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FROM UNIVERSAL
PRESS SYNDICATE
MARCH 12, 2004
COLUMN OF THE
AMERICAS
By Patrisia
Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
What is it About
Mexicans?
For years, right-wing ideologues have
littered the country with anti-Mexican
billboards and filled the airwaves with
other kinds of hate-filled propaganda.
But now, it's not just nut cases or
hate-radio "discussion leaders"
anymore -- academics and legislators have
also entered the fray.
The least of what they call for is the
full militarization of the U.S./Mexico
border. And yet, these ideologues -- who
warn us about the Balkanization of the
nation and the coming
"Reconquista" of the U.S.
Southwest -- insist they're not bigots.
They say they're not anti-Mexican, but
rather, anti-illegal immigration,
pointing to the absence of the word
"Mexican" in
anti-illegal-immigrant legislation or
initiatives nationally as proof. Great.
Equal opportunity hatred.
Truthfully, anti-illegal-immigrant fervor
begets an anti-immigrant climate, which
in this country targets brown faces.
Here, brown translates into Mexican --
all 25 million of them. (Paradoxically,
many of them scurry about looking for
that one drop of European blood to claim
they're actually white, which the Census
Bureau is only too happy to oblige in
this anti-browning process, to escape
that rampant dehumanization.)
Since bigots can't tell the difference
between Mexicans and Central and South
Americans, add another 15 million
"other kinds of Mexicans" into
the mix.
Lies, the bigots cry out: We don't hate
anyone; we just think illegal immigration
is ruining America. And then along comes
Victor Davis Hanson's book
"Mexifornia" in 2003. The
author, of course, was not trying to stir
up fears or hatred against Mexicans. It's
just that "Illegalfornia"
doesn't quite pack the same punch.
Now comes Harvard's Samuel P. Huntington,
who continues to advance the theory
(Foreign Policy magazine, March/April
2004) that Mexicans pose a fundamental
threat to the cultural and political
integrity of the nation. And once again,
there's lots of scurrying -- not to
denounce the unadulterated bigotry, but
to prove that Mexicans can and are
assimilating. It's a big day for pie
charts and diagrams.
In this discussion, it is assumed that
assimilation is nirvana and that there's
a consensus as to what values should be
assimilated. For instance, are immigrants
supposed to adopt trickle-down economics
that favor the rich, militarism,
interventionism, cultural chauvinism and
racial supremacy?
Enter well-known anti-illegal-immigrant
crusader Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado.
Last week, in a strike against "the
cult of multiculturalism" (there's
another nice racial code word), he
entered into Congress a resolution that
affirms the importance of Western
Civilization to the nation's heritage and
origins (talk about more loaded code
words). More scurrying (memories of the
Inquisition)?
What's next? An official language and an
official color?
So what is it about Mexicans that so
bothers this country?
No doubt their color -- perhaps a
reminder of their indigenousness. And
Mexicans do serve a useful purpose in the
politics of blame. Traditionally, if
there's a problem, blame Jews or Blacks,
Asians or American Indians. Such
finger-pointing is generally no longer in
vogue, though it's seemingly still
acceptable to blame Mexicans, as there's
no price to pay (though don't forget to
use the code term "illegal
aliens"). But as we're now seeing,
the pretense is over. And don't forget to
call them "Hispanics" when you
want them to go to war or want their
votes.
Incidentally, anti-Mexicanism is no
longer limited to rednecks. While it's
sad to see anyone adopt these attitudes,
it's painful to see people of color
pitted against each other, to turn on
each other and, in this case, also adopt
the same anti-Mexican attitudes: They're
taking our jobs, they're aliens, and
they're a threat to this nation, etc. (It
must feel good to blame others.) And yet,
most tragicomic is that no one seems to
hate Mexicans more than people of Mexican
origin. They're the ones doing the
fastest scurrying -- trying to prove that
they're genuine, loyal and patriotic
Americans ... and even white. It's called
self-loathing (though with a bit of
societal assistance).
It's also a feeble attempt to escape the
rampant bigotry that's once again
threatening to engulf the nation. As it
is, many have assimilated the racial
politics of blame and are also currently
pointing fingers at Arabs and Muslims and
feeling good about it. Some call this
internalized oppression.
Perhaps Sen. John Edwards and Harvard's
Huntington have it right: There are two
Americas and two cultures. If people of
Mexican, Central and South American
origin are expected to assimilate, then
perhaps they should assimilate not into
Fortress America Inc., but into the one
that respects all peoples and cultures
and honors and treats all people as full
human beings.
COPYRIGHT
2004 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
* If you would like to
see Column of the Americas in your
newspaper, please call/write your
local editor. Also, contact our
editor, Greg Melvin at Universal Press
Syndicate GMelvin@uexpress.com or
1-800-255-6734. Column of the Americas is
available at Universal's website every
Friday at: http://www.uexpress.com/columnoftheamericas/
Gonzales & Rodriguez can be reached
at 608-238-3161or XColumn@aol.com
-- PO BOX 5093, Madison, WI 53705.
For speaking availability, bios,
publications and other info, call/write
us or visit:http://hometown.aol.com/xcolumn/myhomepage/index.html
* Gonzales is the author of The Mud
People: Chronicles, Testimonios &
Rembrances ($19.95, Chusma House, ISBN:
1-891823-05-1). For ordering info,
go to: www.chusmahouse.com or
email: chusmahouse@earthlink.net
She can be reached at: patigonzaj@aol.com
Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A
Question of Race - Bilingual Review
Press (http://www.asu.edu/brp/backlist/bio/RRod1j.html).
He is also the author of the E-books The
X in La Raza and Codex Tamuanchan: On
Becoming Human (http://www.mexica.net/literat/roberto/).
Both are coeditors of Cantos Al Sexto Sol
- Wings Press (http://www.wingspress.com/
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