Bush Renews Call for Action on Immigration

[Honeykiss1974]

Originally posted by TheEpitome1920
Article

To be black in Mexico! Dag! I could say so much more, but I don't want to bring up old, heated threads on GC because this kind of attitude explains a lot.

It was bad, but it really isn't racist," he said. "Maybe the president shouldn't have said it. But here we say things like, 'He works like a black person,' and it's normal."

[PerroLoco]

What those of you in your haste to decry Jesse Jackson is the inference of the statement. He did not say poor whites, rednecks, Vietnamese Boat people, West Indians, Puero Ricans, or anyone else or the lower economic rung of American society. He chose black as the measuring stick for low wage, unskilled jobs. As if we are only a step up from non-english speaking, illiterate, desperate people who will work for virtual pennies. Is that how we see ourselves. If you see yourself reflected in that statement, you are part of the problem. Black folks work in construction, fast food, maid service, and the hotel industry in great numbers. It is just that they choose to be paid fair wages and are often unionized, whereas most Mexicans work under the table for cash or off the books.

[ladygreek]

Originally posted by Steeltrap
^^
I see truth to it, particularly in Southern California where I am from.

I do, too, here in MN--especially small factory jobs and farms that pay way less than minimum wage and have no benefits.

Sad to say, but "our" reasoning is that welfare programs provide a better living than these jobs. (and they do.)

Also, it is the same with our Somali population who come here and willingly work the jobs that "we" don't want.

[ladygreek]

Originally posted by PerroLoco
Black folks work in construction, fast food, maid service, and the hotel industry in great numbers.

Not in Minnesota. And it is not about the population because American-born Blacks are still the largest community of color here. But it is because we will not take the jobs. I work in the social service arena and at one point supervised a welfare-to-work program. I saw it first hand, and it was very frustrating.

[DC_Zeta1920]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Marie

Originally posted by PoohsHoneyBee
i'm just curious...what kind of jobs do they take? [/QUOTE


I do have a problem with the President's comment, but I'm not sure that Jesse is the person that I want arguing the issue.

Marie

I am partial on the whole issue.....however, I agree...I do not want Jesse (or even Al Sharpton ) arguing for our cause.....

[DELTAQTE]

The fact is many Mexicans didn't see the remark as offensive. Blackface comedy, while demeaning to many Americans, is still considered funny here and many people hand out nicknames based on skin color.

That's still going on? What?!


With that said, his comment rubbed me the wrong way. I don't understand why he had to pick out ONLY us. He should have just made a general statement like "We do jobs other minorites won't do." instead of pointing out blacks only.

[TonyB06]

Fox 'regrets' remark about blacks
Mexican president invites Sharpton, Jackson to collaborate

(CNN) -- Mexican President Vicente Fox called two American civil rights leaders late Monday and told them he regretted any offense to African-Americans when he said Mexican immigrants in the United States take jobs "that not even blacks want to do."

Fox spoke separately by phone with Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, according to a statement from the Mexican Foreign Ministry. The statement said Fox invited them to Mexico to "join forces" on working for immigration rights and civil rights for immigrants in the United States.

Fox told the men that he "regretted if he offended the African-American community" and said he has "great respect for the African-American community," according to the statement.

The ministry said Fox understands the African-American community has worked hard to fight against discrimination and that as a result of that fight the Mexican community in America has benefited greatly.

Sharpton said the phone call was a "step in the right direction," but he called on the Mexican president to issue a formal apology. "If in fact what he expressed to me on the phone was so, then he needs to demonstrate that those statements, one, do not reflect how he feels; and two, he needs to formally apologize," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americ...16/mexico.fox/

[The Truth]

Originally posted by DC_Zeta1920
I am partial on the whole issue.....however, I agree...I do not want Jesse (or even Al Sharpton ) arguing for our cause.....

If not them, then who?? I haven't heard anyone else making attempts to set Senor Fox straight.

[Marie]

Originally posted by The Truth
If not them, then who?? I haven't heard anyone else making attempts to set Senor Fox straight.

It is true that we need someone to step up to the plate, but sometimes if you have the wrong person in your corner they may hurt your cause more than help it. Perhaps the young brotha Obama will contribute his thoughts.

Marie

[Steeltrap]

Originally posted by ladygreek
I do, too, here in MN--especially small factory jobs and farms that pay way less than minimum wage and have no benefits.

Sad to say, but "our" reasoning is that welfare programs provide a better living than these jobs. (and they do.)

Also, it is the same with our Somali population who come here and willingly work the jobs that "we" don't want.

As usual, excellent points. But I wonder how long this reasoning can hold among some people, particularly because welfare programs are being cut (and have been "reformed") and time limits are the vogue now.

[ladygreek]

Originally posted by Steeltrap
As usual, excellent points. But I wonder how long this reasoning can hold among some people, particularly because welfare programs are being cut (and have been "reformed") and time limits are the vogue now.

But that is my point. This is even with welfare reform. The time limit is 5 years and they do give extensions (we just finished our first 5 years of "reform" last year and most benefits were extended, because the systems still had kinks to work out.) So attitudes really haven't changed.

That was what was so frustrating.

[Steeltrap]

^^
Gotcha. Thanks for clarifying.

[PerroLoco]

Originally posted by ladygreek
I do, too, here in MN--especially small factory jobs and farms that pay way less than minimum wage and have no benefits.

Sad to say, but "our" reasoning is that welfare programs provide a better living than these jobs. (and they do.)

Also, it is the same with our Somali population who come here and willingly work the jobs that "we" don't want.

Somali's and other immigrant populations come from notthing. War, famine, one meal a day, inadequate housing, no running water, toilets, etc. They make more at Wend's in a month below minimum wage than they made in their homelands in a year. People, Black, white, Asian, Hispanic, or whatever are not going to work for $3 an hour. Its not about being lazy (some is), but you can only live on that if you are living 10, 12, to a house like illegal immigrants do.

Where I live, all housing construction is done by illegals. A contractor pulls up to corners or parking lots where the illegals congregate and hire them out on a daily basis. They get paid in cash or off the books. You can't do that with a 30 yr old Black man with a ss#. No. 1, he won't work for less than minimum wage, and number 2, he has to pay taxes. So, in essence, illegal immigrant labor undercuts the hard working Black man or Black woman, who work or used to work in the unskilled labor industry. They are undercut by the pool of illegal labor that is willing to work for less than what is legal. Those thousands of jobs could go to Black men at the $15hr that they should be in a union state, but here you can pay a Mexican $50 for 10 hrs of hard labor in 90 degree heat.

It is not all about laziness. Its an economic decision on both sides. Lets not be quick to self-hate without delving deeper.

[mulattogyrl]

Mexican stamp fuels racial stereotypes:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8410111/

[Kloud9]

Originally posted by mulattogyrl
Mexican stamp fuels racial stereotypes:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8410111/

I saw that on another board *smh* ironically, most folk said they weren't offended by it