By PATRICK ALCATRAZ
Editor-In-Chief
FORT WORTH, TX - The fact is that things may get noisy, but they will never change, not in anything to do with Hispanics being in the U.S. Yeah, what was it former Mexican President Vicente Fox said? This, openly and succinctly: "Wherever there are Mexicans, Mexico is there."
Another time in America, it was the Italians catching the Hell. They were the original greasers. And then there were the Irish. In New York, shops and businesses hid no racism when posting window signs that read: Help Wanted. No Irish Need Apply. That was not that long ago. The Polish felt the sting, as well. So did the Asians. Soviets arriving here after the breakup of the U.S.S.R. found little joy to write home about; life in America was brutal, they will tell you.
Still, this lingering hate for immigrants from south of the border cannot be ignored. It is there, as can be seen in today's Arizona. Idaho would fit right in, as would Georgia and Alabama and Mississippi. Louisiana is another place, although it now thanks Hispanics for serving as clean-up crew after the mess left behind by Hurricane Katrina. In that case, buses were sent to Houston and Dallas to recruit Hispanics and Blacks. The Hispanics went in droves; the Blacks largely did not.
Proponents of the Arizona Experiment will raise their voices and say what they are doing is securing the southern border, ridding themselves of a criminal element and doing it because the federal government will not. Critics will charge that Arizona always has been an incubator for hate, that it has been and is the home of extremist politicians such as Republicans Barry Goldwater, John McCain and Jon Kyl. There is some truth in both arguments.
But when it's all said and done, Arizona will have seen its latest anti-immigrant bill watered down severely by the U.S. Supreme Court. Critics will say they won once again and loudly vow to fight whatever else Arizona dreams-up. But things will hardly change.
Those who hate Mexicans in Phoenix will still hate Mexicans. And Mexicans will still hate the racist whites. Newspaper stories will tell of wicked crimes one group will perpetrate against the other. Whites will seek other laws. The criminal element, stubborn as it always is, will not retreat. Arizona three-four-five years down the road will look as it looks now - at odds with the times.
That is America...and that is our history...
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8 comments:
You are too smart to belive that everything is racis.
There is a rule that the first debater to compare the other side to the Nazis is losing the debate.
("Wherever there are Mexicans, Mexico is there.")
If former president Fox was talking about Mexicans born in Mexico, like himself, he is probably correct. But thinking that he also included Mexican-Americans, for their love of tacos, would be wrong, in my humble opinion.
Jude
ANON: True, everything is not racist. But I know Arizona...and racism is a big, big part of its governmental playbook. In the mid-1980s, I covered racial marches in Cumming County, Georgia for The Boston Globe. What struck me then and struck me during my time in Phoenix was this: There are those who wear their hate openly, who have no interest in hiding it, who will wear it proudly, as it was worn in Berlin and Dresden and Auschwitz. What I find here in the Rio Grande Valley is just enough of a geographic buffer to make me think that it's all too unreal, that Americans elsewhere cannot possibly hate Mexicans that much. Well, they do. To not acknowledge racism is to fall for the fallacy that this melting pot is not capable of melting off the national stove. It's an opinion. And, of course, we would grant you the space to make your case... - Editor
ANON: True, everything is not racist. But I know Arizona...and racism is a big, big part of its governmental playbook. In the mid-1980s, I covered racial marches in Cumming County, Georgia for The Boston Globe. What struck me then and struck me during my time in Phoenix was this: There are those who wear their hate openly, who have no interest in hiding it, who will wear it proudly, as it was worn in Berlin and Dresden and Auschwitz. What I find here in the Rio Grande Valley is just enough of a geographic buffer to make me think that it's all too unreal, that Americans elsewhere cannot possibly hate Mexicans that much. Well, they do. To not acknowledge racism is to fall for the fallacy that this melting pot is not capable of melting off the national stove. It's an opinion. And, of course, we would grant you the space to make your case... - Editor
ANON: True, everything is not racist. But I know Arizona...and racism is a big, big part of its governmental playbook. In the mid-1980s, I covered racial marches in Cumming County, Georgia for The Boston Globe. What struck me then and struck me during my time in Phoenix was this: There are those who wear their hate openly, who have no interest in hiding it, who will wear it proudly, as it was worn in Berlin and Dresden and Auschwitz. What I find here in the Rio Grande Valley is just enough of a geographic buffer to make me think that it's all too unreal, that Americans elsewhere cannot possibly hate Mexicans that much. Well, they do. To not acknowledge racism is to fall for the fallacy that this melting pot is not capable of melting off the national stove. It's an opinion. And, of course, we would grant you the space to make your case... - Editor
Jude: Don't quite get the crux of your comment. If you mean that Fox could never speak for Mexican-Americans, well, also know that French Pres. Sarkozy also said something similar about his fellow Frenchmen. Look, the time for walling yourself in is over on this planet. The sooner we get that out of the way, the better we'll be able to address this issue. Imagine a national commentary on immigration where no one - no state - singles out only one segment of our society. From what I know, there also are a few million undocumented immigrants from countries other than those to our south... - Editor
(there also are a few million undocumented immigrants from countries other than those to our south...)
And believe me, no one would know about that better than me. My former career was that of a deportation agent for INS/ICE(so I effected my fair share of deportations). But the ones that need to be policed in our immediate area are those who come illegaly from south of the Rio Grande. Plus, those to the south of the mentioned river should not even be compared to those who were born north of that river. No matter how much they(mexican-americans) love their tacos.
Jude.
Jude: I was speaking to the larger issue, not restricting my comments to undocumented immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley. Of course, the words do apply. (2.) As for your second point, I wasn't making the blanket characterization. I wrote extensively about Mexico for The Houston Post prior to moving East. The distinction is made readily in Mexico, yes. Mexicans are proud people. But you do know that what binds Human Beings with their ethnic thread is commonplace in America. You should be in New York for the Columbus Day (Italian) Parade, or for the St. Patrick's Day (Irish) Parade. I am an American of Mexican descent. American because of nationality; Mexican in regards to my heritage. Do I go around saying I'm a Mexican-America? I'm worse than that; I'm a Scorpio. (Little, precious little levity. I know. I know)... - Editor
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