Bill Ayers speaks out! An In These Times exclusive.

Solidarity from Barrio to Barbershop

By Laura S. Washington

“There’s no doubt that Mexican men and women—full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work—are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States.” Mexican President Vicente Fox’s comments last year to a group of Mexican businessmen ignited a political firestorm across the Americas. Fox also foreshadowed a powerful divide in the national debate… return to article

  • subscribe to print magazine

  • Zoom OutZoom In Reader Comments (5)

    Page 1 of 1 pages

    Sounds like Mama was not able to reason with *Laura*. . .

    United States Posted by wolf on Apr 25, 2006 at 9:55 AM

    Laura:

    I’m sure your Mom realized through her friendship with Hispanic women that Hispanics in general and Mexicans in particular are not exactly pro-Black.  That some in their community are “ objecting to the embrace of Mexican blackness.” says it all.  If you think “pols must convince the people that it is in their urgent interest to resist the divisive race-baiting propagated by the powers that be.”, then they need to find current real-time common ground rather than a distant historical encounter.

    United States Posted by theloneous on Apr 25, 2006 at 12:40 PM

    ILLEGAL immigration is not a racist issue.  Many of the protesters carried signs calling for a “FAIR” immigration policy.

    Can someone tell me if there is something in the current policy which discriminates against Mexicans who apply for citizenship?  Does the legal procedure favor other races and nationalities?

    Would it not be “fair” to expect all applicants to follow the same process?

    If President Fox took better care of his “essential assets” instead of pushing them off on us there would be no illegal/legal problem.

    United States Posted by whattheheck on Apr 26, 2006 at 11:54 AM

    This issue has many facets which are seldom discussed.

    There is much poverty and corruption in Mexico which must be addressed; many of the current problems can be traced to the rampant corruption which has decimated the middle class while increasing the wealth of the top 5%. Perhaps President Fox could first address these issues in his own country.  Or perhaps he is worried that the millions - or is it billions—of dollars sent home to Mexico each year would be lost. 

    Have you considered how Mexico treats illegal aliens from other countries in Latin America? Brutally.  Yet Mr. Fox expects a different treatment for Mexicans coming illegally to the US.  We should all resent this one-sided expectation.

    Have you considered the long-term affects of absorbing what is probably not 11 million, but over 20 million individuals? If the US economy was robust, they would most likely be absorbed. But in today’s economy, it is not unlikely that it will have a dampening affect on wages and benefits, particularly wages and benefits at the lower end of the earnings scale.  Will we end up with higher levels of poverty and crime, greater stress on our already financially-challenged school and healthcare systems?

    Have you considered who most benefits from dampening wages, from not paying benefits?  Have you considered why - until last month - there had been only 4 companies investigated for hiring illegal aliens in the last year?  In Clinton’s last year in office over 500 were investigated.

    Have you considered the logistic nightmare - and costs - of “legalizing” 11-20 million illegal aliens?  Given the current immigration backlog (years), how soon will the financially strapped INS be able to seriously investigate and process each of these illegal aliens? How long do they stay while they are waiting?  Who will finance this? Me?  You?  President Fox?

    Have you considered the precedence being set? My husband’s daughter has been waiting for over a decade to come to this country from Peru.  She has abided by US laws. Should she and other law abiding individuals be penalized because illegal aliens working in this country decide they should move to the front of the line? Or should she come here illegally to gain citizenship? 

    There are many questions to be answered before we agree to anything that will have such a profound effect.  It requires more than marching in the street, It requires time to seriously research, dialog and carefully plan. It requires time to develop a concensus among the citizens of the US… because it is a decison that affects our country.  It should not be the decision of special interests or foreign governments or illegal aliens.

    United States Posted by mochica on May 1, 2006 at 10:51 PM

    Anybody intimidated by the number of Hispanic protesters on May 1st should consider the influence they would have if all are made legitimate citizens. “Our representatives” don’t have the guts to deal with this issue now, what will it be like if another 10 to 20 million are added to the mix. In addition they are the fastest growing per family.

    Too bad they don’t organize and march on Vincente’s turf — just maybe they could make some changes down there which would help future generations. In case no one remembers, that is how we got what we have here… previous generations did it for us.

    Anyone who is here illegally should go back out and come in the front door. There you will find a WELCOME mat.

    I did not notice anything unusual except for the 24/7 news blather. I went about my business of “doing those things I don’t like to do” for myself. Then I did the things I like.

    Many thanks — to our ancestors.

    United States Posted by whattheheck on May 2, 2006 at 7:32 AM
    Page 1 of 1 pages

  • register a new account »Posting Security

    To participate in our forums, please register for a free account.
     

    Retreive lost password »

Article Appeared in this Issue

Full contents
Past issues

Also by Laura S. Washington
Popular Discussions