[The Soap Box Takeover! [pt. 2]: continued from previous page]

Let me get back to the folks on the "Donahue" show...        
So is immigration a threat to American culture? My conclusion is that
immigration is a centerpiece of American culture. In an attempt to sound
less prejudice, what people like Jared Taylor are really trying to say,
without explicitly saying it, is that to him, immigration today is a threat
to those who wish to preserve America's European heritage. To me, this
notion that immigrants are a threat to American culture is absurd and
hypocritical. 
         
Why do I state that such a stance is absurd and hypocritical? Well, let
me explain. It is absurd because America was established by immigrants.
And it is hypocritical because those that are calling immigrants today a 
threat are people who immigrated themselves. Therefore, the very creation
of America itself was dependent on the very presence of immigrants. 
Following its establishment as an independent nation, America has been 
dependent on immigration for its economic, political and cultural 
development. 
         
For those that claim that American culture is threatened by immigrants,
what aspect of that culture is being threatened?  American culture has
been shaped by a steady flow of immigrants since day one. Immigrants 
today are no more a threat to a threat to American culture than were 
Germans or Italians or earlier generations. Upon their arrival, Germans 
and other immigrants establish newspapers and schools in their own 
language. Assimilation into mainstream society came with the passing 
of time. Latinos today are only following the same patterns of the 
predecessors. So why are Latinos any more a threat than those in the 
past?
         
So what does this come down to? Hegemony! It is just another example 
of the majority culture attempting to maintain its cultural hegemony. Until 
not long ago, the majority culture was rather successful at maintaining 
cultural hegemony. This hegemony really extends beyond culture; it 
permeates economics, politics, religion, etc. What better way to keep 
the brown man down than to call him a burden on American society! The 
reality is that America is dependent on immigration and that Latinos are 
a solid contributor to American society. As an example of this, we should 
get all Latinos to stop working in all the major cities for a day and see if 
this would impact the economic structures. A city like Los Angeles could 
not continue without its immigrant sector. Of course there are more
statistical methods in ascertaining that the Latino community in the United
States is coming into their own both economically and politically.
         
Taylor's talk about "The Bronze Continent" and the Hispanic intention of 
carving it out of America is comic. "It's called 'Aslan,'" he stated "from 
which all whites will be kicked out and it will be a sort of northern chunk 
of Mexico. You don't call that a threat?" he asks. (MSNBC)
         
This guy is too much. Not only does he have the nerve to characterize 
the Latino community as a burden on America, he goes as far to accuse
us as being a danger to him. From reading the history books, I'm really
the one that should be scared. For all his worries about "Aslan", he failed
to notice that a "reverse-Aslan" already occurred, its called Texas, or
California, or the whole Southwest for that matter. It was when whites
carved out a chunk of Mexico and kicked Latinos off their lands. That
was the real threat! Throw on top of that the enslavement of millions 
of blacks, the treatment of the Chinese in the West, the genocide of the
Native American…I thinks whites are the ones to be really feared. 
Xenophobia took them collectively to great lengths. From that standpoint, 
I don't think that whites are in any position to be calling anyone but 
themselves a threat.
         
But hey, I' not about name-calling. If it were up to me, it would be One 
Love, Bob Marley style. But Latinos are being pushed against the ropes 
here. I can't let radio hosts such as Steve Malzberg say that I'm not fully 
American. I've been fully American since the day I received citizenship. 
Really, I've been American since before then, being that America includes 
this whole American continent, Central and South included. And I don't 
need to get up on a table and do a little dance for Malzberg, or anyone
else for that matter, just to prove my American-ness. 
         
Malzberg feels that immigrants are not fully assimilating into American
society or becoming fully American. I'd like him to explain what becoming
fully American means. I'm not selling out my heritage just to get his 
blessing. Malzberg also feels that immigrants "just take their culture and 
bring it here and not speak English and not do what we do." What is he 
talking about?  What does he do that immigrants don't do?  Okay, yeah, 
I'm guilty, I did bring my culture here, just like other immigrants before 
me and I'm shaping American society just like other immigrants before 
me. That's right, in reality, I'm not all that different than my immigrant 
predecessors, except maybe that I come in a darker hue…and to some 
that makes all the difference.
         
So my advice is to keep your eye out for these people who pass of 
racism and xenophobia as Patriotism and use your soapbox 
accordingly. Stay Brown.


- Friday, February 14, 2003
         
                                      [Back]
         
       

EAR TO THE STREET:
EXAMPLES OF RACISM OR XENOPHOBIA TODAY: 
         
1. Congressman, Howard Coble, R-N.C, who heads a homeland 
security subcommittee said on a radio call-in program that he agreed 
with the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II:

    o "We were at war,"… "Some probably were intent on doing harm 
       to us," he said, "just as some of these Arab-Americans are 
       probably intent on doing harm to us." 
         
    o Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., a Japanese-American who spent his 
       early childhood with his family in an internment camp during 
       World War II, said he spoke with Coble on Wednesday to learn 
       more about his views. 
         
    o "I'm disappointed that he really doesn't understand the impact of 
       what he said," Honda said. "With his leadership position in 
       Congress, that kind of lack of understanding can lead people 
       down the wrong path."          
         
    o Things that make you go hmmmm: Why didn't we intern German-
       Americans as well, were they not as much of a threat during 
       World War II as were Japanese-Americans. 
         
    o Link to the Corresponding SF Gate Article          
         
2. Former Panthers star goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck quit Monday 
    as coach and general manager of a junior hockey team in Ontario 
    after using a racial slur to describe a black player. 
         
    o ''I used the N-word instead of calling him Trevor,'' said 
        Vanbiesbrouck, who admitted using the term ``more than once.'' 
         
    o Vanbiesbrouck, born in Detroit, suggested use of the slur traced to
       his upbringing. ''I told Trev this is an old wound with me,'' he said. 
       ``I grew up with it, and I'm as sorry as anybody that it stuck with me.''          
         
    o Comment: He can keep his sorry justifications. 
         
    o Link to the Corresponding Miami Herald Article
         
3. Senator Trent Lott - Nuff' Said… 

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