J.R. is an old white man in California’s Central Valley who voices numerous racist beliefs about Latinx people. For instance, he says that Mexican migrant workers are “filthy” but thinks farm owners shouldn’t provide them with running water, and he fondly remembers beating up Mexican men for no reason except hatred. He thinks of all Latinx people—even California-born U.S. citizens—as foreigners who refuse to follow his superior, “American” way of life. Ironically enough, J.R. moved to California as a migrant farm laborer when he was young. J.R.’s beliefs provide a clear illustration of how symbolic violence works: by sharply dividing “us” from “them” (“Americans” from “Mexicans”), he avoids recognizing structural violence or doing anything about migrant workers’ suffering.
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J.R. Character Timeline in Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies
The timeline below shows where the character J.R. appears in Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6: “Because They’re Lower to the Ground”: Naturalizing Social Suffering
...Valley residents implicitly divide themselves (“us”) from migrant workers (“them”). Similarly, Holmes’s elderly white friend J.R. considers as Latinx people as “foreigners,” including those born and raised in the California town...
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J.R. also complains about “filthy-ass Mexicans” in his area. Specifically, he’s furious that they blame “their...
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...learn English, even though they’re not allowed to participate in the farm’s English classes. Similarly, J.R. sees the U.S. as “a classless, individualistic society” where anyone can succeed through hard work,...
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...suffering on migrants themselves, U.S. Americans also blame their own suffering on migrants. For instance, J.R. blames his migrant worker neighbors for taking away his farm job—rather than the farmer who...
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