Posted on 07/16/2005 2:26:29 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
It started with the spray-painted, misspelled "Rapest" on the house of a Hispanic man accused of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old white girl. Then the house went up in flames in a suspected arson. Confrontations, name-calling and threats against Hispanics followed. Men roamed the streets wearing pillowcases with eye holes, and Ku Klux Klansmen in hoods and robes showed up to pass out pamphlets. There were rumors of assaults and beatings.
Now this small Ohio river city's booming Hispanic population is cowed, the streets in their neighborhoods nearly deserted.
Outside the office of the Living Water Ministry, which two months ago drew hundreds of people to its first Cinco de Mayo festival, there is still a smell of charred wood from the June 21 fire that gutted the house next door and caused damage to the outside of the ministry's office.
"Before, the street would be covered with people, people out all over the place," said Sasha Amen, community outreach coordinator for Living Water. "There's a lot of fear now. People are shutting themselves in their homes."
Hamilton has been a hotbed for Hispanic growth in a state that has lagged behind much of the nation in Hispanic population. The number of Hispanics here jumped fivefold in the 1990s, to 1,566, and is now estimated at 4,000 or more in a city of some 61,000.
For the most part, the immigrants had settled in without much controversy in Hamilton, whose mayor in the 1990s was of Cuban descent. But life here was transformed on June 19, when a 9-year-old Caucasian girl was raped, allegedly by a Hispanic man who has apparently fled the city.
"Yes, there is fear," said Ramona Ramirez, who owns a corner deli-supermarket where she says business is off and her bread delivery man is now afraid to come. "They are attacking all the Hispanics, and it is only one person. We don't know what will happen."
Lupe Galvan, a Mexican-born woman who has been here five years, said some neighbors are talking about moving away.
City and community leaders are trying to heal the wounds, beefing up patrols and trying to calm the community, Mayor Don Ryan said Friday. Ryan said authorities are stressing that the rape was "strictly a random act of violence" and not racially motivated.
"We're continuing to be a melting pot in this country," he said. "Assimilating into our culture is tough; I firmly believe that it will take time."
While the anti-Hispanic backlash has stunned many of the immigrants, some say they've felt racial prejudice here before. The Rev. Eustaquio Recalde, a native of Paraguay, says he was often harassed and ridiculed while working a factory job as the lone Hispanic employee.
"I think it's been around," Recalde said. "This was an opportunity for a few people to express it."
Ezra Escudero, executive director of the Ohio Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs in Columbus, says Hamilton is not alone in feeling tension in a state where the Hispanic population has doubled to nearly 280,000 since 1990.
"The challenge for the community is whether the tragedy will bring out the best or the worst in people," he said.
Shelly Jarrett Bromberg, an assistant professor of Spanish and Latin American studies at Miami University in Oxford, has helped organize two community forums since the fire. She called the Hamilton unrest an important moment for local Hispanics, churches, police and public officials.
"I think everyone realizes that we need to have a dialogue ... to make the community feel safe and feel that they have a voice," Bromberg said. "I think there are a lot of people who want to make this work out."
...who understand the value of pulling the wagon rather than riding in it...
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Ah a Senator Phil Graham of Tx?
yep! (when I heard it, thought it a pretty good analogy, metaphor, simile, whatever ;^).
Perhaps one of you open-borders types would like to expound on the 'human rights' condition we (non-hispanics) might be subject to, were the country to suddenly become majority Mexican descendants.
For the ladies on-board, you might want to include 'machismo' and the cultural acceptance of such things as rape, public drunkeness, and brawling as merely a 'guy thing' when they're in a celebratory mood.
The Republicans didn't pitch a fit. Oh, maybe some sound byte lip service but nothing sustainedm or even flashy like the Schivao affair. Nor are they presently(apart from an isolated one or two) because the chief defender of our Constitutions' unofficial official position is, let 'em come.
So that must be the official position throughout our government. Seems clearly treasonous.
I have heard Columbus has a considerable illegal population. We have illegals working our dairy farms.
Sorry to hear it's worse than I knew but then, 11-20 million of them have to be somewhere.
