Posted on 03/22/2008 12:08:09 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
AUSTIN - A proposed detention facility for suspected illegal immigrants was labeled a "holding pen for wetbacks" on a public meeting agenda written by a rural city council member.Charles Laws, 75, apologized Thursday for using the derogatory term but defied calls from state lawmakers and officials in nearby Austin for him to resign as Mustang Ridge's mayor pro tem and as general manager of a local water supply company.
"If I hadn't been in such a hurry I would have said ‘illegals' or something like that, but that's a term that I grew up with out here and everybody said it," Laws told Austin television station KVUE.
In an another interview Thursday with News 8 Austin, Laws said he shouldn't have used the word before adding, "Illegals, I want them to send back as soon as possible."
The slur was posted on a board meeting agenda Wednesday for the Creedmoor-Maha Water Supply Corp., which has contracts with the city of Austin and supplies water to nearby communities. Among the items was discussion over providing water to the proposed detention facility.
Mustang Ridge is a town of about 900 people, located about 20 miles south of Austin. The area is home to several heavily Hispanic neighborhoods, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
"I think it's my duty, not only as a state representative but a Mexican American, to do whatever I can to get this man to resign," state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez said at a news conference with other public leaders.
Mike Martinez, an Austin city council member, said "having someone become defensive about their use of this language, holding a public office is unacceptable in 2008."
Laws said he had no plans to step down from his positions.
"I'm sorry if I offended anybody. I didn't mean anything by it," Laws told KVUE. "But, no, I'm not resigning. I don't do what Austin tells me to do."
Incredible. What an amazing new strategy, and why not? Groveling only seems to whet your enemy’s appetite. Who’da thunk it?
Depends, is that just "wetback" or the far worse "Typical wetback"?
Regards, a whitey.
Operation Wetback
In 1949 the Border Patrol seized nearly 280,000 illegal immigrants. By 1953, the numbers had grown to more than 865,000, and the U.S. government felt pressured to do something about the onslaught of immigration. What resulted was Operation Wetback, devised in 1954 under the supervision of new commissioner of the Immigration and Nationalization Service, Gen. Joseph Swing.
Swing oversaw the Border patrol, and organized state and local officials along with the police. The object of his intense border enforcement were "illegal aliens," but common practice of Operation Wetback focused on Mexicans in general. The police swarmed through Mexican American barrios throughout the southeastern states. Some Mexicans, fearful of the potential violence of this militarization, fled back south across the border. In 1954, the agents discovered over 1 million illegal immigrants.
In some cases, illegal immigrants were deported along with their American-born children, who were by law U.S. citizens. The agents used a wide brush in their criteria for interrogating potential aliens. They adopted the practice of stopping "Mexican-looking" citizens on the street and asking for identification. This practice incited and angered many U.S. citizens who were of Mexican American descent. Opponents in both the United States and Mexico complained of "police-state" methods, and Operation Wetback was abandoned.
http://www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/history/timeline/20.html
“crackers”, “rednecks”, “honkies”....
No. But whites are all racists, so they can’t speak, didn’t you know?
That council member shouldn’t resign because he said that, at all.
Where’s Teddy Roosevelt when you need him? He’d buy that man a beer.
Is that because they are "typical?"
***In some cases, illegal immigrants were deported along with their American-born children, who were by law U.S. citizens.***
They’re US citizens by some twisted interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
Obama: “Typical white guy.” < /sarcasm>
Well what is the state of someone who crosses the riogrande without a boat? They certainly aren’t drybacks.
After Ol'Slick stopped the carnage in Rwanda
After Ol' Slick's sec of state solved the N.Korean problem
After Ol' Slick got "Our boys home by Christmas" from
After Ol' Slick's absorption re Osama got Osama killed
Feel free to go add your own revised history....
I am surprised there isn’t rage over the wet foot/dry foot policy in Sout Florida. /s
“But, no, I’m not resigning. I don’t do what Austin tells me to do.”
Um....Silly me. I always thought that elected officials were SUPPOSED to do what the voters wanted.
How naive of me.
Sad, but true for names will break my bones however sticks and stones will never hurt me.
But now, the town is majority Mexican and he hates that.
It makes him feel better to call them wetbacks. It makes him feel even better to use the phrase "holding pen" because holding pens are for animals and wetbacks(and all Mexicans) are animals.
In fact, the cornerstone of the anti-immigration movement is to sub-humanize the immigrants(legal and illegal).
César Chávez, an opponent of the Bracero Program was the first person to use the term ‘wetback’ on national television in reference to illegal aliens who swam across the Rio Grande from Mexico.
He’s in Mustang Ridge, not Austin, Texas.
“In fact, the cornerstone of the anti-immigration movement is to sub-humanize the immigrants(legal and illegal).”
You may have meant “de-humanize”, Ben. “Subhuman” is either an adjective or a noun and I don’t think “sub-humanize” is a word.
