We already have hate(post 9/11)the Arabs/Muslims. We have a long history of hate the scary black people. We now have a black POTUS with a scary Muslim middle name, who is the head of our country, who isn't going to be allowed to talk to school kids.
But if you think it's bad now, just wait. Lou Dobbs and his minions, though right now eclipsed by Glenn Beck and his Beckette's, are waiting, yes, salivating in the wings, to unleash the lash against the "aliens" among us. War of the Worlds. Part II.
Those brown people, the ones who pick the fruits and veggies, wash the dishes in diners, empty the trash and wax the floors of your office, prune the bushes, and nanny the babies, have ancestors who have been here on this continent since before Columbus got lost and bumped into some islands. Those brown people, with surnames like Vasquez, and Sanchez, and yes, Sotomayor, are invading, and having babies and taking over red, white and blue America.
Yeah, call 'em Latinos, or Hispanics, what's the difference? They all look alike anyway. From the people who brought you "The Only Good Indian is a dead Indian" sentiment, we've now got Indians (and Africans) with strange sounding surnames, who have to be sent back somewhere, fast. Preferably with a bullet to the head. Perhaps we should change the strange sounding names of states like Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nuevo Mexico, Tejas, to something more Anglo. More American.
I would venture a guess that Health Care Reform, like Medicare would be okay for folks if they could figure out a way to keep poor people (you know those brown and black and red and yellow folks) from accessing it. Heaven forbid that Carlos, while working on the local farm, should get his hand caught in some machinery and have to go to the emergency room. Forget about Nilda, who just made your bed in the hotel, and cleaned up your shit(and you forgot to leave a tip)should have a child who has the measles. Screw Juana, from the Phillipines who emptied your bedpan.
Build the walls higher (but only to the south- hopefully folks will leave following the North Star to Canada on the Second Underground railroad to freedom and health care). Send out Blackhawk copters. Secure the borders, we are under siege.
The haters have already got plenty of those brown and black people locked up in our nations prisons which are bursting at the seams. Congratulations U.S.A. You win the prison Olympics. No more room at the inn. Shit, there weren't enough buses to get those third world types out of New Orleans (are they Americans anyway?) so let's just find a quick fix. The Lone Ranger used silver bullets. Wonder why he didn't use 'em on his sidekick who was named Tonto (stupid)? No matter.
I realize that you folks are focused on town halls, teabaggers, birthers, and bigots with a capital B. But listen carefully to the subtext. America is doomed. The black man who forced a wise Latina down our throats, is gonna let those brown folks steal us blind and rob us of our heritage. We now have Nativism with a capital N.
No matter those folks bleed red blood like everyone else, and die like everyone else in our wars. No matter that they pay taxes, and sustain local economies. Get them out. By any means necessary.
Fuego, fuego fuego...the firestorm is coming.
Wayyyy back in 2006 the Southern Policy Law Center issued a report called White Hot: Across the country, the overheated immigration debate fuels racist extremism and violent, anti-Hispanic hate crimes.
But that was in 2006. Surely things have gotten better in our post-racial paradise?
This story came out yesterday: Study: Anti-Immigrant Hate Crimes Persist
NEW YORK-According to a research report released by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on Wednesday, Latino immigrants of Suffolk County, N.Y., are abused and discriminated against, on a regular basis, leading to an atmosphere of terror in the region.
The research was conducted in the aftermath of a brutal killing of an Ecuadorian immigrant, Marcelo Lucero, in Patchogue, N.Y., on November 8, 2008, which received national attention. Police reports indicate that the murder was executed by a group of seven teenagers, known as "Caucasian Crew," who routinely conducted physical attacks on Latino immigrants. Following this tragic incident, a Spanish-speaking researcher from SPLC was sent to interview legal and illegal immigrants in the region.
The report cites numerous incidents of unjust racial profiling, harassment, verbal attacks, and physical beatings experienced by Latino residents of Suffolk County; including first-person accounts. Some of the listed examples include beatings with baseball bats, being shot with BB guns, and being run off the road while riding bicycles.
"I was crossing the street, and there was a car coming. First, they stopped for me to cross the street, and then, when I am crossing, they ran me over. When I fell on the ground, they got out of the car and kicked me," recalled Carlos Morales, who moved from Mexico in 1998, in his interview published in the report. "They took baseball bats out of the back of their car. They hit me on my knees, in the face, on my back. One of them put his foot on my mouth and said, 'You should go back to where you come from, you dirty Mexican.' And he continued to hit me," he continued.
I've been out to do research in Suffolk County NY. Have interviews with hundreds of farm workers, and immigrants. Seen the same stuff in Nassau county, Westchester and Putnam. This is not the south folks. So no way to point a finger down there.
Time to wake up and smell the cafe folks.
Cross posted at Daily Kos
