And what, please tell, makes me want something to come to my "rescue?"
T-minus 41 days until the birth of Tha SYNDICATE, the philosophical heir to William Lloyd Garrison.
101 things that the Mozilla browser can do that Internet Explorer cannot.
Posted on 02/02/2003 8:55:55 AM PST by Dog Gone
THE black community has made great strides in the last few decades. Racism has certainly not been eradicated, but it is no longer accepted with a wink and a nod as it once was. We are proud to see Secretary of State Colin Powell, even when we do not agree with everything he does. The same with Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, and many others.
That's the good news.
The bad news is that in some regions we black folks are so overwhelmed by the huge numbers of immigrants that we are being displaced in our schools, jobs and neighborhoods.
That may seem a harsh thing for a black person to say against brown people, but I don't see it that way. I am an American, proud of both my nation and my race. What I see in my community of South Central Los Angeles -- where I have lived nearly all my life -- is thousands of Mexicans who care nothing about our traditions and culture, and only want to impose their way on us. That's not immigration, that is invasion.
It is sad what has happened in my neighborhood. This was a respectable, blue-collar area of hard-working black folks living in their bungalows and going to their jobs. In just a couple decades it has become almost entirely Mexican. They live several families to a three-bedroom house and keep chickens in the yard, but the city doesn't care about the zoning violations or the noise of having so many crowded into a small space.
According to the Census Bureau, nearby Watts is now 60 percent Hispanic, and it was previously the black community on the West Coast. No longer.
The immigration situation is really hard on our young people. A 17-year-old kid on my street couldn't get a job at McDonald's because he didn't speak Spanish. Another young neighbor boy was thrown into a bilingual classroom at age 8 and was forced to listen to Spanish all day long. His six-hour school day was turned into three hours. When his mother asked for an English-only class, she was told "there are none."
Would you believe that I, a black man, have been called a racist many times for speaking up against this invasion? I have a radio program on the subject and therefore hear from a lot of people, even some in Mexico.
When they call me a racist, I put this question to them: What if a hundred thousand Vietnamese were suddenly dropped into Guadalajara? And what if those newcomers didn't speak Spanish, and further insisted that their children be taught in Vietnamese? What would you think if they were happy to work for half the normal wages for any job they could get, thereby putting thousands of your local Guadalajarans out of work? Would it be racist to say there was a problem?
When people of good will and good sense hear the situation put that way, nearly all understand and respect my viewpoint.
Now if only they would listen in Washington. America's political leaders are the problem. They have been selling out this great nation for real and imaginary political benefits while ignoring the dangers. Even after Sept. 11, nothing has been done to plug up our borders. Another terrorist attack could be 10 times worse, and it would likely happen because Congress and the president learned nothing about the need to keep the nation's borders secure.
If I sound angry, you hear right. Like other Americans, I want immigration to be legal, controlled and reduced. But as a black American, I see that the burden my people must carry is heavier than for many others. I am sure that if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were alive, he would understand the fundamental unfairness to the black community of allowing more immigration than the nation can handle.
"What's that," he asked?
"Most Favored Minority," I replied.
This guy talks about "proud, working class" black neighborhoods being "ruined" by those of another ethnic group. Well, I can show you neighborhoods here in Brooklyn that were once safe white working-to-middle class (East New York, Flatbush, Bushwick to name a few) until Mr. Anderson's coethnics moved in during the 1950s-60s. Neighborhoods change, always have, always will, sometimes for the best, other times for the worst.
My suggestion to Mr. Anderson is to join the native-born black exodus to the south. He will find good, middle class African-American communities in Atlanta and New Orleans, among other areas.
So you don't mind rude store clerks and signs only in Korean, do you?
Anyway, you can't generalize. "Hispanics" encompass a variety of ethnic and racial groups. Most of the Latin Americans I worked with at my International Bank were just as pale as I am (and sometimes paler!). My main cohort, for example, was a Colombian of English ancestry.
I NEVER met a Florida Cracker in either Miami (where I lived from 99-02) or Boca Raton (90-94). It seems that everyone in South Florida (Dade, Broward, Palm Beach) either has a Latin accent, a Noo Yawk accent or a West Indian accent.
You have described the neighborhood in Brooklyn where I currently live. The Arab Muslims (largely from Egypt and Yemen) have poured into Bay Ridge in droves over the past ten years. They have displaced many middle-class whites in much of the neighborhood, although the people in the million dollar mansions and co-ops near the Narrows seem to be holding out.
Although I enjoy the pastries and waterpipes, it is kind of discomfiting to see women dressed from head to toe in the latest 15th Century fashions pushing baby carriages all over the neighborhood.
And what, please tell, makes me want something to come to my "rescue?"
T-minus 41 days until the birth of Tha SYNDICATE, the philosophical heir to William Lloyd Garrison.
101 things that the Mozilla browser can do that Internet Explorer cannot.
People who complain about Mexicans should check out "Little Arabia" (which didn't exist ten years ago) on Fifth Avenue in my neighborhood.
Never lived in a Mexican neighborhood (although we have a few here as well, including a guy who flys the Mexican flag from his fire escape. I have lived in an area filled with lower-middle class COLOMBIAN immigrants however and couldn't have asked for better neighbors. Then again, hablo y entiendo español (their kids preferred "street" English, however).
T-minus 41 days until the birth of Tha SYNDICATE, the philosophical heir to William Lloyd Garrison.
101 things that the Mozilla browser can do that Internet Explorer cannot.
Well I'm glad you at least have a job.
The best way to deal with illegal immigration is to stop it. Also, the best way to ensure that legal immigrants have a successful future in this country is to demand that they learn English before they arrive.
Here's why:
You are correct. My great-grandmother to the day she died rarely ventured outside of her Polish enclave and rarely used English. Being that her husband was a businessman (contractor) he learned to speak good (albeit heavily accented) English so that his Italian/Irish/black employees/clients/political bosses could understand him. It was my grandparents who broke away from many of the old ways, although the continued to speak Polish (and Italian in the case of my mother's family) when speaking with their parents.
You are right, although see my post #198. None of my great-grandparents learned English before arriving and they prospered relatively well. Same goes for many Cuban, Indian and Korean immigrants I have met. It would be great if every school in the world taught English as a second language, but it aint gonna happen anytime soon. How many Americans, btw, can speak a language OTHER THAN ENGLISH very well.
Really? You don't say.. No kidding.
Join the club..
You didn't honestly think your skin color would exempt you from cries of "racist" for opposing this illegal immigration now did you?
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