Most here would say—and have said, over-and-over, that legal aliens are welcome. But most illegal aliens from Mexico arrive as grade school dropouts, unable to speak or write English, not vaccinated, no money—pretty much worthless, except in their value as slaves to employers.
Untermenschen? No, in fact, they are a lot like my labrador retriever, although he’s had all his shots. Illegals aren’t exactly `worthless’ to employers, but they have a negative worth for taxpayers since we all pitch in for their medical care, et cetera. Just sayin’. . .
East of El Paso you can walk across at various times of the year because so much water is being used for irrigation the riverbed is bone dry. Most of the time they just walk across and the water is ankle to knee deep. Sometimes they walk across the footbridge that goes across the river that is on top of the flood and irrigation control dams.
So, if you want to know what you would call someone that crosses without a boat, try “ordinary.” Heck, sometimes you could call them “the driver.”
Only whitey honkeys can be racist since we are the only ethnic group in the universe that has “power”.
Here’s something from dennisw’s thread post: Lou Dobbs dissecting a hysterical La Raza shill, a Ms. Murguia.
She gets the word “demonization” in as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhHAxFnvvgQ
dennisw=SwinneySwitch
I'm seeing things happen lately...
The Second Amendment challenge in the Supreme Court...
That sign on the cheesesteak restaurant in Philadelphia being ruled legal and allowed to stay...
It's probably much too early to wonder, but...
Are we finally going to start standing up and fighting for for our rights?
The same folks who are asking this man to resign are the ones standing by Barack Obama, who is standing by Rev Wright. So they dont have any standing to call on anyone to resign over insensitive remarks when they are willing to stand with the man who stands with “G-d D888 America” Wright.
Is “wetbacks” worse than “whities” or “gringos”??
A: maybe. this is a ‘whose ox is gored’ comment. Those who want to erase the concept of illegal immigrants as a group want to elminate all the words for it, especially ugly colloquialisms. OTOH, IMHO, it’s not much worse than calling all whites “anglos”, a term that at least to me is ‘offensive’ and wrong.
I live in Austin and every single one of our city council members do not speak for me. They are politicially correct left-liberal airheads.
BTW, they are asking a man from *another town* to resign. This guy is not from Austin, and I suspect nobody would have known about the comment if a stink wanst raised on it. There has been a flood of stories about ‘insensitive’ comments. It looks like a pruging of the good-ol-boys. A fire chief who made ‘sexist’ comments, some police officers, etc. Funny how this all comes up right when the Rev Wright affair comes out. Almost as if its a more-than-coincidence moment.
I hereby call on Pelosi, Murtha, Reid and Schumer to resign, just because they are anti-American and anit-freedom jerks. Will they?
When I lived in Santa Fe they were called “Beaners” or Pachuco’s. (that was a long time ago in the un PC world of college)
There is a Hard Rain Gonna Fall
I need you to answer a question. In reply #24 there is a link to article in which it is mentioned that FAIR was designated as a hate group. Since Bilbray was FAIR's lobbyist, and Bilbray replaced Tancredo as the House Republican Immigration Caucus leader, does that mean the House Republican Immigration Caucus is a hate group?
Get with the times.
All Typical White PeopleTM are called "anglos".
True enough- we are no longer welcome to speak and I expect a law against white people speaking will be passed any day now. It also amazes me that the current thought is not only that all whites are racist, but only whites can be racist. It’s hard to keep all this straight, but I am trying.
Exactly, he needs to hold firm and refuse to resign. He needs to not even consider resigning unless and until all the racist minority leaders step down. Liberals can get away with making rude and “unacceptable” comments so everyone should get away with it. Wetback was a term used by everyone, including the U.S. Government for many years- when was it announced or put in writing that the term was no longer to be used? This PC crap needs to end. It has always been good manners to not say things that might offend people, but this leaping on someone for a slip of the tongue is getting old.
If only he had just said mojado. It sounds better in Spanish.
“In reply #24 there is a link to article in which it is mentioned that FAIR was designated as a hate group. Since Bilbray was FAIR’s lobbyist, and Bilbray replaced Tancredo as the House Republican Immigration Caucus leader, does that mean the House Republican Immigration Caucus is a hate group?”
No, but you could probably sell the idea to La Raza. Or McCain.
How should I know. I'm just a typical honkey.
Or, in Session's Senate immigration caucus, they are all from slave states.
I say if the shoe fits then you must wear it! I'd tell these race pimping racist's when the likes of MALDEF and the like cease to exist then I might reconsider since these Mexican organizations are what being racist is at its very core. Until then just tell them to stick where the sun doesn't shine and mosey on down the road!!
Very interesting. Thanks for the link.
Of course! Never under any circumstances offend a Mexican...no matter how much a Mexican may offend you.... our government is pandering to Mexicans these days and it wouldn't be politically correct...(sarc.)
“Dear Eddie Rodriquez:
‘Wetback! Wetback! Wetback!’
Sincerely,
Redbob”
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