life.
The church of Christ needs to swiftly respond to the current epidemic of the inner-cities of Los Angeles. First, the church is necessitated to apply the biblical principle of common-grace. The presupposition of common-grace allows for the possibility of a transformed world. Common-grace appropriately understood triturates the prejudice of any particular people group. Additionally, the image of God, although contaminated and impure, is upon every human individual. God graciously fashioned man to bear his image. The reformers called it "Imago Dei" and this designation bears the end product: "Sola Deo Glory". This image bears the value of God; it reflects to the world his perfections. When ministering to any people group the goal or aim of the ministry is as John Calvin once said:
Therefore, whatever man you meet who needs your aid, you have no reason to refuse to help him. Say, "He is a stranger"; but the Lord has given him a mark that ought to be familiar to you, by virtue of the fact that He forbids you to despise your own flesh (ISa 58:7 Vg.). Say, "He is contemptible and worthless"; but the Lord shows him to be one to whom he has deigned to give the beauty of His image. Say that you owe nothing for any service of his; but God, as it were, has put him in his own place in order that you may recognizer toward him the many and great benefits with which God has bound you to Himself. Say that he does not deserve even your least effort for his sake; but the image of God, which recommends him to you, is worthy of giving yourself and all your possessions."
These presumptions, even if simplistic and practical, are exceedingly foundational of church ministry.
Secondly, those whom the world despises and sees as weak and feeble, the church perceives as the chosen of God. The church, if well constructed, can provide aid to raise individuals in a lower sociological and economical class to a more elevated class. The church corporately is participating in enriching individuals, families, and persons to survive in a degenerate and abhorrently sinful world. The church tramples the barrier of racism and impartiality in opposition to people groups through the power of the gospel of God. Language barriers can be broken with provided ESL certified teaching classes and provided job-skill classes. The power of the gospel can be visibly seen through the means which Christ ordained, the manifold wisdom of God: his church. Lower class individuals, mainly Latinos in the Los Angeles area, can thus taste and see that the Lord is good. The church, individually and corporately, posses the power to enhance life temporarily as well as provide the words of eternal life. The church must utilize her resources toward the benefit of others in addition to the proclamation of the gospel and as a result restoring man's image to loving God and rejecting sin. John Calvin Comments:
We must not be hindered by the malice of men, but rather contemplate the image of God in them, which by its excellence and dignity moves and enables us to love them.
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