As to your question: we must give local government so much grief, that they are forced to do something. Boycotts, citizens arrests, citizen work stoppages, stigmatize people who employ illegals, help incite your circle of friends, something has got to be better than nothing.
But! be prepared to be demonized: you racist xenophobic vigilante so and so; because the President said so!!!
:o)
I was reading this thread before drifting off for a nap and was dreaming I had to sneak across the border to get some homecooked food and it there was so much to pick from.
In our area the hispanic kids seem to be always so well behaved.
Not directed at you but these threads in general seem to be forgetting history with other migrants Italian Mafia, China towns across the US, Russian Mafia ect... Oh and the Veitnam refugees who had to adapt to our culture.
I can't get upset anymore with anyone coming S. of the Border personally as it has been two years since the subject started here at FR and the S. American population in my area has grown but not with the problems mentioned here at FR.
As for the article that states homes renting to numorous tenants perhaps one should look at the landlord who allows this not the occupants.
Most leases state who is to occupy the rental and if those not on the agreement move in it is automatic ARRGUH my mind went blank on the next word the word I can't think of means everyone gets kicked out.
So I don't have any negative against those coming to America to have a decent life....rather blame our Govt. for not holding up the laws of immigration.
I wonder how many here who come across as prejudice have no problem running up to Canada to get Meds. they need or S. of the Border for Meds.
I will admit I bit the bait two years ago but have since decided that some of the most anti Mexican migrants do not like hispanics.
Our growing hispanic population is nothing like explained in the article but some of the long time generational locals are horrible citizens and parents.
Other immigrant groups didn't learn english necessarily. I lived in a Polish/Puerto Rican neighborhood for some time. About 25% of the bar signs were in polish, 75% in spanish (reflecting the general enthic percentages). Not all of the people from the Old World learned english - some of them still don't know it.
The younger generations that are born here are mixing english and spanish, and I believe that the following generation, the youth will be very americanized.
It's because we are in the middle of a specific ethnic group migration that you see all ages still speaking spanish.
Sir, the gentlemen in the HR family are of Hispanic descent and I can assure you that such behavior is neither exhibited nor tolerated. I'm not sure what element you've been exposed to exclusively, but perhaps you should expand your horizons because I've seen such behaviors exhibited not only by SOME in the Hispanic culture but several others such as SOME well-heeled fraternity boys from other ethnic backgrounds as well. By no means do I make generalizations about any of those groups based on the behavior of a sampling.
I'm sorry but I'm having a very difficult time following you. I told you why the illegals are in Ohio, if you believe the RNC approved I urge you to further educate yourself on the issue. Maybe it will help you with your additional complaints.
You're correct. It's not really hatred. They didn't torch the housing complex where he might have been living. They didn't try to fry a bunch of people who were clearly not involved, but just happened to be of the same skin tone.
Yup but it doesn't matter much to me other than a mild annoyance.
The topics was that Cinco del Mayo celebrations are PC, but Christmas isn't. If you can't stay on subject, please go to the DU site - that's where the ADD crowd is.
I don't recall christmas being brought up in the article.
It was brought up out of the blue by a poster dfj,
If you want to complain about someone being off topic, yell at dfj.
You seem to be following a rule where if someone is off topic and you agree with the poster, it is a mega bravo.
But when someone is on topic and makes a valid point you don't like, you whine like a stuffed pig.
Well, the aforementioned behavior cited in your exerpt came from my sociology class- circa 1972. Perhaps women should realize that, though not a burkha, Spainard males will dress them in class, second, that is.
Ah, yes....probably one of those classes where hispanics were called Chicanos, no doubt. Try looking outside the classroom sometime at todays--how did you put it--"Spaniard Males".
I believe FDR stated my case pretty clearly:
“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.”
Conversely, if nothing happens, it is planned that way. Is the RNC complicit, of course it is, they are not raising Hell to the rooftops from morning to night!!! Nor have they been. This problem didn't just pop up like a mushroom overnight. Get it now??? That's, what is.
Also,
keep in mind Mrs Clinton some months ago began positioning herself to the right(sic) of the present President on the subject of illegal immigration, so do expect this to be a main champaign issue in '08, which of course, will amount to no action after the election.
The rapist has already given his answer.
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