Latinos Can Continue Political Efforts Without Apology

I could have sworn the federal indictments handed down this week in Santa Ana named only four people. Their names are Moreno, Espinoza, Olivares and Palacios, but to hear some people talk, you’d have thought every Latino in Orange County was indicted. It’s as though every Ramirez, Lopez and Estrada needs to run out and get a lawyer to defend himself.

We need to grow up a bit.

By comparison to almost everywhere else, Orange County is a smart place. The residents’ education level is relatively high. We also think of ourselves as enlightened.

Put our self-flattery aside for a moment, and let’s be real. The way we react to the indictments of the four Santa Ana political figures will give us an indication of just how bright we are.

You just know there’s a whisper campaign in the wake of the indictments. “This is what we can expect with Latinos getting more political power,” the whisperers say.

And you know why we know they’re saying it? Because even Latino community leaders are addressing the concept, lamenting that the indictments might make other Latino officeholders look bad or slow the momentum of other Latinos running for office.

Both the whisperers and the respondents need to wise up.

The indictments in Santa Ana name council members Ted R. Moreno and Tony Espinoza, as well as former council candidates Hector Olivares and Roman Palacios. They are charged in what boils down to a shakedown attempt of two local businessmen. At this point, all are entitled to the presumption of innocence.

But even if they’re proved guilty, no one else need apologize for them. This isn’t a special brand of “Latino politics” in action. The federal prosecutor referred to the alleged scheme as being in the “time-honored tradition of corrupt politicians.”

It has happened in New York, Boston and Chicago.

However, it no doubt fits some people’s agenda to use the indictments to damn Latinos. Other Latinos shouldn’t play into their hands.

Understandable as the motivation behind it may be, the larger Orange County Latino community doesn’t owe us an explanation or even a lament for the actions of four people.

Alex Nogales is 56 years old, and it’s only in the last few years that he’s come to realize that. A Yorba Linda resident, he’s a former TV producer who now heads the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

Once upon a time, Nogales says, he would have been among those rushing to the defense of indicted Latinos. “We have to come to maturation as a community that, in fact, those things are going to occur. It has occurred in every community, be it the Jewish, Anglo, African American, whatever. What’s occurring is that we’ve been putting an incredible burden on ourselves. The reason for it is the underdog mentality, that we always have to be better, that we have to prove ourselves. At a certain point, we have to say, ‘We’ve arrived, and we have good and bad guys . . .’ and we don’t have to apologize for the bad guys.”

Nogales stresses he’s talking generally and not about the four indicted Santa Ana men.

Typical of emerging minority groups, members tend to rally ‘round each other, Nogales says. The flip side of that is to feel defensive when a member of the group creates bad publicity.

“We feel we have to be better than everybody, so we don’t forgive ourselves when someone from our community has a transgression. It’s unfair to the community because we go into an apologetic mode. Are we saying, ‘This is the way we must feel?’ We go to school, pay taxes, fight in wars, support this Constitution and the United States, and we are going to have people in our midst who are criminals just as much as anybody else.”

Nogales says he’s through apologizing for others.

“I refuse to play into it,” he says. “If you ask me how I feel about it [alleged corruption], I don’t care for it any more than you would. If it’s true, something has to be done about it, but I don’t feel diminished by the fact these four men are under scrutiny. It’s not me. And it’s not my children, and it’s not even their children. I’ve come to the understanding I don’t have to defend every Latino that gets into trouble. If they’re in trouble, they’re in trouble.”

If I had the power, I’d declare Nogales’ state of enlightenment as the required mind-set for Orange County.

We’re probably not there yet. But we ought to be.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by writing to him at the Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail to dana.parsons@latimes.com