RUBEN NAVARRETTE JR.: Haley could teach Republicans how to talk about race

As a Mexican American who has spent his entire life stuck in the gray area between Black and white, I totally “get” where Nikki Haley is coming from concerning race and ethnicity.

Of course, understanding isn’t the same as acquiescence. The Republican presidential candidate and I are not on the same page when it comes to many issues with a racial dimension. She is against affirmative action, critical race theory and initiatives that foster DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). I see the value in those things.

And if I’m ever asked about the major factors that caused the U.S. Civil War, I plan to mention slavery right off the bat.

On the other hand, as a glass-half-full kind of guy, I do agree with Haley that the United States is not a racist country. America has suffered through racist episodes in the past, and some of its institutions are still plagued by systemic racism. Still, from my vantage point, America gets it right on race more often than it gets it wrong.

But where I really identify with Haley is on a personal level. Like me, she has obviously thought a lot about her own ethnic identity and where she fits in America’s color scheme. Like me, she ultimately landed on the color brown. And yet, also like me, she was raised by her parents to not see herself as a victim or keep track of all of the racist slights against her.

“My mom would always say your job is not to focus on the differences but the similarities,” Haley said in the video she released last year to announce her candidacy. “And my parents reminded me and my siblings every day how blessed we were to live in America.”

That sounds a lot like the sermons that reverberated through our house when I was going up.

Haley recalled during this campaign that, growing up in the South, neither whites nor Blacks knew what to do with her. That led her to question where she belonged.

By the way, this is as good a time as any to give thanks for the fact that Haley is still in the race for the Republican nomination for president. The former South Carolina governor is standing up to intense pressure from the media, the GOP establishment and MAGA supporters. They all seem to want her to leave the race and clear the path for Donald Trump to claim the Republican nomination.

I have to ask: What’s the hurry? We all realize where we’re headed — to a rematch, one that 70 percent of Americans don’t want. I would bet that most Americans dread the likelihood of Trump and President Joe Biden squaring off again, and they’re in no rush to get there.

Be that as it may, the fact that Haley remains in the competition for the White House gives Americans the chance to talk honestly about race and ethnicity. That might not happen very often once the presidential race boils down to a choice between two white men who are over 75.

The downside is that, when Americans talk about our differences, sometimes the conversation can get weird in a hurry.

That’s what happened when, during a recent interview with NBC News, Haley — in trying to make the point that she understands racism — recalled the experience of growing up as a “brown girl” in the South.

“I grew up in a small town where we were the only Indian family, and I was bullied because they didn’t know if I was Black or if I was white,” she said. “All I knew was I was Indian. I was brown; and I was bullied because I wouldn’t take a side. “

She even claims in her memoir that she and her sister were disqualified from a kiddie beauty pageant because, as they were neither Black nor white, the organizers didn’t know where to put her.

I take Haley at her word that she experienced life — and race — just the way she said she did. It’s not my place, or anyone else’s, to suggest otherwise.

What I can’t believe is the sophomoric way that Trump supporters responded to Haley’s comments.

Some took to the social media site known as X to accuse her of “playing the race card.” Others played that card against her.

Republicans are still pretty ham-handed when the subject of race comes up. They don’t know how to talk about it, except negatively.

Haley could change that, if only her party would give her a fair hearing. Don’t hold your breath.

Ruben Navarrette’s email address is crimscribe@icloud.com. His podcast, “Ruben in the Center,” is available through every podcast app.