Two interesting things I read over the weekend…
1. Mossad murdered 530 Iraqi scientists - this is the Israeli version of the CIA…
Numerous reports for many months have stated that with collaboration from American occupation forces, Israel’s espionage apparatus, Mossad, slaughtered at least 530 Iraqi scientists and academic professors.
2. Tennessee has become a battleground for the immigration debate.
I learned that from 1990 – 2000, Tennessee’s Hispanic population grew by 278 percent, from 32,741 to 123,838. The state ranked sixth in the growth of foreign-born residents with a 168 percent increase that also included Asians, Africans and other nationalities. Nashville also boasts the nation’s largest Kurdish population and served as a regional voting center in the Iraqi elections.
Things have gotten really dangerous in Tennessee…
In November 2005, a former Ku Klux Klan member, Daniel Schertz, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for building pipe bombs to kill Hispanic immigrants.
Next, in May 2005, vandals scrawled Nazi graffiti on the La Lupita Mexican store in Maryville, Tenn.
Overall, I’m not surprised at the racial hatred directed at the Hispanics since I expected this would occur. I also thought the attention the Hispanic population was getting would diffuse some of the racial tension away from the Black population and allow us to breathe for a second or two.
I was listening to conservative talk radio and the hatred from the immigrants is REALLY heating up. There was one woman that called in from CA that was spewing so much hatred for even her legal co-workers after they all took off from work that I shuddered. So far, things have been peaceful in the South (from what I can tell), but you can feel the tension. Do you think that it may explode into large scale hate crimes being committed?
I think it will. The immigrants, especially the Mexicans have been little arrogant. How can you come into someone else’s established country illegally and demand rights waving your flag. That is arrogance at best. To be perfectly honest, with the racial discrimination that has been going on in America, I really didn’t think this would go unpunished by White extremist groups.
Comment by Beloved — May 15, 2006 @ 2:03 pm
I don’t know Cynthia. I don’t think redirecting racism gives any minority group any “breathing room”. I think it just fans the flames of growing fire that eventually consumes everything in it’s path.
I think you may be right. No matter what, we all realize hate crimes are part of a sickness in this society. As it stands now, ~68% of all the hate crimes in this country are against blacks. However, a group of us thought this would happen to Mexicans once they started asking/demanding more. Next year when the statistics are tallied, we will see if this assumption is true..
While I do not imagine that you are suggesting that supporting anti-hispanic sentiment as a way of easing racism against black, if anyone is entertaining such thoughts, I feel moved to say that I find such a strategy doomed to failure.
No one is saying that anti-Hispanic violence will completely eliminate anything directed towards Blacks. Anti-Black sentiments are too deeply rooted in this society. Even the Chinese Human Rights Report on the US addresses this issue. All we are saying is that they will feel some of the heat as this article have suggested and everything else I’ve been reading supports this assumption since the anti-Black venom is currently being directed towards Hispanics. The evidence is there to analyze. These are not foggy things I’m talking about. This is reality.
While I’m white, and what I think is of extremely limited value, I still believe that the way to challenge racism is to claim the moral high ground. WE have it. The racists do not.
It good to suggest that, but if you were being targeted everyday, the moral high ground will not prevent people from victimizing you. If this were the case, as Black people, we wouldn’t be in this situation. We are the prayingness and believingness people in the world. I think it is easy for those not being victimized to take this moral high ground because they really don’t know how frequent the attacks are.
FYI -From your response, I didn’t think I needed to say this before, I don’t condone racial bigotry nor do I condone people accepting brutality inflicted on them by others. People who behave in immoral ways in my opinion, will not respond to morality. If these people had this type of morality, they wouldn’t do this in the first place.
Finally, if it were left up to me, there would be peace on earth and good will towards all men. Unfortunately, I’m not in control and I don’t have your optimism. I wish I did…
Comment by Diane S. — May 15, 2006 @ 8:09 pm
Cindy,
If I at all suggested you were condoning racial bigotry, I apologize. That is something I have never thought and would never purposefully insinuate. I’m just aware that you aren’t the only one reading your blog.
People who behave in immoral ways in my opinion, will not respond to morality.
You’re probably right. Pragmatically, I agree with you. Idealistically, I still want to believe there is value in speaking truth to power.
This is one of those times, I should re-phrase my words. And here’s hoping that the world would become a better place. I think we really do need positive thoughts like this. Who knows, it may help.
Comment by Diane S. — May 21, 2006 @ 12:13 pm