Guest Voz: Axel W. Caballero. (contributor and host of Cuentame)Huffington Post: Today is a sad day for America. Especially for us Latinos who see this as a major setback in the fight for equality and civil rights. The immigration bill signed into law by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is not one designed to curb illegal immigration, but rather it legalizes racial persecution and institutionalizes discrimination. It represents the first outcome -- of many to come -- pushed and supported by the hateful rhetoric peddled time and again by the Tea Party and many of its followers. Worst of all, there is no longer a disguise or an attempt to hide behind the cloak of an economic argument. It is the latent persecution of those who fail to fit the "American Citizen" model created by the imagination of Teabaggers, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and the full array of cronies demanding to take a country back that never belonged exclusively to them.
The signs have been there all along. For the past month, the Latino group Cuéntame has chronicled the racist agenda within the Tea Party and the targeting of our Latino constituency as a whole. Through a series of videos Cuéntame exposed the racial slurs, the violent actions and the hatred only to be dismissed as political hackery. Now the provocation becomes a reality, the threats become politics and the hatred becomes law.
This is what the Tea Party wanted all along. This is what FOX network, its biggest megaphone, had hoped for: A country willing to sacrifice its civil rights for an invisible sense of relief based on a false pretension that the country is or will be white and monolithic.
The signs have been there all along. For the past month, the Latino group Cuéntame has chronicled the racist agenda within the Tea Party and the targeting of our Latino constituency as a whole. Through a series of videos Cuéntame exposed the racial slurs, the violent actions and the hatred only to be dismissed as political hackery. Now the provocation becomes a reality, the threats become politics and the hatred becomes law.
This is what the Tea Party wanted all along. This is what FOX network, its biggest megaphone, had hoped for: A country willing to sacrifice its civil rights for an invisible sense of relief based on a false pretension that the country is or will be white and monolithic.
Just picture what the new law entails? A law enforcement official hears you speaking Spanish or English with an accent, they stop you and ask to see a passport. You might or might not carry it at that moment. You are detained indefinitely, hours - even days. How about if you happen to be walking while brown, I sure know my family does all the time. According to the law, this could possibly well be evidence of being "illegal." Your appearance, your clothes, your language, your location, your activities or anything that may trigger suspicion - regardless of whether it is actually suspicious or not - is grounds for detention. That is called persecution here and especially in China.
This is precisely the main reason why we need a humane and intelligent immigration reform. The longer it takes for Congress to take action, the more of these obscene local and state laws we'll see coming out of the woodwork. There's a leadership vacuum at the federal level on immigration and it needs to be filled by President Obama. In today's America this can no longer happen. Without a doubt the law will eventually be stricken down as unconstitutional, but not before many families are broken and many lives are impacted. This is a direct threat and attack to the Latino community. Latinos we must organize - and show our strengths at the polls. We must tell Gov. Jan Brewer, she is the one no longer welcome. We must tell Sen. McCain he is no longer welcome, and we must tell the AZ state legislature THEY are too no longer welcome.
This is the time for us to mobilize for immigration reform is NOW.
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7 comments:
It is this kind of false reasoning and hypbole that creates the problem. It seems as though no one can discuss this issue rationally without playing the race card. Everyone knows that the browning of America is well underway and is inevitable as intermarriage creates a true melting pot. Only fringe elements even think that America is, ever was, or should be lily white. That is nonsense.
What is Senor Caballero willing to do to stop border violations? He doesn't say. He just plays the race card again and again. There is no such thing as the brown race. Get over it and spend more time thinking about effective ways to remove illegal aliens rather than sweeping them under the carpet with a new amnesty.
There may well be some elements within the TEA party that are racist purveyors of antithesis to other races. Sarah Palin is not a racist! I do believe she is qualifed for high office but she is not a racist as far as I can see from her book and her speeches.
The TEA party has been infiltrated by various elements intent on discrediting it. I submitted to this blog a rather lenthy expose of the Lyndon LaRouche followers who are bent on taking over the movement. Who know what other elements are involved in trying to discredit the TEA Party. All I can say is the members I have met are ordinary and in some cases extraordinary citizens who are not racists but who want our borders to be secure among other things. They also have some beefs about taxes as most of us do, especially if they are used to support illegal aliens or their instant citizen offspring.
I wonder how much Senor Caballero is willing to contribute to that support.
There is no doubt that America never exclusively belonged to any particular ethnic group with the possible exception of the American Indian. We all occasionally indulge in nostalgia about better time in the past when we were happiest, in the best of health, fully employed, minimally taxed, etc. That is natural.
When folks talk about taking back their country they are recognizing that the America we know and love is slipping away as a result of the deadly consequences of immigration's unarmed invasion.
Our country is headed toward a population of 485 million by mid-century and a billion is within the realm of possibility by the end of the century. Anyone who thinks this is a good thing and that it will have no adverse impacts on our quality of life and standard of living needs to go see his shrink. But that is exactly what those who want to protect illegal aliens and deny us the use of the only measures that will be effective against this scourge. It is indeed unfortunate that those concerned about equality and civil rights limit their thinking to such a narrow perspective instead thining outside the box to consider the long term consequences. That shortsighted-ness is the real issue here.
Of course you cannot discuss Racial Profiling without bringing up the Race Card. What a weak argument you have Ultima.
It's like saying you can't discuss chocolate pudding without discussing chocolate.
We are a multi cultural nation. We are thriving. We will continue to grow multi culturally.
Find more ways for the White Nationalists to accept the fact we are a multi cultural land of immigrants.
There are those within the teaparty that whine "they want their country back...from a black president." We all know what it is. They need to learn to understand that we are a multi cultural nation. Accept it. Use True Christian Values and "Love One Another as I have Loved You."
No, I see racial profiling as something different from racism. The former takes cognizance of those particular border violators or illegal aliens who are most likely to be found within the ranks the ranks of of their ethnic brethren.
Tha latter term suggests that one race is inferior to another. Quite a different matter.
Ultima,
None are so blind as those who will not see.
Racial Profiling is AGAINST THE LAW! At least try to abide by your so called support of RULE OF LAW! The Bill is unconstitutional!
ultima says: "I see racial profiling as something different from racism. The former takes cognizance of those particular border violators or illegal aliens who are most likely to be found within the ranks the ranks of of their ethnic brethren."
I have no idea what that means.
Racial profiling is based on faulty reasoning. It presupposes that qualities attributed to a subset of a larger group are true of the group as a whole. An example of such flawed reasoning is this: All professional baseball players are men, therefore all men are professional baseball players. Obviously this statement is absurd. Likewise, with racial profiling. The thinking in Arizona seems to be: All illegal immigrants are Hispanic (which is debatable) therefore all Hispanics are illegal immigrants. That is what racial profiling is. It is based on racist ideology and is therefore racist. You cannot separate the two.
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