Ruben Navarrette on racism

Ruben Navarrette is a self-proclaimed Mexican-American, middle-ground commentator. And he offends me.

It must be a campaign to wind up the masses in preparation for the May Day protests this year. Perhaps there is some concern that people won’t show up because they got what they want in a presidential candidate. They can’t lose.

Or maybe he's jealous of all the mileage Reverend Wright is getting these days on the topic of race in the United States. ("Me, too!! Me, too!! Daddy, watch me!!!")

Whatever the reason Ruben has proclaimed that the immigration debate has taken on an ugly, racist tone. This is a normal metastasizing that has come about because the majority of Latino activists have refused to excise the tumor of illegal aliens. They insist on solidarity. Standing that close to the target, they are prone to become a target themselves.

No one is talking about specifics here. They simply “feel” this discrimination against all brown people.

One can theorize about the reason for this solidarity. May I suggest:
1) Half of the foreign-born currently alive in the United States either are or once were illegal aliens themselves. They don’t want to be hypocrites and claim the American Dream for themselves while denying it to others.
2) There are three million anchor babies alive today.
3) The problem is close to home for Latinos. They know someone close to them with a vested interest in amnesty.
4) The barn is not empty in Mexico and Latin America. They aren’t finished yet.

Ruben is no more “middle-ground” than I am. His only olive branch to conservatives is his statement that amnesty is going to cost the illegals something. They can’t expect it for free. How magnanimous of you, Mr. Navarrette!

Now, to his top ten list (shown in RED below) about racism directed at all Hispanics:
*The hypocrisy of “Help Wanted” and “Keep Out. (Save it for your business friends. The citizens want our economy back, not imported goods and labor.)
*The debate went from anti-illegal to anti-Mexican. (I don’t get it. Has anyone talked about deporting the legal ones? Are we changing the quotas?)
*Politicians are being opportunists. (From where I sit, that isn’t true. I wish it were. The problem is that too many elected officials lack the courage to stand up to the Latino activists. He certainly can’t complain about the presidential candidates; they are all pro-amnesty.)
*He says “Build a Wall” and “Deport all Illegals” is too simplistic. (I agree. There is the wall, workplace raids, new hire verification, more screening by local police, code enforcement to check overcrowding, fugitive round-ups, increased deportation capacity…It will take years to re-enthrone a deterrent effect.)
*He mocks those who think Mexico will help us when they receive $25 billion a year in remittances. (He’s missing the point. Our question is directed to Washington: Why do we encourage Calderon and praise him when diplomatic relations ought to be at stake because of his version of “boat people”.)
*He says Hispanics are being profiled and all of them considered illegal. (He needs to realize that people are tired of newspapers and police who have ignored the details, allowing the problem to get this bad. We want to know who is illegal and stop sweeping this important piece of information under the rug.)
*He doesn’t like the meanness, referring to what he calls “Nazi-produced Internet video games” where players can shoot illegals crossing the border. (His name-calling is interesting but such games are hardly mainstream.)
*His next point is “amnesia” about grandpa being an immigrant himself. (Like others, he’s putting my ancestors in the same boat as illegal aliens. The point of his essay is to condemn those who lump illegals with all Mexicans. Look in the mirror, Ruben.)
*”Stop us before we hire you again.” He calls it buck-passing. (We’re as sick of U S employers as he is. By the way, Ruben, take a good look at who owns the landscape and roofing companies. Our SBA loans to Hispanic businessmen has paid off. They are among the worst when it comes to hiring illegals. At what point do they stop being Hispanics and start being those businesses you are criticizing?)
*The double standard of despising illegals but embracing the employers. (He’s making the same point again. Over and over the people are telling Washington to crack down on employers and give the jobs back to citizens. The fallacy of it being “too expensive” to hire legal workers has been exposed.)

What’s happening is that Latino activists are finally seeing that there is a cost associated with solidarity. America is tired of the disrespect being shown by illegal aliens. Anyone who takes sides with the illegals is subject to criticism. Stop aiding and abetting or stop complaining.